[Clerk]: Councilor Caraviello? Present. Councilor Knight? Present. Vice President Lungo-Koehn? Present. Councilor Marks? Present. Councilor Penta? Present. President Del Russo?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Present. With the seventh present, none absent, please rise to receive the flag. Council accommodations, 15-793. Council accommodations to Henry and Evelyn Miller on their continued supporting work within the disability community. This was offered by Council Penta, so at this time I invite Council Penta to come up.
[Robert Penta]: This recognition tonight is for a gentleman and his wife, Henry and Evelyn. They're like out in the community, there are a lot of silent people that do things on behalf of other folks, not looking for any recognition, not looking for any prestige, just letting folks know that there are other people out there to help them. And since I've gotten to know Henry and Elephant, they're very quiet people. They're not looking for much praise. They're not looking for anything that basically says, hey, look at me, look what I did. But they fortunately got recognized this past November by ARC, a nationally recognized organization. group of individuals, an association for whatever the reason my name might be. And they go out there and they help out folks who are intellectually and physically disabled. And it's not just in the city of Medford, it's in other and surrounding communities. So it gives me great pleasure, it gives me great pleasure to make this proclamation be read publicly. And it goes as a presentation from the Medford City Council to Henry and Evelyn Milleran. in recognition for your continued support within the disability community in Medford and its surrounding communities. Your efforts were most recently recognized at the November meeting of ARC, a nationally recognized organization that deals with the intellectual and physical disabilities of those less fortunate. The Medford City Council extends its deepest appreciation and gratitude for your efforts in improving the quality of life for the citizenry of Medford and all those that you have helped out. I'd like to have the both of you come up. Andrea and Evelyn, please. And the interesting component about these two, they're husband and wife. And so not only do they do their husband and wife team, they are a husband and wife team for these intellectual and physical disabilities. And that's a great compliment to the both of you. Thank you very much.
[Henry Miller]: When my wife is here, I'll talk.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is amazing as a parent, you know you are a parent, this is your job to take care of your child, but at the same time, you reach out to other parents because of your experience. Raising a child with disabilities, raising a child is difficult. In addition, having a disability, it multiplies by 100. Our son used to sleep only two hours. And out of the 24 hours, our lives was consumed. 22 out of the 24 hours. Thank you. We were doing it just, we love our child. We didn't think people would take notice. And we're very grateful for what we're doing and will continue to do. And again, thank you for the recognition.
[Henry Miller]: You always let the first go. I'm a lucky man. I'm a lucky man because I'm living on the city of my birthplace in America. You know, with my accent, I was not born here. I came here. I was going to medical school. I ran into issue. But I had a lot of people look around here. I had a lot of friends. I had a lot of support. And the most lucky, I had a wonderful wife. My wife stood by me and helped me just like I helped her to do what we do. After our son, we say we got to do for the elders. We don't have one son anymore. We have a lot of sons. We have daughters all across, not city of Medford, but across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is touch that You know, I'm standing here, okay, receiving something that we achieved, not because we're doing it for fame, but we're doing it because this is our responsibility. As citizens, this is our responsibility as parents. Thank you. Cheese. Fromage. You can sit here. Cheese. Thank you. Merry Christmas. You too.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Councilor. Mrs. Miller and happy birthday to you. Motions orders and resolutions 15-800 offered by Councilor Penta be it resolved that the state of concern regarding the Medford Police Department be discussed. Councilor?
[Robert Penta]: Mr. President, and for those who might be watching and are interested in our public safety and our Medford Police Department, most recently there was an incident, a public health incident that took place in the Medford Police Department building. And unfortunately it was a backup and it was a sewage backup into the building, which has caused a huge contamination of probably the basement area where the cells are downstairs and a whole host of other things. This city council has been advocating for the past two years that their first priority would be for a new police station. I in my campaign for mayor advocated that a police station would be my top priority on there as well. What I don't understand and what I don't see is the unfortunate need that what our method police officers go through male and female on a daily basis is not being recognized and has not been recognized for the past 28 years. The unfortunate part is simply this. We need a new method police station, and we need to have our public safety be brought up to par. We're down by at least a minimum of 10 police officers, and that's rank and file. That's not management or captains or lieutenants. That's just rank and file patrolmen. You know, there's a new administration coming on board, and I would hope that they're not looked at, the police department with John Desai, because maybe they didn't take the positive position in coming out and endorsing that particular person. But the unfortunate part is, that should not be used against them. Our public safety right now is at an all-time low. Our police cruises are at an all-time low. The building itself, the evidence room, and everything else that surrounds the Medford Police Department on a daily basis is at an all-time low. It needs to be addressed now. It cannot wait. Public safety in our community cannot be put on hold, and it should not be put on hold. And I would hope that anyone who might be watching, and anyone who has an interest in public safety, And anyone who really believes that our Medford Police Department deserves better, because that's what our taxes are paying for, now is the time to come forward. You have a new administration coming on. You have two new Councilors coming on. The commitment has to be made. The finances has to be looked out for and sought out. And they can be. Malden is a perfect example. They're building a brand new police station. They already have $9 million of the $18 million they've already secured in grants. Medford cannot be put on hold any longer. in regards to its police department. And with that being said, Mr. President, I would hope that this city council and the incoming city council holds new administration's feet to the fire to build that brand-new police station in behalf of not only the citizens of this community, but because of the public safety that is necessary and it's demanding right now on a daily basis. All you have to do is talk to the police officers, talk to the chief of police, and ask them what they think should be done as compared to what is being done. I thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor. On the motion of Council paper that the paper be received and placed on file. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion passes. Offered by Councilor Penta, 15-801. Be it resolved that the monthly taking since December of 2013 by the city administration of Comcast and Verizon ratepayers for public access TV be discussed. Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: Mr. President, since 2013 until now, December of 2015, it's been approximately 2 years. And during that period of time, the city of Medford has intentionally, the city administration has intentionally taken ratepayers' money from Comcast and subsequently, since Verizon has come on board, for what they call public access TV here in the city of Medford. As of today, there is approximately $400,000, $450,000 sitting in the city coffers downstairs for public access television. Public access television for which the mayor and its current administration has intentionally not allowed here in the city of Medford. And who's at the loss of that? And that's the cable TV subscribers. Whether you agree or disagree with anyone running for office, no candidate for this past election had the opportunity to be on public access, to have their position stated, accepted, rejected, or even looked at. No citizen of this community has had the opportunity to have their shows relative to sports, family events, or anything that might be educational, historical, to be put on public access television. During the past two years, what the mayor did is he implemented a three-member committee person, three-member person committee, for the purposes of reviewing public access here in the city of Medford. Coming up with a concocted story, that at some point in time, on or before Memorial Day of 2015, we would have something ongoing. And we don't. This is now December 2015, almost seven months later. And the money just keeps coming out of your cable bill each and every month from Verizon and Comcast. We had a public access meeting here for contract renewal with Comcast here in the city of Medford. It was another 10-year deal. And no one, not one person from the city administration, Not one person showed up to defend and argue on behalf of Comcast customers. I, along with nine other citizens, were here to do that. And this isn't because we're for or against. It's a 10-year contract. And in today's day and age, 10-year contracts are basically unheard of, especially when technology is so far advanced and it's ever-changing. From California all the way to Massachusetts, there's a combination of maybe even a collage between Verizon and Comcast technicians working together, sharing their jobs together as they traverse across the country. And yes, there is a movement out there that maybe public access is not the way to go because between Amazon and all these other technological programs that are out there between a combination of streaming or buying on Netflix or whatever it might be, the idea is out there that the city of Medford is not having it. With a proposal now that seems to be languishing, of possibly putting it up in the vocational school, a place that would serve no purpose, especially in the winter months that we have right now. It's dark out. The bus route would stop the person getting off at the bottom of the hill. You would have to walk up to the top of the hill. God knows where you would have to go into the building to get in. It does not serve a purpose because all this type of information on public access needs to be located in a centrally located place. And when you have something that's centrally located, it would bring more people. City of Reading, Town of Reading, perfect example. Not only do they have it in the downtown area, they have it on every Saturday morning at 11 o'clock. It's open to the public, coffee and donuts. People can come in. They show you how to make your own program. They lease out, rent out their equipment. They show you how to use the equipment. They show you how to make your own programs. I know we've had this discussion before over and over and over again. But the fact of the matter is when we started this discussion, There was nowhere near $450,000 sitting in the coffers downstairs. And when in fact some of that money was used to pay for salaries of three individuals up at the high school in a program out there that has nothing to do and has nothing to do by law with cable access and public TV access here in the city of Medford, and nothing's been challenged in that particular area. What needs to be done in this city is that you need a revolution in thought where people can turn around and say, hey, wait a minute. These are your dollars that are being taken out of your cable bill each and every month. It's almost like coming out of your check. You're paying for something that you're not getting. $450,000 is nothing to sneeze at, and you still have nothing for it. It's unfortunate that we have to talk about this thing over and over again. It's like the police station. There's a problem out there. It's being discussed. It needs to be discussed. It needs to be revolutionized to the point it needs change. New council coming in, new administration coming in. I hope the change takes effect. But the people, you, the taxpayers out there, you're paying for this each and every day. And you need to hold every one of the councils accountable, as well as the mayor, to make sure that your tax dollars, your cable bills, your water bills, anything that revolves around you paying for something in this community, for a service or a tax or a bill is being accounted for and spent wisely. I would hope, and I'll leave this as a thought rather than asking or putting the council on the spot, I would hope as a thought that the incoming city council does not allow this to continue to go on, that you come up and step up forward in demand of the new city administration, that you want cable access television here in the city of Medford. That's what the people have paid for. If not, give them the $450,000 back and figure out another way to do business here because it's absolutely wrong. It's almost stealing people's money and not doing what they're supposed to be doing with it. And that is just so wrong. You don't tell our kids when you're making them grow up, this is the way life is supposed to be. You pay for something you're not getting or you take something that you don't deserve. That's exactly what's happening. The city has taken your money that they don't deserve because they're not doing anything with it. And at the same time, You're paying for something that you're not getting. It's a no-win situation for you, the ratepayers. So with that being said, I would hope, Mr. President, and Rick, I know next year, I'm assuming if the deal is the way the deal is supposed to be, you as the president of the council, you would be able to tell, you know, this is where we're going to go with this particular direction. And as far as that goes, Mr. President, I leave my comments as they are.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Chair recognizes Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. And I want to thank my colleague, Councilor Penta. There's been no bigger advocate for public access in this community than Councilor Penta over the years. But he hit the nail on the head. Where else, Mr. President, can you pay for a service and not receive it, and then no one says anything? It'd be like going to the gas station and saying, give me $10 worth. They give you $9, and then you say, thank you very much, and you leave.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Salem Street.
[Michael Marks]: It doesn't happen that way. That's not the way it works. And for several years now, residents of this community have been paying, take a look at your bill. You're paying a franchise fee for local access peg, which is public access, the government and educational channel. And for several years now, public access, in my opinion, which is probably the more important of the three, which allows people to come in and do local programming. You know, it's great to watch 4, 5, 7 and all the History Channel and all those channels. They got great programming. But what better to have local access where you can watch a local show and talk about local issues and see local people on TV discussing politics, discussing athletics, discussing education, discussing a myriad of issues in the community. And we've been cheated out of that for several years now. And it's unfortunate, as my council colleague mentioned, It's almost half a million dollars. This is not chump change that we're talking about. It's a half a million dollars of ratepayer money. And, you know, for the most part, you know, people may be looking for it. But now public access has been out of the public realm for so many years now, I don't even think people know that they're not getting it anymore, Mr. President. And it's a real shame. It really is a real shame. And I agree with my colleague. I hope, you know, under the city charter, the only one that signs contracts in the community is the administration. It's the mayor. And the mayor has put together a contract with Verizon and Comcast, which includes public access. And the mayor says, Verizon and Comcast, it's all right for you to charge every person under my city an additional fee. But the mayor has been the one to neglect not to provide the service, Mr. President. So the mayor is saying, Comcast, Verizon, go in and tax these people. Take money out of their pocket. but I'm not going to provide the service. That's what's happening. Because if you call Comcast and Verizon, they'll tell you they have nothing to do with local programming. That's up to the community. So it's been the mayor, Mr. President, that's been reaching his hand in the pockets of each and every ratepayer in this community and not providing the service. Where else can you do that, Mr. President? There should be a class action suit in this community. Where else can you charge people for a service you're not getting? It makes no sense at all. It really doesn't. And I can appreciate the fact that there were some tough times back a few years ago, but it doesn't take two, three, four years. to put together a cable operation, public access. It doesn't take that long. We have plenty of capable people in the community that are willing to step up and run this particular channel. We have students from Medford High School and the elementary and middle schools that want to partake in this. We're missing precious sports events that we could be taping, like the Thanksgiving game, although this game we probably didn't want to tape. this past game. But, you know, we're missing a lot of things, Mr. President, that are going on in this community. And it's a real shame. It really is, Mr. President. And I hope, you know, before the mayor leaves, I hope that he acts on — there's a number of issues on the table that the mayor is yet to act on. And I'm hoping the next week or two he acts on them. But this is one that's too important to let go. This is one that, you know, everyone's paying for. And if the mayor is against, public access, just come out and say it. And then say, okay, we're going to stop charging for public access. That would be the right thing to do. Maybe the mayor's opposed to public access. Maybe the mayor doesn't want the laundry issued out on local access and wants to keep everything in a vacuum. And he's doing a great job of that. But the case is, he's also charging us for that service. So I thank my council colleague, Councilor Penta, on this issue. And I hope maybe under the next administration, there's more transparency, and that that administration realizes the need for public access, and especially in a community of this size, Mr. President. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor Marks. Chair recognizes Councilor Camuso.
[Richard Caraviello]: No, I'm good.
[Fred Dello Russo]: All set? Chair recognizes Councilor Caraviello.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. Councilor Marks is right. Most people probably don't even know they're getting charged at 35 cents. My question is, what happened to that program that Comcast was supposed to start, we were one of the four cities in the country that were going to get this access station. Where did that disappear? Where did that go? If we could look into where that went and why it never developed into this great thing that it was supposed to be that they advertised. Four cities in the country were going to get this, and we were one of the four, and never heard from again. If we could ask where that program went to.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Uh, that is an amendment of council Caraviello that the mayor's office informed the city council regarding to the status of, uh, Medford being one of four communities nationally under Comcast to, uh, receive special broadcasting channel, open voice, open channel or something. Yeah. Very good. Thank you. Councilor. Is that all? Yes. Thank you. Councilor chair recognizes vice president Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President De La Rousseau. I, too, agree with my colleagues. It's been two years since TV3 was abolished. It's been probably five or six since the Judge Jackson report. It's also been over a year since the administration put together a three-person committee that gave recommendations on how to take, I believe it was, almost $200,000 and implement a new TV3 station. Over a year, we've been waiting over a year to get those recommendations looked at and implemented. And that's pretty sad, especially when you're collecting money off of the rate payers bill and it's just sitting there along with the $10 million in water retained earnings and $10 million in free cash. It's just another tax that we are charging the rate payers and it's just sitting there. Public access, we spoke out, this council spoke out hard very hard against the prior TV3 board and what was going on. And it finally, you know, things happened that should have happened. But now we've waited two years before any implementation, any use of that money to go towards a good cause. We're robbing our children, our teenagers, our anybody who wants to use public access. And we're just, we're robbing the people. It's unfortunate. And I hope that the new administration really is interested in this issue. I hope that a station is implemented in a centrally located area within this community that everybody can get to and everybody can use. Everybody pays for it. Anybody that's a Verizon or cable or Comcast subscriber is paying for this, and it's something that everybody should be able to use. Two years ago, this should have happened, not now. And at this point, we're going to be going at least two and a half years. new administration takes this very seriously, and we implement some of the recommendations that were put forth over a year ago.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Madam Vice President. Chair recognizes Councilor Camuso.
[Paul Camuso]: Thank you, Mr. President. Comcast Open Voice, that was actually—it wasn't public access. That was more a website initiative. that Comcast did, so we were one of either four or five, like Councilor Marks indicated, cities throughout the nation that did receive that grant or funding for it, but it was more towards webpage development and have the interaction through the web, not on public access. You know, I certainly think that the new administration going forward is going to, if anyone's going to get it up and running, it's going to be the new administration. They're going to come in here, I'm assuming, and they're going to want to get things done in this community. And public access hasn't been on the air for quite some time. This city council is well on record on trying to shut down public access over the years with the TV3 gang by a myriad of votes that took place. So I certainly am in support of Councilor Penta's motion to get a public access station up and running. And quite honestly, It was a few months ago that I joked with Councilor Penta. I plan on having you on my cooking show. And you actually said you'd come. So I'm going to have a show. When it's up and running, it's going to be a cooking show. And I'm going to have you on, and the two of us are going to break bread together, and we're going to make a nice Italian dish.
[Fred Dello Russo]: That'll be wonderful. Thank you, Councilor. On the motion of, the motion of, on the motion, sir. on the motion of Councilor Pente as amended by Councilor Caraviello. The Chair recognizes the citizens who wish to speak.
[Joe Viglione]: Joe Viglione, 59.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Please state your name and address for the record. Welcome.
[Joe Viglione]: Welcome. Thank you, Council President. Joseph Viglione, 59 Garfield Ave. Correction, Project Open Voice was a deal that Comcast made with the FCC in order to purchase Universal Films and NBC. It isn't web-based. It is video-on-demand. My Rob Gronkowski interview was on Channel 1. That is where all the candidates should have been. The mayor, once again, derelict in his duties. The mayor is the same stumbling block with video-on-demand, Project Open Voice, made in Medford. There were six cities and towns across the country. We were added on as the sixth. There were five. Somehow, they saw that there was no public access in Medford thanks to Medford Community Cablevision. So they had to, to satisfy the FCC, come on board and bring it here, but we didn't get it. They promised me five airings on channel one. I only got one. They were supposed to give us infinite, every one of you, but it takes up some band space and they didn't want to give the bandwidth to us to put it on TV on channel one. It was lost in a jungle anyway, but the point is every single candidate should have had time on video on demand. That's number one. Number two. $450,000, a little bit more than that. $200,000 a year goes to three teachers' salaries. That's inappropriate. That's wrong. The mayor does that. The rest of the money, and I assume it's around $600,000, nice to see that a city councilor getting paid $32,000 a year, $30,000 a year leaves.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Every time I speak.
[Joe Viglione]: Every time I speak, the disrespect of some on this city council is why we have no access. And that's free speech, and you know that, Council President. Now, there's about 600 grand into the general fund. Where is this money going to this black hole? Councilor Marks is right. I believe I'm the first citizen to say class action suit. I got harangued by the city solicitor. You shouldn't talk about lawsuits at the city council. How dare you? Free speech. Class action suit. The mayor is derelict in his duties. I've looked it up. There's precedent. He is wrong, but no one has any spine. We need to unite as a community and get this very important free speech platform up. You know, last night, I was asked to be a guest host on Somerville, Somerville Line. It was the first time in 36 years that I've been back on Somerville TV. As you know, I'm on radio. Today, I saw Star Wars. Tomorrow, Somerville gets my Star Wars review. Somerville, not Medford. I'm one of only 50 critics, probably in New England, that got to see Star Wars today. Medford Culture, Johnny Byer Sports Program, all of the sports that we've lost that could be at the library right now for parents and friends and relatives of these athletes. Oh, this city council will praise the athletes. You do a better job, a better service for the athletes when you let them videotape, preserve on DVD, preserve on the internet their sports performances. We might have the next Bobby Orr. We might have the next Tom Brady. We might have the next Nancy Kerrigan, but we don't in Medford because the mayor, the dictator has decided that we don't get access TV that we pay for. It's about a million dollars a year. It's not 450 K in there. It's a lot more money that this mayor just kind of plays slate of hand and gets rid of. Brett blank is the attorney at the attorney general's office. Who's looking into Lynn cam. After many of my public records requests to the AG's office about Medford Community Cablevision, I finally got a response from Brett Blank himself, which says to me, The fellow who's investigating Lincoln and brought them into court in Boston may be bringing Medford Community Cablevision into court finally. They said, law enforcement's looking into it. Where's that money? That's additional money. We need a station. I will build a radio station here, even if it's a for-profit, if we get snubbed again and slapped around. And there will be a lawsuit. I've spoken to many lawyers. One of them's name is McGlynn. I thought that was hilarious. He's not related at all. But I am talking about a class action suit, and the people can contact me. We're going to sue for our access to TV if we don't get it. And it will be Michael J. McGlynn and Stephanie Muccini Burke as defendants, and maybe some of the city council.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Good evening. Please state your name and address for the record.
[Jeanne Martin]: I don't want to rehash the old stuff. The bottom line is that the new mayor, moving forward, the new mayor has a history of being attacked by the old TV3. So she has personal interest in knowing what a bad TV station can do for the city. But now we need to move forward and we need to It doesn't take rocket science to put this together. All the communities around us have it. All of them. Malden is not as wealthy a community as Medford. I don't care by what standard you use. And they have a very vibrant TV station right in the middle of this square where everybody is welcome. Everybody. You guys all give lip service to diversity? Go to the Malden station. You will see diversity. And you will see the arts. Hello, art community. You will see dancing on that station. You will see the government doing their thing like we are here with the government meetings. But you'll see a diversity in thought and ideas. But you know, that's what the old mayor didn't want and he got away with it because he had friends at the statehouse and because he had friends everywhere. This new mayor has a new start. She can start fresh. She can start with the, you know, and if there are problems like in the past, which she is very aware of, such as money disappearing, attacks on personalities and characteristics, then we need to have a format by which to get rid of those people on the station. And it isn't rocket science because they're all doing it all around us and we're losing out. And this affects the business community, Mr. Caraviello, This affects the, well, I think of business, I think of him. That's why I voted for him. Anyway, and you better do something for the square. So anyway, I'm going to hold you to it. But anyway, you know, it helps the business community. It helps the arts community, the theater, the theater, the Chevalier Theater. It helps everything. And it is a waste of time and money to put it in this Vogue. Not that I'm against having them be taught those skill sets at the Vogue. But it puts more money in the Vogue. Unfortunately, and I have to go through this laundry list, all new schools 10 years ago, a new pool, two new stadiums, all money going towards the students. I'm not against the students, but the students and the schools have gotten the lion's share of all the monies, and now they have another part to play with, which is this technology. They got the tech bill. That was another one. They've gotten a chunk of change. The only thing on the city side has been a $14 million DPW yard that isn't even sufficient And it's brand new, because it has problems. So it needed more money. So the balance is shifted towards the schools already. We can put it in Haines Square, because there's plenty of empty lots and empty storefronts there. I wish it was in the Medford Square, because that is the most vibrant place that it can lift the square right up. Between the library being redone, the Chevalier, and the TV3 being in a storefront, It can really pick up the square and make it more user-friendly, make the square better, bring people in. They'll have something to do besides go to eat. They'll have something to eat because they're there. So it'll all work out. But if you don't, if you let this stay at the high school, which is better than nothing, but it's still going to hamper free speech up at the high school. It really will. Because it's going to be, people are going to feel that they're in a public building, and they're going to feel like they can't say certain things because they're in a public building. Plus, it's not accessible the way that it would be in Medford Square. But right now, you can put it in Haines Square, because I know that there are empty storefronts right on Salem Street. and you can just tuck it right in there for now. But anyway, thank you for listening, and I hope that we have free speech, and the arts, and business, and all of that that can come from this. Those three things, the library, the Chevalier, and TV3, or community access, would all, you know, just build up the square. Those three things anchor. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Chair recognizes the next citizen who wishes to speak. Please state your name and address for the record. The Council will assist you with the microphone.
[acqgxK4yhEM_SPEAKER_28]: Thank you. That's the first accessible part of this City Hall I've seen ever. Yeah, thank you, Councilor Caruso. Y'all notice that the doors are never, the accessible door button doesn't actually work during city council meetings getting in the building. That's the same concern I have for the public access station that everybody has been so excited about. And I recognize that we had an election And if there needs to be a moment of silence because Councilor Penta did not win the mayoral candidacy, then maybe we should have a moment of silence. But I think that if we're going to talk about very important issues, like a public access station, we need to not only talk about free speech, what has happened in the past with the previous mayor, but also accessibility. and going forward giving the new administration the opportunity to succeed and or fail. And that's something that concerns me about these meetings, is that before the new administration has been given a chance, they've already been called failures. Not to mention the people at this meeting who are discussing public access, are not talking about the way that this generation, and I'm in my 30s, so I'm still considered young by some people, old by my former students, because I was a teacher. They're not using Channel 3 or the materials available at a public access building to make a cooking show. They're using YouTube, Snapchat, Vine, et cetera. If the city of Medford truly wants to embrace public access for all citizens, we're going to have to talk about more than the Comcast Verizon scandal. And we're going to have to talk about more than Channel 3 on a television. And frankly, I have yet to hear anybody, including former candidates, talk about that. Let's bring that up. Let's have an informed, sensible, respectful conversation when the new administration takes place.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you very much. Good evening. Welcome. Please state your name and address for the record.
[Sqp6S0Yyr0A_SPEAKER_04]: Hi, I'm Rachel Tannenhaus, 26 Pearl Street. I would like to, I'd like to advocate for a comprehensive approach that absolutely includes students and you're never going to hear me complaining about how much money you put into the school system. system, by the way. I think that that is always a wise and sound investment. But I would love to make sure that even if it's not at the VOC, which is fine, I want to make sure that we have various forms of public access, that I am in favor of a public access TV station. I also think that the city should look really closely at utilizing social media, what its social media policies are, and maybe provide a comprehensive communications education to its students, including a public access television station, but also discussion of other forms of media, including social media, and the use of them for, say, train kids who probably know a lot more about social media access than we do, but also talk to them about how to use it for things like business, politics, news, that sort of thing, how to create content, how to produce content. I did not grow up here. I grew up in Maryland, and I was blessed with an excellent education. And one of the pillars of my education was a program I was in from 7th through 12th grade in Montgomery County, Maryland, called the Communication Arts Program. It's still there, by the way, 25 years later, more than 25 years later. And one of the things that we had in high school was a cable access channel run out of our high school. Again, I'm not suggesting that it be at the high school because, or at the VOC, but I am suggesting that there be a concerted effort to involve the schools in making sure that students And in fact, people of all ages, including seniors, have access to such a station. It was so important to me that I learned not only to produce news, to report news, I learned to work every single position in a television studio. And yes, they put me behind a camera. I'm not sure about the wisdom of that either. At one point, the director asked me if I was focused, and I was like, you tell me. Thank you. But in fact, it taught me that I had a voice. It taught me to look at news critically. It taught me to be able to communicate better. And it taught me to listen to the voices of others whose story might not be told by the mainstream and to try to find those voices and make sure that they have some way to speak. So I feel like these are lessons, especially these days when there's such a torrent of information, such a flood of information from all sides, I think that those are still really vital lessons for students to learn. And I know that it served me for the rest of my life. from our program graduated a number of people who became professional journalists, including one who wound up on CNN. So I feel like, A, I am 100% in support of there being public access, but I think that there needs to be a comprehensive plan to, you know, get the school system involved in it. Especially, and, you know, I actually, one reason not to have it in the schools is because, you know, God bless the schools, but they are, But public schools are not exactly bastions of free speech because they have kids in them. And I think it's really good to have, you know, there are things you cannot say in the schools. And I think that it's good for kids to have a place where they can talk, where they can actually have their voices heard, where they can create media. So I think that it is something that, you know, talk to the senior centers, how, you know, a lot of folks in the senior community are not being heard. A lot of people maybe could have, you know, could have a way to be heard and not forgotten because a lot of the time that's how we treat our older members of our society. So I feel like this could be part of a comprehensive plan, and I feel like it could really benefit large portions of Medford that A, are probably paying this money that's disappearing into the ether, and B, that maybe don't have a voice now. Thank you.
[Joyce Paul]: Hi.
[Fred Dello Russo]: State your name and address for the record.
[Joyce Paul]: Joyce Paul, 8 Mason Street, Medford, Mass. One of the things I wanted to say about, um, access is that the history goes back to the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts. And the problems, because there was no audit for five years in Medford, um, the situation was put with the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts. which clearly states there is very poor management and oversight. I don't think there is any other city in Massachusetts that can say they have so many problems with cable access that it ends up in the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts. And it's been there for a couple of years. I have no idea what's going to happen with it. But not having an audit for five years, it went to the police, it went to Martha Coakley, and she put it in the Supreme Judicial Court. There's really management problems in Medford, and I think that's really a shame. That's all.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, ma'am. Good evening. Please state your name and address for the record.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: Yes, Andrew Castagnetti, Cushing Street, Medford, Mass. I want to thank for five of the seven Councilors for speaking up on this matter of public access, a lack of. The point of, I believe, information might be, I believe the rate that they deduct from Comcast bills is more like $3.50, I believe, per month, times my guesstimate of 20,000 subscribers, that would be probably over $60,000 per month. And that would be, I believe, accumulate to over $700,000 on an annual basis in the past year or two per year. It is about time that this is reopened. And I believe it should definitely be in Method Square. And other communities, as I was pointing out, they have a viable public access. And it really should be in downtown or the Chevalier a worse scenario, the TPWR, which is brand new, and there's a lot of rooms I saw that were in an open house when I got a Coke and a smile when they had the grand opening. But Medford Square would be the best location, and it seems like there's plenty of cash on hand, in place, and maybe more besides that. If I was in charge, I would set a deadline for three months just to get it organized, and therefore add an additional three months more, which is a total of six months, to be reborn and up and running, period. Just my thoughts. Thank you, if you're listening.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you very much, Andrew. Chair recognizes Councilor Caraviello.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. You know, I think the best comment of the night came from the young lady over here, who said, I think we need to look—to relook at the way we look at access television with the new generation and all the new technology. I hope that the new mayor would set up some kind of committee to look at these new forms of access. Maybe a TV station isn't the way to go, or maybe, as I say, with all these other avenues we have, I think some new forward thinking with with some younger people who are a little more tech savvy than some of us are, can give us some maybe better direction than what we've had in the past. So, again, I thank her for bringing that forward. And let's see, hopefully, moving forward, we'll see where that goes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor. The Chair recognizes Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: Mr. President, one of the key components of public access television is taking place here tonight. We're allowing people—not allowing, this is the People's Forum. They're having the opportunity to come up and speak for whatever their positions might be. But in June of 2014, a federal judge by the name of James O. Browning made a very distinct comment as it relates to people who have the opportunity to come up and speak and to give their opinions. And what that federal judge did to this particular city was to punish, and I won't say use the word punish, was to admonish them for not allowing criticism to be made at a podium. Because as he said, criticism at a podium is an unconstitutional burden on free speech. So if somebody wants to come here, or a council wants to compliment, commend, or whatever it might be, or somebody wants to go to that podium and speak in such a manner, so be it. But criticism of any commentary is just as much important or is just as much a part of free speech. And just as Browning indicated, and he said, limits can be placed on time and topic, but not on a speaker's opinion. And whatever the speaker feels he'd like to say, within reason, as long as it's not abusive, and it's his opinion, it needs to be allowed. He wrote an 89-page decision, and I'm waiting for that. I asked for the 89-page decision on that, because that's a huge issue right now. Freedom of speech, and allowing freedom of speech, and inclusive of freedom of speech, if there's a criticism included in there, and they're saying it, and it's done in fair commentary, it should not be excluded. and it should not be cut off. As a matter of fact, this whole decision by the judge banned a particular city council from imposing critiques on anyone who was speaking there. So I believe it's monumental. It goes back to June of 2014. It's a federal justice. It's not even a local justice. It's a federal district court justice making his opinion. And that's the second time within the year 2014 that two federal judges came out and made this commentary as it relates to free speech. And those who might want to critique or be critical of somebody speaking or whatever the commentary might be, as he said, quote, it's an unconstitutional burden on free speech by disallowing someone to voice their opinion, be it in a critique manner. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Chair recognizes Councilor Camuso.
[Paul Camuso]: Thank you, Mr. President. I just, I'd be remissed. We're talking about public access and the holiday season. You know, um, I just want to thank the individual out there that sent a real nice, um, obscene Christmas card to the Camuso family. It's someone that, uh, I believe based upon the investigation that's ongoing in handwriting that's been submitted to the Medford city council on petitions over the years that law enforcement, um, utilizing the federal mail service. Um, I think there's, um, I'm sure everyone will hear about it in the near future. So to that person that sent a card with threats in it, as well as swears, and when my six-year-old opened it up that's just learning how to read, I would just like to thank that individual, because when you screw around with the U.S. mail, it's not something that people take lightly. So to that person, I just want to wish them a very happy holiday season, and I'm sure we'll be seeing them very soon. in the proper place, so Merry Christmas.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Merry Christmas, Councilor. Chair recognizes Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much, and going back to what Councilor Penta was discussing about the federal court ruling, I believe that the federal court ruling was in response, and I'm asking him for some clarification on this, Mr. President, through you. I believe that the issue that was before the court was a city council rule precluding people from giving negative comments being deemed unconstitutional, if I'm not mistaken, based on my research of the issue and understanding of the matter. I think it wasn't so much that people were being shut down at the microphone and not being allowed to speak, but it was that the council had a rule that said that no negative comments were allowed to be brought up at a meeting. I think that's what the actual case was that was brought up, but I defer to the gentleman, but if it's my understanding, maybe I'm talking about a different case in 2014.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor. Chair recognizes Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: The case was very succinct and it was not allowing people to speak. The council in its wisdom, decided council president, for whatever the reasons might be, did not allow people to make negative comments, to say anything negative at council meetings. And that, in and of itself, was an unconstitutional burden on free speech. Whether it was a council rule or the actions that were taking place, it found itself all the way to the Supreme Court. Strike that, the Federal District Court, by Justice Browning. So I guess a word to the wise is sufficient. Whether it's a ruling or not a ruling, or just not allowing anyone, for whatever the reasons might be, not to make a commentary contrary to what was being said, it's not allowable. It's an exercise against free speech. And the ruling is very succinct.
[Fred Dello Russo]: There's a difference between. having a contrary opinion, and speaking in a derisive, derogatory, harmful manner to another individual. Chair recognizes the citizen at the podium. Welcome. Please state your name and address for the record.
[mex41hYCPiQ_SPEAKER_14]: Thank you. Valerie Gonzalman, 318 High Street. Thank you, Councilor Penta, for clarifying that, and so succinctly. And so I hope that Judge O'Brien would find my topic and timing acceptable. I will try to make it brief. First, I'd like to say Councilor Caraviello has been helping me this afternoon. As soon as I called him, he got back to me. And what I have is a concern for a safety matter very near my house. I live near the bus stop on Walcott Street. I take the bus here each week, and I forget there's lots of buses that say out of order. Three of them pass me. So it took a while to get here. I apologize for being late. My concern is that last week the city did a really great job replacing cement that was lifting up. They're doing it all along High Street and other streets near my house, where the tree roots had lifted up the sidewalk. And they really were hazardous. And particularly being right near the bus stop, it's a well-traveled sidewalk anyway for school and everything. But I noticed, um, I think it was on Friday, they started on Tuesday cause I know I had to walk in the street to get to the bus stop because they had yellow tape and, and cones and things in front of, on the sidewalk. So I walked in the street to get here, which was a little bit dangerous. Tonight I carried a flashlight. Um, but later in the week, um, uh, they had finished the job. They did a really, the cement people came, they did a really good job. looks neat and somebody put dirt in so we can have flowers or grass there again under the tree. My concern is my sidewalk at the end of where that, say this is the cement, it's a bigger area and I have a wall here, it's collapsing. Something happened in between digging up the cement, replacing the cement, and whatever else they did. I made two phone calls and felt rather discouraged. I talked to the law office. They told me I had to talk to DPW, call DPW. And they said there's no report of any damage being done. So I felt like the great burden of proof was now going to be on me. And of course, I was not on guard duty all week while the city repaired the sidewalk. Councilor Caraviello told me.
[Richard Caraviello]: DPW, Mr. President, I did speak to DPW and they will be down there tomorrow to inspect the damage and report back to me.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Councilor Caraviello to the rescue again. Thank you, Councilor. And my concern is that, um, your council, your city council is at work.
[mex41hYCPiQ_SPEAKER_14]: Yes. My concern is, do I need to take photographs? Um, I mean, I don't know how to present my case and how to prove, I mean, how, how am I going to prove who did it?
[Fred Dello Russo]: May I suggest that Councilor Caraviello would advise you on this matter?
[mex41hYCPiQ_SPEAKER_14]: Okay, thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Do you recognize this Councilor Knight?
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, I am aware that when contracted work is done in the community that they usually make a video beforehand of what it looked like and then the before and after photos are available. If it was done by a private contractor and not done by the Medford DPW, it seems like in this instance it may have been done by the DPW, but in other instances, Normally we'll have a video on file and that could be accessed through the engineering office.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So that might be, uh, well, let's hope so for her sake. And, uh, again, we thank you for coming forward and we're grateful to our colleague for his, uh, dependable and quick action. So on the motion of Councilor Penta as amended by councilor Caraviello, all those in favor, all those opposed motion passes. Yes. Motion for suspension of the rules by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? All those opposed? Suspension of the rules to take a paper off the table from last week, Councilor.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, paper 15789. Back, well, maybe four months ago, this council had met with the chief of police relative to a number of concerns relative to resident parking. And one of the discussions that the traffic commission was having was implementing a citywide permitting process for resident parking. And I'd like an update on that, Mr. President. As the winter fast approaches, the parking wars begin. And you wouldn't know that today's December 15th or so based upon the weather. But after our first snowfall, I think we're all going to find out about it relatively quickly, Mr. President. So I'm hoping that the Traffic Commission will be willing to provide us with an update as to where they are in terms of their deliberation on resident citywide permit parking.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Councilor Knight for approval, all those in favor? All those opposed? Motion passes. While we're under suspension, we'll take two papers in the hand of the clerk. Number one offered by Councilor Marks. Be it resolved that the speed bumps on Harvard Street and Central Avenue be discussed. Chair recognizes Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. If my memory serves me correct, it was about probably A year and a half, two years ago, the mayor created a raised crosswalk pilot program in the city. Three years ago, thank you. And at that time, they came out with three locations, Winthrop Street, Central Ave, and Harvard Street for raised crosswalks for the first phase of implementation. Winthrop Street, as we all know, has been done and quite successful from what I hear from area residents. However, over the last, I think it was six, seven months ago, Central Ave, a speed bump popped up in the middle of Central Ave, and now just recently Harvard Street now has the same speed bump, which is very different than a raised crosswalk, and many surrounding communities that have used speed bumps are now removing it, like the city of Malden had several speed bumps, and have removed them for various public safety issues and concerns. I asked, I believe it was two weeks ago, that we get a response back from the city administration regarding why speed bumps are popping up on our streets rather than the raised crosswalk, and we did not get a response, Mr. President, to date. So again, I am asking that We reach out to the administration to find out why they are installing speed bumps rather than the anticipated and proposed raised crosswalks, which are far better in traffic calming than a speed bump. So I would again ask that question, Mr. President. I know there's been some e-mails going back and forth. I know the bike, method bike is concerned about these speed bumps also. And there have been a number of issues raised. And residents that were waiting for these raised crosswalks now are questioning why speed bumps are showing up. And we have yet to get any response from the administration.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of approval by Councilman Marks. Sir, please state your name and address for the record. Welcome, my neighbor.
[Anthony D'Antonio]: Anthony D'Antonio, 12 Yale Street. In reference to the speed bumps on Harvard Street, coincidentally I happen to be talking with an individual today who lives on Harvard Street, whose daughter is bedridden and is right in the vicinity of where that speed bump is. Now, the majority of vehicles that come up Harvard Street, well not the majority, but quite a few are trucks. Some of them have pallets on them, some of them have two wheelers on them. I hear it from in the back of my house. It goes over. It's the sounds, unbelievable. And apparently, these sounds, right directly, diagonally across from this person's house, is driving these people crazy with the noise. I mean, it's terrible. You know, the speed hump, which is a little, you know, not as, you know, pronounced as the speed bump. would be a much better fit for Harvard Street. Because if you went there, you'd have to listen to it. You wouldn't, you won't believe the sound you hear there. It's very noticeable. So that's the only point I wanted to make. And it was coincidentally that I bumped into this gentleman. So thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion approved by Councilor Marks. All those in favor.
[Robert Penta]: Chair recognizes Councilor Penta. On the raised crosswalks, now we just got through putting one on Winthrop Street a couple of years ago. And you could drive down that street right now and go over it so that there's nothing to indicate other than a sign or a thing on a pole. Cars go down that street kind of like fast. I saw a bus the other day almost do a pretty good, pretty high jump going over that speed bump. Maybe they should paint that thing yellow. with that special paint, so to let people know that there is a speed bump that they're approaching. Because if you're driving down the street on any given day, and if anybody knows anything about Winthrop Street, when the sun is out in the morning, it's very, very hard to differentiate how the road is coming and the traffic. It's all enough, it's public safety going forward. So I would make a suggestion that that public, that speed bump, or what do you call it, the raised sidewalk, be painted in yellow, bright iridescent yellow, so people realize that they're coming up to that. That's right in front of the church over there.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Councilor Marks as amended by Councilor Penta, that the race crosswalk on Winthrop street be painted bright, iridescent yellow.
[Robert Penta]: They have special paint for that. Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: There is. So on the motion for approval as amended, a roll call has been requested. Mr. Clerk, if you would please call the roll.
[Clerk]: So Councilor Caraviello? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Vice President Lungo-Koehn? Yes. Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Penta? Yes. President Dello Russo? Yes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: With a vote of seven in the affirmative, none in the negative, the motion passes. A motion to Councilor Knight to revert back to the regular order of business. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. Petitions, presentations, and similar matters. 15-802, petition by Jean M. Martin. 10 Cummings Street, Medford, Mass., to speak to the council about hiring a building maintenance man for city-side buildings only, in parentheses, no schools. Good evening. Please state your name and address for the record again.
[Jeanne Martin]: Thank you. Jean Martin, 10 Cummings Street. Churchill said, those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. If we do not take our city-side building maintenance seriously, They will undoubtedly fall into disrepair, as did the schools, the DPW, and currently the police station. Assuming that we put off tearing down and building out a 21st century public safety building, which I do not endorse forfeiting, we still need to insert a building maintenance budget for each city side building. The school side has a person in charge of school buildings and can identify the problems and priorities for the school side. We need the same on the city side. If we have the money to hire a public relations officer for the school side at the cost to the taxpayer of $85,000 a year, then we can afford a chief of maintenance for city-side buildings. We need a log of problems and schedule for their maintenance. We need a list of all city-owned buildings and inspections annually to identify their problems. Whoever said you can't fight City Hall is wrong. Local politicians do react to the populace when the populace makes its voice heard loud enough. When the parents come out in force, stadiums, the high school pool, and the technology labs are funded and built. The problem is the voice for city buildings are not loud enough. And for those who believe I am against the schools, note that I have spoken out against excessive spending on the city side, i.e., the garage, the Water Taxi, the Brooks Estates, and a whole new building for the arts community. We will do well to save the two, quote, luxury buildings we have, which is the library and the Chevalier Auditorium. As for all other building structures, they are mandatory and need to be tended to. We could also look at street safety, i.e. crosswalk reflectors and underground infrastructure. And I say that because I was in Haines Square And everybody's coming in at the same time. And at night, at 5, 530, all you see is a flood of headlights. And you can't see the crosswalk. And you can't see a person crossing the crosswalk until they actually go in front of somebody's headlights. So it's very, very dangerous there. So we need to public safety of the sidewalks and all the rest of it. I'm ad nauseam. You know my story. This is not a luxury. This will cost you more in the end unserviced. I vote to take the PR money and put it towards a chief of city side maintenance. Keep in mind the building inspector is for the whole city, not just city buildings. So if you have the argument that we have a building inspector, well he's in the, or she or whatever, they, the two of them, are in charge of every single building. That means house, two families, single, buildings, condos, you name it, retail, commercial, The Brooks estates to the Craddock house or the Tufts house to the royal house to the school They're responsible for every building Okay, so we need a person specifically and I think mr. Marx was the one that brought this up a while back that we need somebody for the city side and Unfortunately to my friends over here. I respect their opinion, but the pie is only so big and unless you do a two and a half override the pie is only so big and so I While I've spoken out against excessive city side spending I'm not totally against the schools but the schools have gotten the lion's share lately and it really needs to be shifted so that the fire substations are maintained The police department, even if you don't tear it down, which I believe we should, it needs to be maintained. And the City Hall, hello, anybody? And so we need to have maintenance on the city side. For the library as well, because if you want to use it, you have to make sure it's maintainable, make sure that people can walk into the library without the ceiling falling in on them, which we know is behind and backlogged. So we need to take it and address all these situations. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Ms. Martin. Good evening. Please state your name and address for the record.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: Thank you, Andrew. I will say this about that. Maintenance is obviously key. It's best to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars these days versus hundreds of millions of dollars to our sons and grandchildren.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for receiving and placing on file by Councilor Camuso, all those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. On the motion of Councilor Knight to go on to suspension to take two condolences on the end of the clerk, all those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. Offered by Councilor Knight, be it resolved that the Medford City Council extend its deep condolences and sympathy to the family of Rose Femineau on her recent passing.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. Many of us here in the city of Medford know the Femineau family. Rose was the mother of retired Medford police officer Frank Femineau, and she recently passed away. She's also the grandmother of Councilor Camuso's wife. And I offer my condolences to the family on their loss, and I'd ask my council colleagues to do the same, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: And in addition, offered by Councilors Camuso, Marks, and Caraviello, be it resolved that the Medford City Council send its condolences to the family of Joan Sacco-Sullivan, who passed away this morning. Councilor Camuso.
[Paul Camuso]: Thank you, Mr. President. I'd just like to send our very sorrowful condolences to the family of Joan Sacco-Sullivan, who passed away this morning after a short but a very aggressive battle with pancreatic cancer. I had the pleasure of knowing Mrs. Sullivan since I was a little boy, growing up with her son, Greg, in West Medford, and just a real good family. She's got wonderful children, and she'll be missed. You know, she was a school secretary for probably over 35 years, still assigned to the Columbus School up until the time she got sick, you know. just want to send her family our condolences and Thank them for her years of service to the children of this community in her 30 plus years with the method public schools Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So if you'll all rise for a moment of silence Council commissioner
[Paul Camuso]: Motion for suspension of the rules?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Motion for suspension of the rules by Councilor Camuso. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion carries. Councilor.
[Paul Camuso]: Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to just say thank you. I'm not going to put in an official resolve, but a thank you to Teamsters Local 25 and President Sean O'Brien and Vice President Stephen Self. Just this last week, a Medford family that is less fortunate received an entire van full of toys by the Teamsters Local 25. So if we could just send them a thanks, it's one of the many charitable events that they run each year. So if we could send that to them on behalf of the Medford residents.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So a motion of Councilor Camuso that this Teamsters Labor Organization be congratulated for their generosity to a family in need. Councilor Caraviello.
[Richard Caraviello]: While we're on the suspension, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Let's take a, is this a separate matter?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Councilor Camuso, all those in favour? All those opposed? Motion carries. Councilor Kavulon.
[Richard Caraviello]: While we're in suspension, if we could congratulate our council colleague on the birth of his son last week.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Congratulations, Councilor Knight, father of another fine young man. His name?
[Adam Knight]: Brendan Patrick was born Wednesday evening, Mr. President. He's happy, he's healthy, 7 pounds, 10 ounces, 21 inches long. We came home from the hospital Friday, and mother is doing well, son is doing well, son number one is doing well also. So thank you very much, Councilor Caraviellole, for bringing this forward. I know my wife's probably sitting at home right now, very happy to hear it. And I apologize for not being able to attend last week's meeting. However, we had a couple of false alarms. that we needed to deal with over at the Winchester Hospital before the baby finally joined us. But thank you very much, Councilor.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Congratulations. On the motion of approval by, on the motion of Councilor Caraviello, all those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. The records, the records of the December 8th meeting were passed to Councilor Marks for his inspection. On the motion of Councilor Marks, how did you find those records?
[Michael Marks]: Motion to table, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Councilor Marks to table those records. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. On the motion of Councilor, Vice President Lungo-Koehn to suspend and cancel the meeting of the 29th. 22nd, Tuesday night, we'll be saying goodbye to two of our longtime council colleagues, Councilor Robert Penta and Councilor Paul Camuso. So we'll have a meeting that's short on business and long on celebration for both of them. Thank you all. On motion for adjournment by Councilor Caraviello, all those in favor? All those opposed? Congratulations.
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