[Fred Dello Russo]: The 12th regular meeting of the Medford City Council will come to order.
[Clerk]: Mr. Clerk, please call the roll. Councilor Caraviello? Present. Councilor Falco? Present. Councilor Knight? Vice President Longo-Curran? Present. Councilor Marksley?
[Michael Marks]: Present.
[Clerk]: Councilor Scarpelli? Present. President Dello Russo. Present.
[Fred Dello Russo]: With the five members present, two absent, please join me in rising to salute the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Chair recognizes Councilor Knight for suspension of the rules.
[Adam Knight]: I'll arrest that we have a full body, Mr. President. I'm sorry? I'll waive the suspension. I'll waive my motion to suspend the rules until we have a full body.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good. Number 16-334 offered by Councilor Marks, be resolved that the city undertake a complete citywide assessment of the current condition of all streets and repair the potholes where necessary.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Councilor Marks. Thank you, Mr. President. And I know many other members of This council have offered this same resolution over the past several months. Our streets are getting worse and worse as the days go by. It's really no longer pothole patrol now. I think it's a complete street repair for many of our roads. And I asked back some several months ago that there be done a complete audit of our streets. And I have yet to see any response from the city administration. However, I do see potholes being filled here and there, but clearly it's not enough. All you need to do is go down any of the major roads in the city and you'll see it littered with potholes. And secondary roads are equally as bad. And I think with money coming in from what we heard recently that the city is combining with the state, with this complete streets grant program, that we should be receiving some funding shortly that that be earmarked for street replacement, as well as pothole improvement throughout the commonwealth. And actually throughout the city, but actually throughout the commonwealth, too. But in particular, this city is in very bad shape. And I would ask that we receive, Mr. President, a complete rundown and assessment of the current conditions of all our city streets and also recommendations by the administration on what we're going to do, Mr. President, because I realize that our streets are old, and after the frost of the winter and after the plows go up and down our streets, it creates gullies and potholes and so forth. But there has to be a better way of approaching our streets, seven square miles of road in this city of Medford. We have to be more proactive. And maybe we should have a hotline like the city of the Boston has, um, with, uh, calling in, um, uh, complaints to a hotline that's dedicated for potholes. Uh, and I know the city's moving forward with the C click fix program, which, uh, this council has been pushing for, for a number of years, but maybe a program dedicated to, uh, just potholes in the community. And that way we could have, thousands of residents be our eyes and ears in the community and alert city officials, in particular the DPW, that there are potholes. And some of these potholes, Mr. President, I took a number of pictures on my phone, and I'll pass them around if people want to see them. Some of them are six, eight, 12 inches deep. So it's not just a small hole now, but you can have front-end damage, tire damage, accidents, and, you know, trip and fall. There's a lot of circumstances that these potholes create throughout the community. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned about catch basins. I would ask any one of my council colleagues to take a ride around the city and I guarantee you on every street you go down you're going to see a catch basin, not a sewer, a catch basin that along the curbs You're going to see them collapsing inwards. And you're going to find these on almost every street throughout the community. And it's prolific. And we have a big problem. A pothole, you can throw a little tire in and then move on. When you have a collapsed catch basin, that's a very big concern in this community. And don't forget, the catch basins are used to cut off rain runoff water into the Mystic River. So they serve a purpose for flooding and other issues in this community. And if we neglect these for years and years, in years and not use the $8 million we have in surplus to address water and sewer surplus to address some of these issues, we're going to have some grave concerns in this community. And I don't know what it's going to take, Mr. President, but I think what we're seeing right now is that it's becoming overwhelming. And we had the DPW Commissioner, Brian Kerins, the acting DPW Commissioner, at a meeting several weeks back, and I posed the question to him, and he agreed that this is a major concern. And many of these, uh, catch basins, uh, have been neglected over the years and now we're going to pay the price. And, uh, you know, I'm hoping maybe with, uh, some of this complete street program grant money, we can address the potholes. I'm hoping we can address crosswalks, which I have another resolution on next. And I'm hoping we can address some of the catch basin issues that we have, uh, Mr. President, as well as, You know, no one wants to talk about the water and sewer infrastructure, as well as our sewer infrastructure, which is costing ratepayers about 50%. If you look at your sewer bill, about 50% of it is through I&I, inflow and infiltration. The water seeping into our older sewer pipes, it's being carted out to Deer Island, and it's being treated as raw sewage. All it is is rain, runoff water, and it's costing about 50% to the ratepayers of this community. on their, on their sewer bill. And, you know, unless we can start tackling these issues, realigning some of our hotspots we have in the community, which we have countless reports in, uh, in the, uh, um, the engineering office, uh, from studies that were done in the past to alert us where these hotspots are, uh, that are accepting groundwater. and the city has done very little to nothing. They've done some stuff, but very little to nothing on obtaining 0% finance loans from the MWRA and also using our own surplus, which the intent of our surplus is there for, particular projects, and these projects would all be infrastructure improvements and would also eventually reduce some of the rates that we're paying in this community. People always ask me, well, how are we going to get a hold of our water and sewer rates? One of them is to have a systematic long-term approach to addressing these issues. And we have yet to create anything in this community You know, because it's underground, you can see what we do with our buildings that are above ground. We neglect them. You can imagine these sewer pipes that are 90, 100 years old underground. The city is paying no attention to them. And guess what? The ratepayers in this community are paying for that lack of attention over the years. So I would just ask, Mr. President, that we get back a citywide assessment of all our streets. And also, if and when the street state complete streets grant program. that's a mouthful comes in that we also look at addressing some of the concerns we have with our infrastructure, uh, throughout the community and also look at the, uh, $8 million in surplus of ratepayers money and the water and sewer enterprise account to start addressing these issues that at least I've been speaking about for at least 14 years now of addressing. And, uh, the city will go ahead here and there on small projects, but never really want to put a full, long-term, systematic approach to tackling some of these issues on behalf of the ratepayers.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor Marks. Mr. Clerk, if you would be so kind as to mark Councilors Scarpelli and Falco, respectively, as present. Councilor Knight. Move approval, Mr. President. On the motion of approval, Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Marks, All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed?
[Adam Knight]: Motion to suspend the rules, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Motion to suspend the rules offered by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? All those opposed? Councilor Knight, your reason for suspending the rules, sir.
[Adam Knight]: I'd like to take paper 16295 relative to the personnel ordinance related to our fire department and their compensation package that is now completed at its first and second reading, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: With delight. Before us is 16295. Amendment of Chapter 66, Personnel Fire Department, eligible for third reading. This was the conversation package that was negotiated and presented to us first on March 8th, had its second advertised reading on March 17th, and is now before us for conversation. Chair awaits a motion.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, I'd move for approval. The reason the matter was tabled was not that anybody behind this rail had a problem with it, I don't think, but it was to give the public an opportunity to digest the package. and to have an opportunity to speak if, in fact, they were opposed to it. It doesn't seem like anybody here in the audience is here today to oppose the hardworking men and women of our fire department from receiving a cost of living adjustment. So as such, Mr. President, I would move for approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So with nobody here in opposition, and with the motion of approval, Councilor Knight, Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Caraviello? Yes. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Vice President Long and Kern? Yes. Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Scampelli? Yes. President Dello Russo?
[SPEAKER_10]: Yes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: With a vote of seven in the affirmative, none in the negative, congratulations. The ordinance is, or the matter is ordained. On motion of Councilor Knight to assume the regular order of business, all those in favor? All those opposed? 16-335 offered by Councilor Marks, whereas the Mayor's transition team on constituent services just released priority recommendations gathered from a survey and four community meetings and whereas one of the recommendations to mayor was to assess and improve pedestrian safety across the city and whereas many of the city's crosswalks throughout the community are faded and not clearly visible posing a pedestrian public safety concern and whereas through a traditional yearly method of painting the crosswalks is not working, leaving our residents at risk when crossing the streets, then be it resolved that the mayor implement a policy for the use of thermoplastic replacing traditional paint on all crosswalks. Thermoplastic is a highly reflective material, which lasts up to five years compared to the traditional paint, which is hard to see and fades typically within one year. Thermoplastic is a more cost effective in the long run and provides residents with safer crossing. Chair recognizes the presenter, Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. I've offered this resolution at least four or five times. over the past number of years, uh, relative to pedestrian safety in this community. Uh, for those that have been around for a while, know that, uh, that has always been, uh, one of my major concerns, uh, throughout the community is pedestrian safety. Uh, it was back in 2006 that I offered the resolution asking for the city to look into the use of thermoplastic, uh, because, It seems year after year, it was like Groundhog Day. Every year, this time of year, we're faced with faded crosswalks. If you go around the community, I'd say probably roughly 70 to 80% of our crosswalks are faded or barely visible. And these are supposed to be the areas where pedestrians know to cross because it's safe to cross in these particular areas. And year after year, bringing the subject up every year, saying, well, we painted them six months ago. Now they're faded. Well, the winter gets to them, and the plows scratch them up, and they fade away. I thought thermoplastic, which is used by a number of surrounding communities, Arlington, Cambridge, Boston, the state uses thermoplastic when they do their markings, was an effective and efficient way of not only having our personnel go out every year and take the time to paint. the hundreds of crosswalks throughout the community, but also have a peace of mind knowing that once thermal plastic is laid down, that it lost up to five years. So it won't be Groundhog Day every year saying, you know what, we gotta get out there and paint them again. Why aren't they painted? Who's not doing their job? Why are things aren't getting done? Why is it unsafe to cross? And it didn't make any sense. So back in 2006, after my resolution, the mayor at the time, Mayor McGlynn, put forth 66 crosswalks throughout the community that were done with thermoplastic. And I remember at the time it was actually a proud moment that when these were done and for many years these crosswalks did stay in great shape and they were highly visible. because thermoplastic is very reflective and it alerts cars that someone's in the crosswalk, which ultimately is what is the intent of these crosswalks, to let people know. The signage is great. You'll see the city now putting up neon signs, yellow and green, around the crosswalks. but the crosswalks themselves are faded. And this particular thermoplastic over the years has improved. It's slip resistant. It's highly reflective. Like I said, it's life expectancy is up to five years. It's a little more expensive to lay down, but in the long run, it's cost effective because you're not having to go out there every year and take a certain number of city employees to paint them. And that's if they all get done. And I asked through this resolution that the city create a policy, and I believe there's a policy in Cambridge that you can go on their website, but any new road construction, any re-digging on Cambridge streets, they require it to be replaced, even if it was originally painted in an area, they require it to be replaced with thermoplastic. So I'm asking that the city administration create a policy in our community that any new roads, thermoplastic is placed down, and that from here on in, the painting of crosswalks throughout the community be done with thermoplastic and not regular paint. And I ask that we as a community do a better job when it comes to pedestrian safety. And it's one thing to talk about pedestrian safety. It's one thing to say that we're a safe community. But in my opinion, you have to put your money where your mouth is. And in my opinion, thermoplastic is the way to go. Thermoplastic will provide safe crossing areas in our community. It defines where you're supposed to cross. Right now, you don't know if you're in a crosswalk or not because it's faded. This clearly defines and delineates where people are supposed to cross, and it makes it a safer crossing area, and especially at nighttime in this community. So to me, This should be done. It should be part of the city policy. I look forward to a response from this administration. There is money, again, through the state Complete Streets grant program that specifically earmarks money to pedestrian safety, and this would be an ideal situation so we don't have to talk about it year after year after year after year, every year since I've been on the council. It's 14 years now since I've been on the council. Every year, at a certain point, April, May, we start complaining that our crosswalks aren't painted. Then we hear back from the city saying they're gonna get to it, they're not sure if they can get to all of them, and so forth. And that's alleviate that situation, and that's ensure our residents have a safe place to cross in our community, and I ask that we send this to the administration for response.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilman Marks. Chair recognizes Councilor Knight. Mr. President, move for approval. On the motion for approval by Councilor Knight, Vice President Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. I just want to concur with my colleague and thank him for putting this forward. I think a new policy is a great idea, and I think that's something that's almost a no-brainer. It's going to be cost that's going to go gradual over time. It's also going to be a cost that may go towards certain developers or certain companies that are doing work on our roads. So I fully support that new policy, and I hope that the mayor does really look into that. And you said maybe we can get her a copy of, you know, the policy that Cambridge or Boston follows so that we can make that a reality. I also agree. I mean, being on the council for so long, one huge complaint that we hear over and over again is the crosswalks fading. And, you know, through our winters, whether we have a a decent one like we had this year, or a winter like last year. I mean, the crosswalks are completely faded, and it boils down to one thing, and that one thing is public safety. We have disabled seniors, children walking our streets, crossing our streets to get to school every day, and that's one thing we can do to make it safer. And I think it's important, and I think it's something that, you know, our DPW is understaffed, so it is hard to cover the entire city. So if we have a system where Even if we did 20% each year thermoplastic, we're going to only have to replace 20% per year. And I think that's something that needs to be looked into. We need to get cost estimates. And I hope that, again, the mayor really looks into this and we can make it a reality. I think it's going to create a much safer community. And that's, I think, what a number of residents and people who live in our community are looking for, especially those who are active in the complete streets approach. and there's a number of those people, and I think it's important. I think it's very important, and I thank you for bringing it forward. I second the motion to move approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. So on the motion for approval by Councilor Knight, as seconded by Vice President Lungo-Koehn, we have a citizen who wishes to speak, but before we do so, while it comes to mind, I might add parenthetically that the format of these two motions that are before us that we've had thus far tonight are in proper form. And I want to thank, and there's some others that are on here tonight that are in proper form. And I want to thank my colleagues for presenting their matters to the council in proper form rather than leaving them a vaguely place, which would be contrary to a good procedure. So at this time we invite our good citizen to present herself and state her name and address for the record.
[Sqp6S0Yyr0A_SPEAKER_04]: Sure. Hi, Rachel Tannenhaus, 26 Pearl Street. Obviously, people seem to be pretty much in agreement with this. I have a question for the president. Is there a reason, it's my understanding, as Councilman Marks said, that this has been brought up approximately eight zillion times, so I was wondering if there was a reason why it hasn't gone through in the past?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Uh, we can only, uh, suggest things that it's an administrative decision.
[Sqp6S0Yyr0A_SPEAKER_04]: So it was above the level of the, so what you're saying is that the, where, where it got bogged down was above the level of the city council. Right.
[Fred Dello Russo]: The city have, unless we create an ordinance that we go to thermoplastic nuclear, uh, crosswalks that, um, uh, but, uh, that might be a stretch and, um, but it's an administrative matter that's done in consultation with the director of the department of public works and historically the director of public works, which I think there were some people that are of the opinion, uh, including the previous, uh, DPW director that, um, the thermoplastic crosswalks, uh, while they last long, um, are also prone to other problems. Now, it doesn't mean that any of the Councilors are in agreement with that, But there is, in people who manage cities, an opinion of that kind.
[Sqp6S0Yyr0A_SPEAKER_04]: OK. No accusation intended. I just wasn't here, so I didn't know. I would like to make the, not the argument, but the statement that not only is it good for public safety, it's also good for broader public health, not just in terms of injury prevention, but in terms of One of the things that happens with Complete Streets programs is that people are able to get more physical activity, and the health of the residents of the city tends to improve. And if you are not safe crossing the street, you're not going to walk around there. So it's also a public health investment, and it's a business investment. Because again, in areas where people do not feel safe crossing the street, they're not going to frequent those businesses. So in fact, I don't have numbers in front of me that state you know, this dollar amount, this dollar amount, therefore it pays for itself. But I bet those data are out there. If DPW, you know, had something to say about it or wanted to talk to the health department or something like that, you know, the city health department about it, it also is a huge access issue. I know that obviously I can only, you know, I can only use the crossings that I know about. And this guy can only guide me to the crossings he knows about. And if they're invisible, he's a very talented dog, but he really can only do so much there. So that's something where, and cars cannot stop out of the intersection if they don't know where the intersection, like out of the crosswalk if they don't know where the crosswalk is. So, I mean, you guys, most of you guys probably drive. You don't need me to tell you this, but it is, a broader issue than just, hey, can we paint some lines? It's a matter of how usable and healthy the city is and how safe people feel here. And I think that it would be a very cost-effective investment in the city. I don't know if it does weird things to snow plows or anything like that. I figure DPW knows that. But surely there are best practices that have happened other places. And you've mentioned Boston and Cambridge. And they don't seem to have fallen down overnight from it. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: That's true. Thank you. Uh, chair recognizes Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Um, Mr. President, as a point of order, we have paper one six dash three, three, nine offered by Councilor for alcohol, which is a similar subject matter, uh, speaks about the complete streets grants program, pedestrian safety issues and the like. So it might make sense to take this matter up with the other papers that we're discussing at this point in time. However, um, I'll leave that up to the body, but, um, it seems like, you know, the three papers that we've discussed right now all have something to do with, uh, pedestrian safety and the complete streets grant program, but we can keep it separated if you'd like. It just seems like we're having the conversation, go with the flow, you know what I mean? Instead of stopping the conversation, start it again later on in the meeting.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Right, and at some point, it would perhaps be helpful to have a presentation at some point as to what exactly complete streets are so we don't wade ourselves into a pool of confusion.
[jCO6jvvXtn0_SPEAKER_03]: The gentleman at the podium, welcome. I'm Nick Tomazook, 29 Garfield Ave. Good evening. I just have a suggestion to make. I think we ought to, DPW ought to look into as a hot box. You know, as far as fixing potholes and stuff? Look into a hot box. Boston bought one. And instead of going down to the yard and getting a load of blacktop and just throwing it in the back of a dump truck, by the time they start, that stuff is starting to harden. Because it's cooling. If you get a hot box, it keeps it hot the whole time it's in there. And the thing of it is, is you can't just take a shovel full of that stuff and throw it in a pothole and just whack it and it's fixed. You got to put some adhesive in there so it bonds to the old stuff. Because it makes a bigger mess by just throwing the blacktop in the pothole, hitting it with a shovel, and every car that goes by picks up a couple of stones. And before you know it, it's back. I had the potholes fixed on my street a couple of months ago. The potholes are back. Because all the blacktop came out. The cops took it out. So I mean, I just want to make a suggestion. If we get a hot box, it's going to work better. Because the stuff will be hot when it comes out. And it adheres better. It adheres better. But they have a sealant that you spray. And it adheres the black. I mean, the old to the new.
[Fred Dello Russo]: I see. All right.
[jCO6jvvXtn0_SPEAKER_03]: You know, like when you're going to fix a cement, you have to wet it. So it bonds. Exactly. So that's the same, same idea.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Thank you very much, sir. So on the motion approved by Councilor Knight, seconded by vice president Lundell Kern, all those in favor. Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: I just want to say, I think, uh, one of the speakers brought up a great point and, Why hasn't this happened over the years? It's a great idea. It's not new. It's used all over the country. The state uses it. And I'm sure they did their homework and research. And many local big surrounding communities use it. And I think one of the issues is that in this community, common sense doesn't always prevail. And efficiency doesn't always prevail. And I think that's what we've seen over the years. And you could just take a look at Ring Road. When they did Ring Road behind the square, the city in the contract spent $56,000 on one crosswalk, one electronic sign crosswalk on Ring Road, $56,000. And I termed it as the crosswalk to nowhere because it leads into a parking lot. It was supposed to be set up for the seniors. But it leads into the parking lot across the street, which doesn't have any sidewalks or anywhere for seniors to walk other than behind parked cars, which is a very dangerous situation. So I think that's what we saw over the years, the priority of putting one crosswalk for $56,000. And it's a beautiful crosswalk. It has airport markings that light up. And on the street, when someone's in the crosswalk, the sign lights up, you get a handshake when you go by it. It's a beautiful crosswalk, but for $56,000, we could have painted every crosswalk in the city with thermoplastic. So these are the type of decisions that were made in a vacuum, in the mayor's office, with no regards to the rest of the city. And I think that's why the person that spoke at the podium said, well, why doesn't these things happen in this community? Why does it take so long? And I think that's what we're seeing. These are the reasons why the administration's talking about getting voicemail now. Guess what? City employees are going to get voicemail on their phones. That's an item from 30 years ago, Mr. President. They're going to have voicemail now. And they may even, thanks to Councilor Longo, they may even get email. They may even have their own email address now. This is amazing what transformation we're going through in this city, and I think this is one of the reasons why we don't see these things enacted upon because of the lack of attention over the years. I hope it changes, Mr. President, but thermoplastic makes sense in every stretch of the imagination. There's no reason to research. It's been on the pavement for years throughout this entire state and throughout this entire country, very successful. And, you know, just because the city of Bedford wants to keep their head in the sand doesn't mean this isn't a cost-effective and a safe manner for people to cross on our streets and our road, Mr. President. So I appreciate the support from my colleagues and hope for a thorough response from the administration. We look forward to all these innovations.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval by Council Knight, seconded by Vice President Lungo-Koehn. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries unanimously. 16-336 offered by Vice President Lungo-Koehn. Be it resolved that the school department forward to the Medford City Council a copy of the notice policy that all principals must follow with regard to notifying parents on emergency and non-emergency situations, such as threats to a school, lockdown drills to be performed, et cetera. Be it further resolved that we be made aware of how such notification procedures will be given, phone calls, emails, et cetera. This policy was to be drafted by mid-March, and it would be helpful for the policy to go public to reassure parents that better notification is now mandated. Madam Vice President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. With regards to the notification, this came up in February, and the Medford City Council voted to request that we be given a copy of the policy that was motioned to be put forward, I think, by school committee woman Erin DiBenedetto. Or, no, maybe Paulette van de Kloet. I can't recall. But one of them moved, and the school committee voted to create such a policy, and I as one as a parent and as one that was getting complaints about lack of notification, wanted to stay on top of the issue, wanted to make sure that a policy was put in place. Their deadline, I believe, was mid-March, and we hadn't received anything. I know tonight we have a letter from the superintendent, and it does mention that parents will be notified after the situation is stabilized or evacuation protocol is implemented. Since the March 7th meeting, they also have a new video buzzer system operational at the front door at MHS and MVTHS, and then all relevant cameras at the high school and vocational are operational, and they've upgraded certain units to provide wider coverage. I'm not sure if this is the actual policy. I know this identifies somewhat of a policy, but I, This isn't the full policy, if we could get a copy of it. I also ask if we could get updated with regards to how parents will be notified with regards to emergency and non-emergency situations, because I think that's important. Are we going to take any extra steps to create avenues to notify parents, and how will we do that? Will that be by text message? Will that be by email? Will that be by phone call, Facebook? you know, any other avenue, how are parents going to get notified? Because just like with the reverse 911 system we have with the, you know, city of Medford, people had to sign up to get notifications. So will parents have to do that? And if so, you know, are they going to implement such a system where a parent can go to whether it's a school committee or the principal in their school and say, I want notification. I want more notification about what goes on within the school I think that's important and it's something that I would like to see where my children go to school and what people are, you know, obviously had the initial complaints about. We spoke about the bomb threat. We spoke about certain parents spoke out about the Roberts. I know specifically because my daughter goes there, there was a lockdown and parents didn't find out about it where kids, you know, hid in the classroom. I practiced a lockdown and we didn't find out about it for a month, for a week later. So, you know, how are parents going to get notified and what is going to be put in place to make it so every parent gets notified in a reasonable manner. And if this is all that the policy, I know it's only about a sentence. So if this is the policy, I believe it needs to be more elaborate. And if there is a more elaborate policy, if we could get a copy of that. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: There awaits a motion.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Motion for approval. Roll call vote.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Motion for approval with a roll call vote by Vice President Long and Kern. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Caraviello? Yes. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Mayne? Yes. Vice President Lungo-Koehn? Yes. Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. President Dello Russo?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Yes. With the vote of seven, the affirmative, none, the negative, the motion passes. C-337 offered by Vice President Lungo-Koehn be it resolved that the city council receive an update from the school department with regards to the enhancements that have been implemented with regards to drug prevention education, in our schools since the last roundtable meeting approximately six months ago. Madam Vice President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. I had a resolution on the agenda probably six, nine months ago with regards to enhancing drug prevention within our schools. I know there's limited amounts of prevention that are taking place currently, and I would really like to see more prevention. We, again, got some materials from the superintendent, which were just on our desk tonight. So I just received it. I'm going to review it. I also know there is an upcoming addiction seminar at the high school on Saturday, April 2, which is a good step. I know that the school committee is taking steps and having meetings with regards to prevention. But I would like to see, you know, more prevention within our schools and more education for our younger students, whether that be middle school, grade school, and high school. I still think we need more. And I wanted to see what type of update we could get with regards to further education, whether it's the DARE program or not. I know that the DARE program is only given in the fifth grade. And I believe that I, as one parent, would want my child to get more than just fifth grade education with regards to drug drug use, alcohol prevention, drug prevention. I think it's important, especially with the state the Commonwealth and the country is in. It's a sad state, and it's something that preventing our next generation is so important. It's important to, I think, all of us. And I would like an update on that, of what is in the works besides these couple steps that were listed in number 0.2 and 3. Again, I'll review this and put anything else on the agenda or ask my questions privately to the school committee that I may have. But I still think we need to do more. We always need to do more. And nothing really, there hasn't been a huge push for more prevention. Although they are active and they're taking certain steps, I think we need to do more.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Madam Vice President. And on the motion approved by Vice President Lockern, Councilor Scarpelli.
[George Scarpelli]: Thank you, Mr. President. Again, I thank my colleague. I appreciate it. This is something that, as we were on the school committee when you brought this up and we had the roundtable discussion with not only the school department, but also the police department and the district attorney's office. And I thought it was a very important forum But again, sometimes things stall. And I think with this being such a noteworthy and important subject, I think that even talking with the chief at the time, one of the biggest issues is the effect on the middle school student and the lack of education, where the DARE program does stop in the fifth grade, and the lack of education. And talking about following that through with the most trying years, which is sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. there's been discussion and there's been, um, talk and maybe even wish that we look at, uh, the community policing and bringing that deer project and, and, and into the middle schools. If we can, I'd like to send, send, um, uh, an amendment to that, to this, to the, to the chief Sacco and ask for a cost analysis and, and adding, um, more, uh, deer offices that would go into our middle schools and provide a program that will extend the, uh, the elementary program. For again, I think that the most trying years are going to be our middle school years. So again, I appreciate my colleague for bringing that back to light, and I think it's very important. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval by Vice President Lungo-Koehn, seconded and amended by Councilor Scarpelli, that a uh, an additional paper be sent to the chief of police to, uh, provide a cost analysis, uh, and, uh, for the addition of a, another, or an additional, uh, dear officer, uh, to serve the population of the middle schools. Yes. Thank you. Counsel Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. And I want to thank a Councilor, uh, vice president current for bringing this forward tonight. This is definitely something that we always have to keep in mind with regard to, you know, drugs and drug prevention. And I definitely support Councilor Scarpelli's amendment with regard to the resolution. But there is just a quick note with regard to the DA program. I support the DA program. I think it should go further than the fifth grade because you can never stress the importance of making good decisions. But we also have the Michigan model, which was implemented while I was on the school committee. And that stresses and teaches our students about good decision-making with regards to drugs and alcohol. And it just stresses health and wellness. So there are some supports and programs in place to stress good decision-making. I would definitely like to see the DR program extended. I think it's definitely the way we should go. But I definitely support this resolution. So thank you for bringing it forward.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor. Chair recognizes Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. And I'd like to thank Superintendent Belson publicly for his work in putting a packet together for us to review here. In the review of this packet, I did notice that one of the steps that the City of Medford has taken is to train all of our school nurses how to administer Narcan. And one of the questions that I would have for the superintendent is that that's an excellent policy to put in place, but what happens after the Narcan is administered? Is there a follow-up policy? what controls are in place to ensure that an individual who required the administration of Narcan is going to be provided with the resources and tools to go towards recovery, Mr. President. So I'd like to amend the paper and ask that question to the superintendent of schools as well.
[Fred Dello Russo]: As amended by Councilor Knight, Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Lastly, if we could just get an update from our prevention coordinator, Penny. see where she's at and what recommendations she has moving forward. I know she's working with administrators within the school system. So it would be nice to get an update from her and what progression and what recommendations she has so that we know what recommendations to make to the school committee on top of everything that is being put in place and worked on.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval by Vice President Langevin-Kern, seconded by Scarpelli and amended by Councilor Scarpelli. Knight and Vice President Langevin-Kern, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. Motion to suspend the rules offered by Councilor Marks. Councilor Knight, my apologies. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. Your reason, Mr. Councilor?
[jCO6jvvXtn0_SPEAKER_03]: On the motion to take 16-340 before us. All those in favor?
[Fred Dello Russo]: All those opposed? Motion carries. 16-340 petition by William J. Jean. Unity Cab 407 rear, Mystic Avenue, Medford to upgrade taxi number 45 from 2004 Chevy Impala registration to 2004 Ford Escape SUV. Bonsoir, Mister.
[SPEAKER_10]: Tell us what you want to do. Yeah, so I wanted to do something like, you know, a transfer, you know, from 2004 Impala to 2004 Ford Escape.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good. Chair recognizes Councilor Caraviello, Chairman of the Licensing Committee.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. I have reviewed the paperwork, Mr. President, and it is in order to transfer.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good. And just for the edification of those present here tonight and those who might be viewing, it's required practice that whenever the medallion, the license of the taxicab is going to be moved from one vehicle to the other, that process receive the permission of this body and that the process be supervised and ratified by the city clerk. So on the motion approved by Councilor Canviello, all those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. Congratulations, sir. Thank you. Thank you. On the motion of Councilor Knight to resume regular order business, all those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. 16-338 offered by Councilor Falco. Whereas the City of Medford is undergoing residential and commercial development in all areas of our city. Whereas the Medford City Council is the legislative body of the city of Medford, whereas a complete review of the city's zoning ordinance has not been initiated in quite some time, whereas the new administration has solicited ideas from the community for revitalization of Medford Square, be it resolved that the city administration and Medford City Council take all measures necessary to including hiring an outside consulting firm to conduct a zoning needs analysis and suggest changes to current city zoning to protect the integrity of our neighborhoods and guide new development. Chair recognizes Councilor Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. Over the past several months, the issue of zoning has come up during numerous conversations and phone calls I've had with residents throughout our city. Bedford is becoming a more popular place to live with its close proximity to Boston and its abundance of green space. Many Holtenbuyers are beginning to notice this, but developers are as well. This resolution tonight is a proactive attempt to review our zoning and to protect the integrity of our neighborhoods and guide new development. There's been a lot of talk lately about redeveloping Medford Square. With the redevelopment of Medford Square, that may include mixed-use development. It might include residential units in the square. Developers may need additional height to make this kind of proposal work. They may not, but we need to work with the administration on this here. If you take a look over the past several weeks, there've been numerous discussions about historical properties. They need to be protected as much as possible, but we also have to make sure that protection must be balanced against the rights of property owners. Residential units, If you drive through the city, you'll see residential units that have been built in industrial zones. People have asked me about that. How does that happen? If you take a look at our use table, when you look at our zoning ordinances, you take a look at the most recent issues where it wasn't too long ago we had a massage parlor in Bedford Square. I mean, to me, I don't want that type of business in my downtown area. So these are things that we need to look at, and we need to look at sooner than later. I mean, I think a lot of people that I've talked to said, these things probably should have been looked at years ago. But we really need to look at them now, because there's all kinds of rumors with regard to development, major development, that's going to be happening throughout our city. And we need to make sure that the city is zoned properly. So of course, I support this resolution. I hope my colleagues do as well, and they move
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion of approval by Councilor Falco, Councilor Caraviello. Thank you, Mr. President. I commend Councilor Falco on this idea. When we had our meeting for our wish list, this was one of the things that was on there, was sort of getting the city under control a little bit. If you look out in the hallway tonight, it's loaded out there with people looking to develop. Unfortunately, the horse is out of the barn on a lot of these projects already. But the sooner this gets done, the sooner we can rein in Some of the newer projects coming forward, Mr. President, and I support this fully. Thank you, Councilor. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, I certainly have no problem reviewing our zoning and the zoning here in the city of Medford. I do think it is due time. However, to conduct a zoning needs analysis, I think we first need to determine what it is we're trying to accomplish. Are we trying to accomplish increasing the stock of affordable housing? Are we trying to accomplish preserving more open space or creating more open space. We're trying to accomplish creating overlay districts so that we can have mixed use development. So those are some of the questions that I have for the councilor, Mr. President, and I'm hoping through you that he'll be able to answer some of those. Ultimately, we have an open space plan here in the city of Medford. We have an affordable housing plan here in the city of Medford and many other plans that are in place. And I think that based on my reading on this, that the council would mean that we conduct a zoning needs analysis to be sure that these plans come to fruition. However, I did have the question, and I'd feel more comfortable voting in favor of the matter if the gentleman could explain that to me a little bit better.
[Fred Dello Russo]: May I also suggest that we have a subcommittee on zoning and ordinances chaired by Councilor Knight, membered by Councilors Caraviello and Falco Jr., and perhaps we might see a motion for this matter to not only be approved, but sent to that committee for further deliberation. Is there a motion? Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. Through the chair to you, Councilor Falco, thanks for, you know, thinking this through. But one question I have, do you know how much a consultant would cost?
[John Falco]: A consultant would cost, I did talk to someone who said it would probably cost in the range of probably between $100,000 and $200,000, which is a lot of money. but we do not have the capacity to do it here at City Hall. Our staffing is low. We're at bare bones when it comes to the OCD office. We don't have, and I'm not saying that the people aren't qualified to do it. I don't think they have the time to do it. We don't have the personnel to do something like this. And I mean, more and more every day you're seeing development and developers come in and they want to do all kinds of things. And you know, everybody's looking for a variance. You know, like Councilor Caraviello said tonight, you go across the hall tonight, that room's packed. It's packed with people looking for a variance. And I feel like we haven't looked at it for so long that this needs to be addressed sooner than later. You know, if my colleagues wanted to go to a subcommittee because they have more questions, I'm fine with that. You know, I want everybody to feel comfortable before they make a vote on this. But I think that this is something that really needs to be addressed sooner than later. You know, does it cost money? Yes. But I honestly don't think we have the number of people that it'll take to really do this the right way. And, um, it's an expensive endeavor. Yes, absolutely.
[Fred Dello Russo]: It's going to take a budget addition. I'm sorry. It's going to take an exercise, a, uh, a requirement to the budget.
[John Falco]: Absolutely. But I think it's long overdue. I mean, I don't think we've taken a look at our zoning ordinances in, I would say close to, From what I've heard, close to 40 years.
[Fred Dello Russo]: All five public meetings we've had on the subcommittee on economic and business development of all the five major business districts in the city. If there's one message that came out of all of them is examination of zoning.
[John Falco]: Yeah. I mean, it's consistent. The complaints are consistent that zoning needs to be looked at. And if we want to make sure that we develop our city properly, we need to make sure that we look at this. It's been far too long as far as I'm concerned. It probably should have been acted on years ago, but we need to get on top of this. And yes, it's going to cost money, but I think it's an investment in our future. And really, I take a look at it. I really feel that at the end of the day, if we invest the money, we're really going to be protecting the integrity of our neighborhoods. Because once we start to allow variances for heights of different buildings, you're starting to set precedent. And once you set precedent, It just gets out of control, and that causes problems.
[Fred Dello Russo]: And then we come from the community that people look at us and say, why didn't they? We're going to become the community that they're going to say, what did they do? Exactly.
[John Falco]: So that's why I'd like to move approval on this.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Motion for approval. Madam Vice President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I agree. I mean, I totally understand. And I think it's something that we very well may have to spend the money on. I don't I don't oppose that necessarily, but maybe one subcommittee meeting to like Councilor Knight said, to really discuss where we're going, where we want to go, maybe whether it's by area or district, you know, section of the city. So that when we get, you know, quotes from a consultant, we know exactly where we're going and how we're going to get there.
[Adam Knight]: Awesome. Chair recognizes Councilor Knight. Mr. President, I'm very reluctant to spend $200,000 or $100,000 with no specific goal in mind other than a review. I certainly think it's a good resolution. I certainly think it's something that needs to be looked at. I've brought forward resolutions in the past two meetings that have discussed zoning ordinances and the way that our zoning is set up, trying to see if we can address the issue of people being able to put an extra parking spot in front of their homes even though it's in front of the home and it's not legal right now because of the zoning ordinance. So I certainly understand what coming from, I just think it needs to be looked at a little bit harder. Ultimately, you know, if we want to focus our efforts just on the zoning in Medford Square, maybe we focus on just the zoning in Medford Square. Maybe that doesn't cost $200,000. Maybe we can accomplish that goal by spending $25,000. But until we really figure out what our goal is, spending the money to hire somebody with no goal at the end of the day just doesn't make sense to me, Mr. President. But with that being said, I certainly would support the matter going to subcommittee so we can properly vet this because I think it's a noble cause.
[Fred Dello Russo]: The two motions aren't exclusive, so we can approve this and send it to subcommittee. So that's amended to send it to subcommittee. Correct, Councilor? Yes. Councilor Longo's motion, I believe. Yes.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Well, I think it was.
[Adam Knight]: Well, it says the administration and the city council take all measures necessary, including if it has to happen, hire an outside consultant, but I think that If we sit down in subcommittee and try to focus our efforts on establishing goals, we might not need to go that far to hire an outside consultant to examine all the zoning. Maybe limit the scope of it or expand the scope of it for that matter. I just think that there's a certain need for discussion. I don't think that the administration is going to be opposed to working with the city council to take all measures necessary to ensure that the neighborhoods in the city of Medford are protected. I don't think that this council is going to stand in the way of that either. I just think we want to do it the right way and have a plan and a goal.
[John Falco]: If we want to move it to Committee of the Whole, I'm completely fine with that. People need to get more comfortable with this. In my opinion, we need a full review. And a full review and recommendations. And that's my opinion. But if we want to go to a Committee of the Whole with it, I'm fine with that. Subcommittee is fine with me. We can do subcommittee. I'm completely fine with that.
[Fred Dello Russo]: To approve this with it going to subcommittee on zoning. Do we have a roll call vote? We need to hear from Councilor Marks first before we do anything else. Councilor.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. And I agree with Councilor Falco. I think this is a long sought after issue. This council, let's not forget, we're the legislative body in this community and zoning falls under our responsibility. So it's this council that's been neglect over the years of reviewing the zoning ordinances within our community. But I do have to say that we have department heads at City Hall for a reason. And we have the Office of Community Development, which is the first to hear from developers that come into the community saying, we'd like to do this. We're interested in doing that. They don't come to the council, these developers and these business people. They come to the city administration, the mayor, they come to the Office of Community Development, and they're the ones hearing these issues over the many, many years. And they're the ones that should be presenting. This has always been an issue I've had with the administration. They should be presenting to the legislative body, like they do on the state level, the state department heads present to the legislature what they'd like to see done, that would perhaps help the Department of Energy or the Department of Transportation. That's how it works at the state level. And the city, you'd never hear from a department head saying, you know what, if we created this ordinance, if we worked on amending this ordinance, it would help our community move forward. You'd never hear that. And the excuse of, well, there's no one really in the office of community development is no longer an excuse. It's no longer an excuse. So in my opinion, I agree with Councilor Knight. I think at this point, a meeting between us, Community Development, Lauren D. Lorenzo-Paup, and the mayor, because the mayor has a key component in the direction this city's going in, sit down and discuss what are some of the concerns that they've been hearing about some of the needs in our zoning ordinances, and hear from our department head that we're paying $110,000 to do a job, and hear from that person, rather than, and I'm not criticizing Councilor Falco, rather than hiring a consultant at this point, I'd like to hear from our department head. and like them to come out with a list of recommendations that would go to the subcommittee on zoning, which Councilor Knight chairs, for review by this legislative body. And that's how we move items forward. And to me, you never hear a department head, even during budget time, come out and make recommendations or say, geez, we'd like to see this happen in the community, but our hands are tied because of city ordinances. You never hear that communication. It's really unfortunate, but you never hear that type of communication. And, you know, I'd like to hear from the Office of Community Development, you know, to see what can be done to improve the process. You're right, we have many areas in this community that are commercial zone, that are residential districts, and we have another issue off of Walnut Street where someone wants to make an extra large opening for a driveway, and it's taken at least three spots off the street, which is a major concern. We're the only park on one side of the street already. So there's a lot of issues that we could address as a legislative body. And I don't think we have to go out and try to, you know, move mountains. I think we could tackle some of the issues that are presented from our department heads. That's what they should be doing, Mr. President. Our department heads should be coming to us saying, we'd like for you to enact You know, the process in this city is reverse. We get, it doesn't originate with the council. We get correspondences from the mayor with ordinances that don't have any committee input, and they just come to us for a vote. It really is backwards. It doesn't make any sense. It doesn't happen on the state level that way. It shouldn't happen on the city level that way. So I appreciate Councilor Falco offering this. It's definitely long sought. Zoning is the lifeblood of a community. It's one of the most important, besides the budget, it's probably our second most important job, the zoning of this community. Without zoning and proper zoning, the community will go to hell, really will. And it's probably the second most important job other than the setting of improving of the budget. And I think we've been neglect over the years, to be quite frank, in moving any initiatives forward, or getting the appropriate people at the table, like Councilor Falco mentioned, you know, possibly a consultant or even the Office of Community Development. So that would be my recommendation, Mr. President, any meeting that the head of community development be present, as well as the mayor, to sit in a room and discuss issues of zoning.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion approved by council Falco, seconded by vice-president current as amended by council night. All those in favor. All those opposed. Last night council Caraviello and I attended a special meeting at Lawrence Memorial hospital. I know this was brought up last week by a citizen. Uh, and that's why it's important for us not to entertain rumors, uh, or to allow them to be broadcast here. We met with the ruling body of doctors at the hospital. They invited us, and it was a very interesting meeting. Here's what I took out of it. The Lawrence Memorial Hospital is committed to being a part of our community, to staying here, to serve the people, to give good medicine, and to encourage people to seek their services. If we were to look at this from an economic standpoint, for the hospital to survive in MedFed, given the way healthcare has gone in this past decade, they need customers. And people, if they want the hospital to survive, and stay in Medford and provide the services that it does and even more, then we've got to give them our business. They are committed to and have undertaken a number of constant projects to improve, repair, develop, and build for the future its infrastructure. They've replaced all their electrical service. They put in new tanks for their fuel. They've undergone major inspection process to be accredited. Their operating room is open five days a week for surgery. Five days a week. Their sleep lab is working at capacity as well as the bariatric medicine department. So they're having tremendous success. They're here. They weren't at Liberty to discuss who they're in discussions with, but they are. But they want to be a part of MedFed. They want to stay here. They want to provide services for people. They want to be an institution that hires citizens of MedFed and provides top-notch health care to this community. So we can be grateful for that. I apologize for interjecting in the regular order of business. 16-339 offered by Councilor Falco, whereas the City of Medford will seek funding through the Commonwealth's Complete Streets Program, whereas our children slash students are forced to walk on the street when traversing city-owned sidewalks during snowstorms, whereas our pedestrian and bicyclist community is continuously growing, be it resolved that the City of Medford purchase a trackless plow to remove snow from city-owned sidewalks and property during inclement weather and give our DPW department the tools they need to succeed. Councilor Falco, what is a trackless plow? How is it, what does it float?
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for asking. I have received, you know, when I was a member of the school committee, You know, and now even as a member of the council, you know, I received calls, and this winter hasn't been bad, but you look at past winters, and, you know, we always encourage our residents, make sure you shovel your sidewalks. Make sure you get in front, you know, remove the snow so people aren't forced out into the streets. And, you know, I think that the city should be, you know, held to the same standard. You know, we have plenty of sidewalks that go right by city property, they're not plowed, and, you know, So we need something, you know, we need a piece of equipment to do this. I called the DPW and did my homework and asked them, do you have something that specifically plows sidewalks or removes some snow from sidewalks? And they said they do not have a specific piece of equipment that does that. And they said that the equipment that they use actually doesn't really work well at removing snow from sidewalks. So this track box plow is basically, it's a smaller version of a larger plow. I have pictures if you'd like to see them, awesome. But what you do is this plow, it does not have to be moved from different parts of the city. This thing can actually just go, for example, the DCR has a trackless plow. They started in Stoneham, it comes all the way down on the sidewalk, all the way down Route 28, down the Fellsway, down towards Wellington, up Route 16. So it basically goes on a continuous loop. So what we need to do, I feel, is we need to actually have a piece of equipment like this. to clear our streets, or to clear our sidewalks. We stress the importance of being healthy and walking and bicycling. And I think that this will go a long way in helping our residents stay safe during the winter. But this piece of equipment is not just for snow. So it's efficient that it can be used for other things. It can be used to mow lawns. It can be used as a leaf loader, a front end loader, a stump grinder, an auger. So definitely, it can be used for different situation. So it's not just for the snow, but it will go a long way in keeping our, um, keeping our residents safe, keeping our sidewalks clear. And like I said, we should, our city should be held to the same standard that residents are held to, uh, with regard to removing snow. So, uh, I'd like to move for approval on this.
[George Scarpelli]: On the motion approved by Councilor Falco, Councilor Scarpelli. Thank you, Mr. President, to follow along with that. Thank you, uh, Councilor Falco. But, uh, I know I, I had the recommendation of motion that asking for a list of equipment from our DPW a while back, still haven't received that. As we move to budget seizing, I think it'll be imperative that we know what we're in need of. And I know the trackless piece of apparatus is very important. We use it in the neighboring community. And one of the biggest things around the park areas is they go around the park areas, so it's very important. I could see the benefit, but at the same time, um, you know, uh, I I've heard, you know, there's talk that they're using plywood to patch our beds of our Sanders. So I'd like to get an update. I know that we've asked, but to get an update from our acting DPW director and what we, what we're looking for for equipment and you know, what, what their life expectancy are, if not have already passed. So thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So on the motion for approval by council Falco, and amended by council Scarpelli that the department of public works report back to the city council with an assessment and a audit of all its equipment and what's needed for update and replacement. Thank you. Uh, chair recognizes councilors Caraviello.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, you know, uh, this is something that I think we've recommended in the past. Um, I'm, I'm also in favor of, uh, these, these seven machines doing our business districts. You know, this year hasn't been that bad, but in the past, you drive around, you walk around the squares and there's like little tiny paths because business owners don't do it. I go to other cities and you see that all the business areas are cleaned by the city. And again, that's one thing I've always been in favor of, and I hope that that's something that this machine would do, or a couple of machines would do. And I would support this a lot. Uh, motion for approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Councilor Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, there's one thing if I could add, uh, Mr. Scarpelli did actually ask for the list. If we could have, when they supply the list, if they could supply the date, the year, the, the year of the vehicle, just so we know how old the equipment is. I think that'd be a go a long way and just trying to determine, um, you know, where we are with regards to the equipment.
[Fred Dello Russo]: It's further remitted by council's health. And we've had that list before. I want to say about three years ago, we got, uh, we got a list of everything that they had in the stable. Um, and it's pretty impressive. And people have been quick to point out too, that the date doesn't mean that, you know, the milk's gone sour either.
[John Falco]: Absolutely. Absolutely. I actually, um, I had Friday off. So I went down to the DPW yard and, uh, They have some old equipment down there, but actually some of it is quite useful. They actually have a snow, they showed it to me, it's actually a snow thrower from 1972. But they said it's one of the best pieces of equipment that they have. It literally just, it's a giant snowball. And so you're right. With regard to some equipment, I think it's good to know though, if you're driving around a pickup truck from 1994, that could be an issue. So especially if you're hauling different types of material around. But I know they definitely are in some need of equipment down there, and it'd be great to get a wish list from them to see what they actually need. Awesome.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. Mr. President, while we're talking snow, I think it might make sense for us to request, so I'd like to amend the paper, that the DPW director report back the status of our snow and ice budget.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good. So as amended, that the DPW director report back to us, amended by Councilor Knight, as to the status of the snow and ice budget. Good evening. Welcome.
[jCO6jvvXtn0_SPEAKER_03]: Please state your name and address for the record. Good evening. Nick Tomazook, 29 Garfield Ave. I was looking at that snow sidewalk plow there. Wouldn't it be more feasible to get a bobcat with a snowplow attachment? And that way there you could put a bucket on it during the summer and the DPW would have a use of a bobcat? Well, I know they have bobcats. That's kind of overkill for sidewalks.
[John Falco]: Well, you know, from what I hear, and I'm not a professional when it comes to this type of equipment, but I mean, from what I hear, using a bobcat to clear sidewalks is not really an efficient way.
[jCO6jvvXtn0_SPEAKER_03]: No, just for the snow, the same angle plug it has here, put it in front of the bobcat. I'm not talking about using a bucket. I'm talking about getting the... the sidewalk attachment and put it on the bobcat.
[John Falco]: But I think that Bob, from what I hear, I think the bobcat is, it might be actually too large for sidewalks from what I've heard. So, but then again, I mean, like I will definitely admit.
[jCO6jvvXtn0_SPEAKER_03]: That looks just as wide.
[John Falco]: This is actually, you can take a look if you want. I mean, it doesn't seem, Terribly wide.
[jCO6jvvXtn0_SPEAKER_03]: That way you could use a vehicle for two things instead of just using it for the winter.
[John Falco]: Well, it's not just for the winter. This actually can be used as a mower. It can be used as a front loader. It can be used as an auger, a stump grinder. So that's what I was trying to point out. It's an efficient piece of equipment where it can be used. It's not just for the winter season. It can be used throughout the year. Oh, no, absolutely. I understand your questions and you bring up a good point.
[jCO6jvvXtn0_SPEAKER_03]: Because I'm sure that we have a Bobcat down at the city yards. We'd need the angle plow. Nope. Got everything else down there. I don't know. Very good.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. Mr. President, I'd like to further amend the paper to request that the highway superintendent make recommendations as to what the proper equipment would be to use to clean it, to clear a sidewalk.
[Fred Dello Russo]: As further amended by Councilor Knight. So on the motion approved by Councilor Falco, as amended by Councilors, Scarpelli, Councilor Knight and Councilor Knight. All those in favor. All those opposed. Congratulations. 16-three 41 off by council. Gary yellow be resolved that the city council discuss the recent article regarding the regional nine one one system. Councilor Caraviello.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Mr. President. Tom, in this week's newspaper, They had the recent article regarding the regional 9-1-1 system. I know we've talked about it in the past, and in the past I think it was up to 1.11 cities. Now it's down to three. And if you read the article, Mayor Dolan from Melrose seems a little cool on the idea now, too. I would like to refer this to the Public Safety Subcommittee so we could have our chief, Gil Birdy and Sacco come down, and along with the budget director, so we can discuss the pros, cons of this, and the savings implications of this, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good. On the motion of Councilor Caraviello, let this matter be sent to the Subcommittee on Public Safety.
[Richard Caraviello]: Mr. President also, if we could have a meeting within the next 30 days before the budget season, it would be appreciated.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Public safety is chaired by Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. Chairman, after consultation with the other members on the subcommittee, we'd be willing to meet on the 19th of April at 6 p.m. in the council committee room. What night of the week is that? That is a Tuesday evening, and we'd ask the city clerk to post the notices.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Motion that the Tuesday night, April... Excuse me, Councilor Layton. What night of the week was that? The 19th, Tuesday.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, this is all contingent on being able to secure the folks from the administration to be able to attend.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good. With that contingency, all those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. On the motion of Councilor Caraviello that we take the papers in hand of the clerk. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. Offered by Councilor Knight, be it resolved that the Metro City Council congratulate Donner and James Basile on the momentous occasion of their 40th wedding anniversary. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Yes. Um, Mr. And Mrs. Basile have been long friends of mine, uh, going back to my early days in high school when I befriended their son Jimmy and, uh, they opened their home to me, Mr. President. And, uh, this past weekend at Carol's diner, at Carol's Restaurant, they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. And it's very fitting that they had the celebration at Carol's Restaurant because in 1975, they actually met. at carol's restaurant and began dating shortly thereafter. We're married at St. James church over in Councilor mox's neighborhood. And, uh, the rest is history. Mr. President, they've raised two beautiful children, two great, great, great kids, Jason and James, who were very close friends of mine. And they have three beautiful grandchildren, Ana, Mia and Madison. Um, so I'd like to wish daughter and Jim a very happy 40th wedding anniversary and, uh, God bless them both on motion approved by Councilor Knight.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Seconded by Vice President Lundgren, all those in favor? All those opposed? Happy anniversary. Be it resolved that the Police Traffic Division increase enforcement on Ridgeway Road of resident access only restrictions offered by Councilor Knight. Mr. Councilor?
[Adam Knight]: Yes, Mr. President. Last week, a gentleman from Ridgeway Road was here and we had some discussions about some of the problems relative to traffic that he's having on his roadway. There's also several residents on Upland and Leonard Circle who have called concerning the amount of vehicles, meaning volume, as well as the speed of vehicles that are traveling up and down that road. Anybody who knows Ridgeway Road knows it runs from Fulton to the Fells Way, is a major cut through street. And there are posted signs that would say that it's resident access only for certain hours, very similar to the recommendation that this council made. on behalf of Councilor Marksley's resolution for Oakland Street, Mr. President. So I'm asking that the Traffic Division of our Medford Police Department direct some patrols during the rush hour times of day at that location. Driving down a resident-only roadway when it's clearly posted that it's only for resident access is actually a surchargeable offense, Mr. President. So I think people that are using this road as a cut-through will learn very quick when they get an insurance surcharge that they should obey the signage that's on the street. So with that being said, I move for approval, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: I move for approval by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. Offered by Vice President Lundgel-Kern. Be it resolved that the Medford City Council be updated with regards to the deadlines applicable to CPA abatement applications. Be it further resolved that if the deadline is within the next couple of weeks, that it be extended and advertised to create awareness of such. Madam Vice President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. I'm not sure if any of my colleagues can answer that question, because I know there's a few that are on a subcommittee that are working hard to implement the CPA. But from what I heard yesterday, somebody went to apply for an abatement and was told that applications for an abatement are due this Thursday, the 31st. That's the first I heard of it. I'm not sure if anybody else is aware of when the deadline is. But if a senior or... low income wants to apply for an abatement. I feel like it's something that should be advertised and people should have notice and there should be, you know, obviously more time given considering the fact that, you know, I wasn't aware of it. So I'm not sure this resident wasn't aware of it. So if we could just get an update on that and if so, if Thursday is the deadline, if we could look into just extending that for a few weeks so that people can be notified, it can be advertised and it can be obviously open to the general public after advertisement. That would be helpful. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: The motion is approved by Council Vice President Lungo-Koehn. Councilor Knight. Mr. President, thank you very much. Chairman of the CPA Implementation Program.
[Adam Knight]: Yes, Mr. President, thank you very much, and thank you, Councilor Lungo-Koehn, for bringing this issue up. The assessor's office will be handling the notification issues. The role of the Community Preservation Act Ad Hoc Subcommittee is to create the mandated community preservation commission and the structure thereof, which would focus on whether or not there are term limits, how the people are selected, the criteria for selection, so on and so forth. So the subcommittee has not had any dealings with the administration relative to the issuance of variances, so on and so forth. And that's part of the legislation that was passed. So I think that that's something that's a little bit outside the scope of what the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on the CPA is doing. What we're doing here is creating a list of recommended proposals for the general public to give, provide input on, and then for the city council to examine and then make decisions with all this information that they have. So with that being said, I guess it's a really long, long, long way of telling Councilor Longo no. We don't have any information on that.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. Thank you for the update. So if we could request an update from the assessor's office when the application deadline is and if it could be extended if the deadline is actually this week. I really feel that people need to be notified with regards to when the deadline is, how to apply for an abatement. There are low income residents who want to apply for abatement and it's only fair that they be notified accordingly and have the time to fill out the application, apply for the abatement, and so forth.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion approved by Vice President Locke-Curran, Mrs. Citizen, welcome. Please share with us your name and address for the record.
[Cheryl Rodriguez]: Cheryl Rodriguez, 281 Park Street. I've been following the CPA closely. I've been to the meetings. I did ask this exact question approximately one month ago. I requested that the administration make a great effort to notify the citizens that they needed to apply for this abatement because a lot of information that went out before the election made it seem like this was a magical, automatic abatement, and it is not. I don't think it's enough to put, they were talking about a different color sheet of paper would go in your bill to tell you to come in to apply for this abatement. I think there needs to be some kind of an open community meeting where people can come and be told how to apply for this abatement and actually apply for it. City Hall is open late, one night a week, that would be a perfect night to have people come in and say, we'll help you file for this. This is a tax, a surcharge that people voted in And we need to make sure that the citizens that are not supposed to have to pay this are protected and not having to pay this.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. On the motion approved by Vice President Leclerc, all those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. Next week, councillors, the 5th of April at 5.30, we're going to have our Committee of the Whole meeting to discuss the CDBG public service proposals and conference, uh, the, uh, community block grant, uh, uh, proposals, uh, for, um, uh, the social service organizations that we, uh, entertain, uh, for the block grants. Uh, so we also have our notification for our, uh, conflict of interest statements that we should be aware of, uh, as we go about this business. And so, um, we've all received our packets tonight. We're at our places. So there's plenty of material for those organizations, uh, to, uh, for us to prepare ourselves with so that we can have a fruitful discussion. Uh, next Tuesday night at five 30 and dinner will be served. Um, the records, the tabled records of the meeting of March 15th, 2016 were passed to Councilor Marks. Uh, Mr. Councilor, how did you find those records? Review the records, find them to be in order, and move approval. On the motion for approval for the March 15th records by Councilor Marks, all those in favor? All those opposed? Records are accepted. The records for the meeting of March 22nd, 2016 are passed to Councilor Scarpelli. Councilor Scarpelli, how do you find those records? I find the papers in order, move for approval. On the motion for approval of the records by Councilor Scarpelli, all those in favor? All those opposed? The records are Thank you.
[George Scarpelli]: If I can, Mr. President, I know that Friday night we have a community event that is supporting a method family, it's a Russo family, we're at the elks, Friday night at 6 o'clock. I know that with the help of Councilor Knight and some others, we're putting together a fundraiser for a young family whose dad was in a severe motorcycle accident and left an assisted living. And we're now putting together, we've worked with different organizations and Friday night's a celebration and hoping that residents can come out and join us for a little food and dance and support the Russo family. So just want to let you know. You dancing? I'm definitely — I'm going to break dance. Everything I do, I break. So, I'm going to — so, very good. That's how you come from me.
[Adam Knight]: The President Yes, Mr. President. That's Friday night. We have the Russo event, the Raise Up of Russo. And then, on Saturday evening at the Intercontinental Hotel, Mr. President, an annual event is being held, the Autism Gala, sponsored by Local 25. And annually, the Autism Gala is held to raise money for autism awareness here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and across the country, Mr. President. And tickets can be found at www.teamstidslocal25.com if people are interested in going.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good. On the motion for adjournment by Councilor Caraviello. All those in favour? All those opposed? Meeting adjourned.
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