[Clerk]: President Dello Russo. Councilor Caraviello. Present. Councilor Knight. Vice President Lengelkern. Present. Councilor Marks. Councilor Penta. Present. President Dello Russo.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Present. 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. Before we start the meeting tonight, I have a very special announcement. Today we celebrate the occasion of the 75th, no, 61st, 39th anniversary of the birth of Robert Pento. Commendations 15-084. Commendation as was offered by Councilor Penta for Mr. Andrew Sano, the Rail Trooper of the Year. So we'll invite Andrew up to the podium here and Councilor Penta up here as well to give the presentation. Mr. Sano, you're welcome to come behind the rail.
[Robert Penta]: that's broken. Okay. $150 million budget in the system is broken. Well, anyway, um, I want to welcome you all here tonight. Tonight is a very important night for our city of Medford. Um, cause we have a whole host of things going on. Um, beside Mr. Sano, we're going to be talking about the arts and after that we'll be talking about a whole host of other things, but it doesn't happen very often that we have individuals who stand out within our community for recognition. But this gentleman's recognition, I believe, was a concerted effort with all his colleagues at Andrew Remax in Medford Square. But fortunately for him, he won the standout. It came as a result of a—you can correct me if I'm wrong—as a combination of, I believe, 15 realtor associations throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. But he received the number one award amongst over 20,000 realtors. in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And that was predicated upon the fact that I believe he was nominated, or he was chosen as the Greater Boston Area Realtor of the Year, which put him into the direction of being the Massachusetts Greater Boston, or strike that, the Massachusetts Association Realtor of the Year. It's a huge honor, I think. It comes to us again in the city of Medford. This is the third time in less than two years that we have been recognized within our community by individuals. The first one was Victor Garrow, as we all know, the wonderful job he did on a legal case. Last year, it was Dr. Lepore on what he did on flute instruments. This year, it's Andrew Sano as it relates to, you know, all three different professions, but all here in the city of Medford. We do have a captive audience of intelligent people in this community. Unfortunately, the news media just doesn't play it the same way that individuals such as myself and members of this Medford City Council on times recognize individuals for the good work and the deeds that they do within this community. I would be less than not saying this. In the audience is his cohorts, colleagues that you work with. owner and operator, Andrew Veneziano, and those that work with him. And I just think that just tells the whole story for the recognition that's being given here tonight, that Mr. Sano absolutely deserves what he's going to receive. And it's nothing more than a, just a little plaque or another plaque. It's, it's accommodation, but sometimes it's these little things that mean more than these big plaques and these big monstrous things that people get with their name on it. To me, it's a big thing, because I'm a councilor, and nobody in the city can do this other than a city councilor. So it reads as follows, that the Medford City Council takes pleasure in making this council recommendation to Andrew Sano, Remax Andrew Realty Services, in recognition on being named the 2014 Massachusetts Realtor of the Year by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. Signed by Councilor Dello Russo, President, and myself, Councilor Robert Penta. It's my honor, thank you.
[SPEAKER_10]: Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Penta, Mr. President, Madam Vice President, and the Council. This is indeed a very big deal for me. I'm a lifelong resident of Medford, and receiving the award from the State Board meant very much to me. But honestly, to receive this from my hometown and this body means even more to me, and I'm deeply touched by it. And it's my pleasure and my privilege to serve the residents of the city of Medford in their pursuit of the American dream. Thank you very much. This is a treasure to me.
[Fred Dello Russo]: And his wife and kids are outside out in the audience. Please stand and wave. Congratulations. motions, orders, and resolutions 15-429 offered by councillors Marks, Penta, and Lungo-Koehn. Be it resolved that due to the wonderful involvement that the arts and humanities culture has been bringing to our city of Medford, the city's budget for the Medford Arts Council 2015-2016 be increased by 100%. Who wants to speak on this first? Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. And I want to thank my colleagues, Councilor Penter and Councilor Lungo-Koehn for co-sponsoring this. It was roughly two years ago, and I think many council members will remember Maria Daniels came before the council to express some interest of what's going on in the community regarding the yachts. And also during her speech, she said something pretty poignant at the time and said, it'd be a great idea to have some money incorporated within the budget. And when she was done, we thanked her for coming up and she left. And, um, I got together with my colleague, Councilor Penter and said, you know what, what a novel idea. Imagine having money allocated every year for a particular purpose, like every other allocation is in the budget, whether it's DPW or police, but to have something in there for the arts. And, We co-sponsored a resolution, myself and Councilor Penta. It was supported by members of the council, which I am grateful for. And at the time, we put it in there with the stipulation that we're not just going to put money out in the budget and say good luck to you. We were going to revisit it. And we said after a year or two of looking at it, we all felt strongly, and I can speak for myself and I think my colleagues, The original amount was just to get us started. And once we saw that there was interest, once we saw the money was being put to good use, once we saw that it was really outreaching to the community and the access throughout the community from these great programs was there, we said it was only normal that we would revisit the amount of money. And we decided just recently to ask for an appropriation to double the amount in the budget. Now this is just a request coming from the council. I hope we have a unanimous support here tonight. It's a request for the mayor to include that within the budget. I can only speak for myself as one member of the council. I will not support a budget unless the funding is doubled or if the mayor wants to triple it, we'll be on board. So after reviewing the process, and I had the opportunity to go onto the Method Arts Council website, and it was very catching, the first paragraph on the website, and it said, we're a city-appointed agency of volunteers, working to promote excellence, access, education, and diversity in local public arts and cultural programming. So what better can you spend money on in a community? And I would venture to say that this particular amount that is allocated is probably our biggest bang for our buck within the budget. This reaches thousands of people, every different socioeconomic group in the community. It reaches out to nonprofits. It reaches out to school-age children. It reaches the gambit. And I also took it one step further in went through the 56 grants that were awarded in 2015. And if my colleagues would indulge me, I think, and I'm not going to read them all, but I think when you look at the diversity and the nature of the programs and the funding, how it reaches every aspect of our community, it really is amazing what can be done with such a small amount of money and with volunteers. And, you know, I have visions someday of, you know, I won't bring hash old stuff, but the Swan School that we tried to turn into an art center many years ago. But I have visions someday of possibly looking at Springstep and saying, geez, here we have a building within 50 yards of City Hall, centrally located, It was built to house the arts. What better can we have than having a community asset like that? And that's, I know, in the big picture. But I think we have so many unique opportunities. About three months ago, I offered a resolution that was supported by this council to repurpose the bus shelter, which is at the corner of River Street and Riverside Ave, behind the old burial ground. to turn that into an open air art center. And I think we have the unique opportunity to take that area that's already out there. We already have seating. There's already a shelter there that we could enclose or encapsulate. And we could do so much with that little particular area. And that was just one thought that came to mind. And we did ask the mayor, through our resolution, to look into repurposing that shelter for the purpose of the arts. But I did, not to get off subject, I wanted to go through just a couple of these quick grant awards that were mentioned. And my colleagues are all aware of this, so I'm not trying to sell them. But I think the community as a whole really need to know what goes on on an everyday basis through volunteers. And if you look at some of the grants, Andrews Middle School, the Museum of Science Style Lab. We had Laura Barrington, the Kids Open Mic. We had Brooks Elementary School, orchestrating kids through the classics. Cachet, the Arts Across Method. Cachet Circled the Square. We had Dennis Cormier, Hands on History of the American Revolutionary War. Laura Duggan, The Virtue of Penelope, A Chinese Odyssey, Ian Frenning Kasuth, Hicks Ave, Mural Project, Friends of the Chevalier Auditorium, The Barrow and McNeil's Concert, MACI, Medford Film Collaborative, MACI, Making Art Together, Children and Their Families, The Medford Arts Council Media, Multimedia Cultural Exchange, Medford Historical Society, The African American Faces of the Civil War, The Medford Public Library, D. Morris, Method Is Home, Roberts Elementary School, Stuart Little, The Musical, The Royal House Slave Quarters, Compelled to Servitude, Story of Belinda, Shelley Gross, The Middle School, Drama, The Preschool Children, West Method Open Studios, And the list goes on and on and on. And I am proud here tonight. It's the first time I've ever offered to double a budget line item. But it's appropriate at this particular point. The money's being well spent. It's serving thousands of people in our community. It's growing. And I foresee this particular line item to continue to grow. I foresee the outreach to continue in our community. And I look forward to the future opportunities of expanding our arts within our community. And I look forward to hearing what my other colleagues have to say.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor Lox.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Councilor Penderkin. Councilor Penderkin.
[Robert Penta]: When we decided to go on this endeavor, we figured, How do we sell this to double the budget? And I'm saying to myself, this is really not a hard sell. Because number one, we have $6.5 million in free cash. That's an awful lot of money to have in free cash. And all we're asking is to double $15,000 to $30,000. So $15,000 is already going to be accounted for from last year's budget to include $30,000. But I look at it in this point of view. I'm looking at where has Medford been as compared to where is Medford going? We just gave an award here tonight to the Realtor of the Year. The biggest asset that we have in this community in selling real estate is to have people come to the City of Method, not because of its close proximity to Boston, for which it's a big seller, but the fact that we have a public school education that people believe in and trust. We have an arts and cultural program that is now beginning to take hold and hit another group of people in this community. And lastly, and more importantly, It's what your taxes are paying for. This is what you should be getting for your taxes. And you know, when you ask for something, you probably say, how are we going to get it? Well, we can pay for it. This is something that can be very easily paid for. Now, I know Councilman Marks has a whole list of organizations that are credible and worthy. But think about it. Think about all those organizations that he's talking about. And when you list your house to sell it, or when they list it to buy it, having all those organizations as part of a selling point to be competitive. We're sitting next to sister cities of Malden, Somerville, Lexington, Winchester. We can't be there. We won't be there. But you know something? We can be ourselves. And what we can offer to this community is something that no one else can offer. And that's togetherness. And that's making sure that this city moves forward in a cultural, in an educational, and in a direction that really is going to bring Medford tomorrow. Developing our downtown areas, having organizations such as this, whether you go to West Medford and you have the open studios, or whether, as he said, maybe someday having a storefront that's good for the arts. What's wrong with that? But there has to be a coming together. We as a community now realize this is a huge change that's gonna be taking place in our community, with a new mayor coming into office. But not to talk about politics, but you have to talk about it. And this is what you should be looking at No matter who the candidate might be running for this office, what's their commitment to the arts, to the culture, to the education, to the revitalization of this community, of getting itself back on the street, on a street that you're just not paying taxes for over and over again, that you're getting something for your tax dollars. And that's how I'm looking at this. I think this is not only creditable, it's worthwhile. You know, this past, was it this past Sunday? Two Sundays ago, we were at the Royal House. And we saw a great performance that the arts put on. Something that maybe a lot of people might not have an interest, but what about the people that do have an interest? They don't know what it's about. When Councilor Longo-Curran offered that resolution to thank them for their service, you know, it was great. There was almost like 100 people there that day. It was a great, and it was a Sunday afternoon. Where would you normally see this in the past? You know, whether you have Cache, whether you have Circle the Square, whether you have the Arts, whether you have the Historical Society, or whether you have all these parent-teacher groups, this is your time to galvanize and mobilize. This is your time to find out who your mayor is and what that mayor should be for this community, because the time for the change is now.
[Richard Caraviello]: I think Councilor Longo currently is next, Mr. President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I'll be brief. Thank you, President Dello Russo. I just want to echo the sentiments that Council Marks and Council Pinto have already said so well. I think adding to the arts in the community, number one, has been extremely effective to bringing out people, diversity, young, we have so many programs that have been able to be funded which benefit the whole community. I'll pick out one, which is Cache, which Maya and my family are very fond of. You have a cultural event that brings out hundreds, hundreds of young families to Medford Square, which so badly needs people traversing the sidewalks, going into businesses, having cultural events and performances and events for the children. I think adding to this line item, which I, too, you know, I'm not one to always add money. We're always watchdogs on the budget. But I think it's something that has benefited and can continue to grow and continue to benefit everybody that lives in this community. And I, too, was at the Royal House. It was, you know, a great event. And what Maria Daniels and what Cachet and I would I know Mrs. Scuderi's involved in the arts, and I can't name everybody, but there are so many people who are interested in arts and are interested in teaching and bringing that across the city, and I think it's wonderful, and I think this is something that is gonna, it's an investment for our future, and it's an investment for the arts community to show what they have for us, and we're lucky and fortunate to have people that wanna carry this out and do better for the city. I'm in full support, and I'm sure all my colleagues will be in support. And I hope this comes to fruition.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. You know, being a person who's a third generation in this community, when I grew up, we never had any ads. I mean, all we ever had was, you know, sports. You know, you have Little League. That was the extent of your youth culture. It was never really anywhere else. It was mostly boy things and nothing for women to do. And now, as I've grown, I've seen this community change and become more diverse. We're going through the change. More and more younger families are coming through here. And you're watching our community grow. And so I'm watching. I have family that still live here. I have grandchildren that are growing up in this community. And I'm happy that, besides the sporting things that they could do, As they go to the schools, there's going to be things for them to do, different types of culture they're going to learn that I never had the opportunity to learn. So I applaud this group for doing this. I'm part of this group also. And I support the full funding for them, same as my other colleagues.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. First of all, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the Arts Council for such good work. If they weren't so committed to this endeavor, if they weren't so quickly able to efficiently implement some successful programming, then this resolution would never be before us. So thank you very much for doing the best that you can with the little that you've been provided. I think it's very important that when we look at the future of Medford and we look at the vision for Medford that we understand that the arts has to have a major role. and the future development of the city of Medford, Mr. President. This money is being well spent. An increase of $15,000 is a start. It allows us to build on the strong foundation that this organization has provided us. And I certainly need to take the time to commend Councilor Marks, Councilor Pater, and Councilor Lungo for putting this resolution forward. I too stand in full support of this resolution. I think it only makes sense for us to increase the funding in the arts community based upon the measurable successes that are in place right now. And I think that's very important that we look at it this way. There are measurable successes. We're not just giving money to an organization to spend. We're giving money to an organization to spend because they've shown us how well they're able to utilize this funding. So, Mr. President, with all due respect to the body, I'd move for approval on this matter ASAP. I'd like to have the residents and the citizenry have an opportunity to speak on it. But in terms of supporting this resolution, I'm wholeheartedly behind it.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor Knight. So on the motion of approval by Councilor Knight, ma'am, please state your name and address for the record.
[Jeanne Martin]: Thank you. Jean Martin, 10 Cumming Street, and I stand in support of this. These folks won me over when I first saw the electric boxes all painted over nice. When I went to the farmer's market and they had musicians playing that I could just sit there for free. This is about class. This opens up when you do these free things, at the Condon Shell, you invite everybody for nothing. If they want to buy something, they can buy something. But if they don't have any money in their pockets, they can be a part of this community. That is huge. And we are at a crossroads right now in the city of Medford. We have a, to use one of their expressions, a blank canvas on this city right now. And we can make it look like anything we want. We have an open canvas. And one of the things that I like about these people is that they can take Medford Square first. They need to do it in Medford Square. And you're going to hear me talk about, you know, not the other square down in West Medford, OK? I want you to do it in Medford Square. And then I want you to take it to Haines Square. And I want you people to come to Haines Square and make the boxes look nice, make the storefronts look nice. I want you to bring energy to Haines Square after you get done with Medford Square. And I also would say that because if you have a vibrant Medford Square, you have tax dollars. Tax dollars that can then pay for the police department that needs to be completely torn down and built up new. Because where is the money going to come from? It's going to come from the engines of the businesses in Medford Square and Haines Square, South Medford Square, and Hillside. That's where the money is going to come from. So we need to have the businesses come out, and these people can generate that business. They can open up coffee shops, they can open up you know, vegetable smoothie shops. I don't care what they open up. I don't care. It brings money in. It brings money into the city, and if they want a bike path, just do it safely. I've learned to accept certain things. And I just want you to bring that energy to Medford Square, and then I want you to bring it to Haines Square. And as far as a home, they deserve a home. But I wouldn't use this place down over here, I know. Sorry. I would use the library. The reason why I would use the library is because the library, in my mind, is an institution that symbolically, while not always is used today, symbolically is about class. knowledge, and it's about access to knowledge. And so if we put another floor on top of the current library, you guys could make a space up there. We already own the building. All you gotta do is add a floor, and then you guys can have a community unity space, call it whatever you want, and you can have a home, because you deserve one. And you deserve one in the middle of the square. I want everything in the middle of the square. And the other thing that I have to say is, There is $300,000 sitting in the community access, what do you call it, access, that TV access. $300,000, and now that we don't have to accept half a loaf because the mayor's leaving, we might not have to have it up at the Volk. We could, might, take it down to the city square and put the access station in the city square because we're not dealing with the mayor. We don't have to abide by his rule anymore. So maybe in the new future, instead of putting it up at the Vogue, which I'm not against, but if you're really looking at it as community access, putting it in Medford Square will also help these people with the arts. It's a great place to be unified with the Chevalier, and everything's matching up. Everything's just coming together like the stars. The stars are starting to align in Medford, so thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. You know, Gene, I don't always agree with what you say, but tonight you were 100% correct in what you said about the library. The library is in dire need of help and repair. You are 100% correct. That place, you put a second floor there, remodel and expand that, that is the exact place where this art community belongs, because the library is the hub of culture and learning.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor Caraviellol. Sir, if you'd like to speak, please state your name and address for the record.
[3aOalIsRmxU_SPEAKER_00]: I'm Gary Roberts, 60 Sharon Street. I'm the chair of the Medford Arts Council. First of all, I want to thank all of you for your foresight in putting forward this resolution and your confidence in our work. I also want to acknowledge my colleagues on the Arts Council who are here. It was stated before eloquently by several of you that we are volunteers. working very hard for Medford, for the public, for the community, for seniors, for kids, for many, many different anchor cultural organizations in the city. We do this year round and I think that there are some incredible strategic opportunities for our group and all of the groups that are contributing to this effort. So this small increase is really going to make a huge difference. Over the last two years, we funded over 100 different projects with just a little bit more than $60,000. So a little bit is going a very long way in Medford. The kind of work that we're supporting has a well-known multiplier effect for the local economy. along with our religious institutions, our sports teams, our political activities. These are essential components of our civic life, and the arts and humanities also are basically presenting opportunities for personal development and growth for every Medford citizen who takes part in them. So thanks again for this resolution. We need a lot more. Going back to 1998, Our funding history shows that, on average, our shortfall is 53%. That means that, in any given year, we can't even support a half of the need in the community. So every bit of money that's entrusted to us is needed, and we will continue to be great stewards of this investment in the community. Thanks.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Mr. Roberts. Ma'am, please state your name and address for the record.
[May Marquebreuck]: I'm Aimee Acubrock, 16, Glenwood Ave, Medford. Well, I think it's fair to say that we are in an arts revolution. And first and foremost, I'd like to thank Councilors Lungo Keown, Michael Marks, and Bob Penta for bringing up this resolution. this evening to increase the city's funding. I can speak of the importance and the need for this funding from first-hand experience with regard to Cachet and Medford. In our early stage as a grassroots movement in 2010, the Medford Arts Council awarded us the first funding for our organization. They believed in us. If that had not happened, CACHE probably would not exist today. Each year since then, CACHE has been recognized and received funding for our major programs, Arts Across Medford, Mr. Griffith Celebration, and Circle the Square. These awards are critical to our financial stability. Cache, like the other organizations here representing nonprofits, we have to depend on the community, generous donors, companies to provide us with the money to carry out our programs and to pick up on what Councilor Mark said about volunteers. I want to congratulate and thank everyone in this audience tonight, because they are all volunteers. And I think they should stand up and get an applause. We would not have the rich culture that we have in this community without volunteers. So, not only does the Methodist Council provide essential funding, but from the very beginning, they have been a very valuable partner to CACHE, providing guidance and a working relationship. And as Councilor Marks did, if you look at the programs that were funded in 2015, you will see that in addition to eight grants for the Medford Public Library, eight grants, and 15 awards for our public schools. These are funds ranging from $200 to $500 dollars being given also to individual artists and instructors such as Dance Caliante, Eileen Herman House. And Kids Open Mic, Laura Brereton. That's only to mention a few. There were over 50 awards made in 2015. And there are many, many individual artists in that group who, without that $200, or whatever it may be, would never be able to carry on their programs because they just don't have that kind of money. So in the year 2000, at the beginning of the millennium, I'm sort of known as a person who likes quotes. I think the board of directors of Cachet could attest to that. When I send them emails, I always send them a quote. And this is one of my favorites, which happens to be by Hillary Clinton. No political intention here. We in America have to recognize that as we stand on the brink of a new century, we are likely to be judged far more in the future by our arts and our culture than by anything else we might do or say. And I believe that's true. I don't think I sent that one out lately. To close, I thank you again for putting this resolution on the table because by providing these additional monies to the Medford Arts Council, we will be supporting more arts and culture throughout the entire city. It could not go to a better place because this money, as was said by Michael, Council Marks, and by Gary Roberts, this is going to reach out throughout the community. not only does the arts enrich our community, but it also supports our local businesses. And that is also one of the important features of having an arts community. So thank you very, very much, and I certainly hope this will be approved.
[Sorrell]: Good evening. Please state your name and address for the record. Good evening, Mr. President. My name is John Stroller, and I reside at 20 Metcalf Street here in Medford. I want to begin by being very careful in saying that I am in support of funding for the arts, but my remarks may suggest otherwise. It's not true. I've been known to dabble in poetry myself, so that I do support the arts, but my concern is the funding and the compensation. This is one thing I want to say to the people here representing the arts that, um, you've come to the wrong place. Unfortunately, what you ought to do is gather a dozen of you and go up to the, uh, office of the budget director who is at this very moment writing the budget and make sure that she inserts some funding for the arts, make sure that there is a line item there for it. But I also want to pay for it. Uh, the, uh, this city council has no authority to increase the budget, cannot do it and will not do it. However, they do have the authority to compensate for that. If we pay, by the way, Councilor Marks, can you enlighten me on how much the funding was for the arts last year? $15,000, which is a pittance, really. But I think that if you take that $15,000, you ought to, on the other hand, reduce the budget by $15,000. You've got to find a line item where you should do that. at the same time. And otherwise, that funding will come from the people. There are people in this city who are looking for funding for sending their children to college. This money is coming directly from them. We have a $151 million budget. It is excessive. It's going to increase. The budget may increase by another $5 million. We will be up to, say, $156 million or so. This is an increase in taxes. And the taxes all come, eventually, from the people. So if this council wants to help the people of Medford, actually, rather than a fortunate few, Uh, it ought to be very careful about the budget and you've got to find a way to reduce the line items. You've got to do it correctly. You've got to take advice from the solicitor who will tell you exactly how to do it. Make no errors. If you can, you'll be doing a lot of good. We've got a budget director who is a spender, has been a spender all her life. 20 years in service has, has voted for every single tax increase during that time has written budgets that have done that. So if the arts people want more funding and they want to get it directly, you must go to the office of the budget director and ask for it. Make sure that it's in the budget in the first place. Because if it's not in the budget, the council cannot increase it. Thank you very much.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Dr. Stirella. Councilor Knight. No, thank you, Councilor. All set? Yes. Sir, please state your name and address for the record.
[McKillop]: Good evening, my name is David McKillop Sr., 94 Rock Glen Road. I'm just going to give you a perspective from a business point of view. My business, although I live in Medford, resides in Salem, and I'm in a community, a business community, with a city that gets the arts. Just to give you some simple examples, and I want to just elaborate afterwards, is the dead of winter in February, we had the Chocolate Festival. I can tell you that it was a lot of fun. It was an enjoyable time, and a lot of people came on on the weekends to see ice sculptures throughout the entire city. Following that, in March, we had the Poetry, uh, the, uh, Independent Film Festival. Thousands of people showed up to just come to our one theater in Salem to visit and see independent films and vote on their best films. After that, we had the Poetry Festival just this past weekend. The Poetry Festival brought thousands of people into town, rain or shine, it didn't matter. Now, coming up, We have the Jazz Festival. The Jazz Festival brings thousands and thousands of people weekend after weekend into the city of Salem. That's just a small example of what the arts can do in helping business and helping communities. You have $151 million budget. I heard we have $6 million of funny money. I think that you guys are 100% on the right track. One of the things that would concern me as a resident of the city of Medford is that this downtown is now struggling because you're fighting with two monsters, retail spaces, one in Assembly Square and Station Landing, which we happen to have, but the downtown is struggling. And the only way to bring that back is to have the uniqueness of the arts. Because those areas can't do that like a downtown city can do that. So it's got to be done right. It's got to be done craftfully. It's got to be done thoughtfully. I think you have a tremendous amount of volunteers that want to make that happen. And my last note is I think you should double the double. Thank you.
[Jeanne Martin]: This is seed money, and we're talking about $15,000. We're talking about $15,000 in a $150 million budget. This is seed money. And we are going to have a casino to fund things around here pretty soon. We have lottery money. That's dirty money, if you ask me. It's dirty money. This is clean money. This is clean money. This is going to be vibrant, clean money. We thought that the mass lottery was going to save the schools at one time. I remember when it was all like, woo, we're going to have the lottery. It didn't save the schools. This is clean money. I just want to let you people know that this is clean money. And I think it's a great thing. And I think that they should be allowed to have a space. It's $15,000 a year. That's it. Ma'am?
[Sednick]: Hi, I'm Sam Sednick, 181 Kennedy Drive. If you haven't met me, I'm one of your local librarians. And I'm here to support the Med for Arts Council because they have supported us so very, very much. I think someone mentioned that we got eight grants this year. And that goes towards programming for children and teenagers and adults during their vacation times. after school, and I don't really feel like I need to sell this to you. You all sound like you support arts programming pretty much, but just in case you weren't aware, in terms of, as an educator, in the modern era, it's no longer about traditional literacy. It's now about 21st century literacies, that's across the board. You're talking science and technology, arts and visual literacy, information literacy, digital literacy. And as an educator, it's sometimes overwhelming trying to teach and reach out to children on all of these different levels. But the one thing that crosses the board on all literacies is arts education. Studies have shown that children who have access to arts education are four times as likely to have higher academic achievement. They're four times as likely to participate in science and mathematic programs. And they're three times as likely to be elected to class office. And I know there's an election coming up, so if you Councilors would like to try that out for adults as well, you're welcome to try. So what little funding has been given to the Medford Arts Council goes a really long way. In April, we just had a puppet come in and work with children during April vacation. The children learned how to make puppets, they learned how to move puppets, and at the end of April vacation, they put on a puppet show for other children. It was an awesome program, and we couldn't have done it without the Medford Arts Council. They also bond other community groups together. I have a program coming up this Saturday, actually, where the Medford Library and the Medford Family Network are going together with low-income families to the Museum of Fine Arts because of Medford. Arts Council funding. We're getting a special tour of the museum and getting children who don't normally have access to that sort of arts education a real experience that they might not otherwise be able to afford. So thank you so much for considering arts funding. We really appreciate it.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Councilor Caraviello.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. McKillop, can I ask you a question? In the town of Salem, the city hall, is there a department that handles arts?
[McKillop]: Yes, absolutely.
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes, there's a downtown representative that handles the arts. So in the city hall, there is an art department. Well, hopefully, with our new administration coming in, there'll be a little more forward thinking and incorporate that as a new department coming into the city. You are correct. They say if you have an office that goes out there and looks for money, you find money. And number two, the children of this community, I had the chance to work with Sam last year with the literacy program. You people don't know how lucky we are in this community to have Sam. She's transformed that children's department, that library, 1,000%. And I'm looking forward to working with Sam again in a few weeks on our literacy program. Sam, I want to thank you for the great work you've done for the library and the children of Medford.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor Caraviello. Sir, please state your name and address for the record.
[Joe Viglione]: Joseph Villione, 59 Garfield Ave, Medford. Councilor Caraviello and Councilor Marks brought up Springstep. And realistically, can we get sponsorship? Can there be a community organizer who can bring different groups together? This is too good to be something else. I think the Springstep building is very valuable. I think these people coming out here tonight, you never see this at the city council. God bless them. It's so important for people to show up here. And Dr. Stirella, I love what you have to say. And you're right, the budget director is important, but people coming up here and voicing their opinions at the People's Forum, It's the only avenue we have. Springstep, I love the idea. I hope we can all come up with an idea to buy that and let's fund it through sponsorship if the city's not gonna act on it.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Anybody else? So on the motion of Councilor Knight, all those in favor? Roll call has been requested by Councilor Penta. On that motion, one more speaker. Good evening, please state your name and address for the record.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm Sondra DeVita and I live in 67 West Street and I think you should fund them because I like art and music and I know a lot of other people do and it would be nice to have that.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Councilor Knight for approval, roll call vote has been requested. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Camuso? Councilor Caraviello? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Vice President Lungo-Koehn? Yes. Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Penta? Yes. President De La Ruzo?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Yes. A vote of six in the affirmative, one absent. The motion passes. Congratulations. Thank you all for coming tonight, and thank you all for your support and involvement in the community. 15-430, offered by Councilor Penta. Be it resolved that Medford resident, Albert Mussolini,
[Robert Penta]: Mastacusa.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Mastacusa. Be congratulated and conferred with a council citation on the occasion of receiving the country of France's most prestigious honor, that being the Chevalier Medal of the French Legion of Honor.
[Robert Penta]: You want to just, wait a minute, let them.
[Fred Dello Russo]: This prestigious honor being the Chevalier Medal of the French Legion of Honor. This award is in recognition of Mr. Mastercuse's American service during France's liberation during World War II at the invasion of Normandy. This honor places another wonderful distinction for the city of Medford and our veterans who so bravely defended freedom wherever the call. Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: Mr. President, this is part of a triple play of recognition here tonight. Mr. Massachusetts, who was in his 90s, received this award most recently, and he received it by the president of France, who happened to be here, I believe, in the city of Medford. It was established by Napoleon Bonaparte back in 1802, and it was given in recognition of those individuals who were either in the service or they were civilians, as well as soldiers, who participated in the freedom of France. This is the highest decorative award that can be received, that the country of France acknowledges to individuals. And it was originally given to nationals, but for non-nationals, which what Mr. Mastercuser was, is, they subsequently, the country of France subsequently recognized the true value of not only our American soldiers, but all soldiers who came to their defense, especially during World War II. Mr. Massachusetts, as I said, he's in his 90s, and I would hope he'll be able to find some day in the future to come before the council to receive this award. From President Holland, H-O-L-L-A-N-D-E, from France, is the gentleman who gave us this award. Now, to be a chevalier is one of five degrees. It's like a degrees of the award, and I believe And this is the highest level of the award. Also, Mr. President, I think it would be a great accomplishment, again, for the city of Medford to have to boast about in its downstairs office of its Veterans Affairs of another decorative American. Apparently, for some reason or another, this had been lying amiss, gathering some dust, so to speak, and it finally came to the forefront in the country of France. And Mr. Mastercut, he's a very quiet individual, if anybody knows him. And I guess he was overtaken with so much joy and pride, for not only he and his family, but the fact that it's another Medford veteran, it's another Medford citizen who not only received this award, but the nice part about receiving this award, it came from a country, the country of France, who appreciated the fact that our American soldiers went there. And he's receiving this for his involvement in the invasion of Normandy, which we all know what happened in that particular invasion. So with that being said, Mr. President, I would, it's a great honor to put this resolution on the agenda. Um, and hopefully, um, the city clerk can make contact with Mr. Massachusetts and try to find a date that might be reasonable and comfortable for him to come to receive this award.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Counsel Penta. I happened to be here in city hall the day he received the award from the consul general of France here, uh, serving in Boston. And it's fortuitous that you should put this on the agenda this week, because this week marks the 70th anniversary of VE Day, Victory in Europe. It was 70 years ago that the Allied forces finally conquered evil in Europe, and people from Medford and all over the United States stepped up to the plate Rich and poor alike, they came from every walk of life, very much unlike what we see today. And it was just a remarkable thing. And as that generation continues to make their way to their eternal reward, we can be particularly grateful of this Metphedite and so many others who have answered that call to service. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much, and thank you, Councilor Penta, for bringing this resolution forward. I had the pleasure of growing up on the same street as Mr. Massaschusetts' daughter, and I became very close friends with his granddaughters, Colleen and Danielle. And over the years, I remember him coming to visit on the weekends and seeing his car, his long, black car, his Grand Marquis parked out in front of the house with the veterans' plates, and my father explaining to me what those veterans' plates mean. And I can tell you this right now, the country of France has bestowed an award on a gentleman who is certainly deserving. We affectionately called him Pa growing up in the neighborhood, Mr. President. And I can't thank Councilor Penter enough for putting this resolution on. I'm trying to withhold my smile on my face here this evening, because he's certainly a great guy. He sacrificed a tremendous amount for his country, Mr. President. Anytime I've ever met the man, or dealt with the man, or saw the man, he always had a smile on his face, and he was always there. A true family man, Mr. President. So with that being said, I support this resolution wholeheartedly, and thank Councilor Penta for putting it forward. Thank you, Councilor Knight.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor Penta. So on the motion of approval by Councilor Penta, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries. 15-431 offered by Councilor Penta. Be it resolved that Richard Cormier be congratulated with an official City Council citation on being nominated by the 2015 American Ambulance Association to receive a Stars of Life Award. Ricky, as he is known, is a Medford resident who works for Cataldo Ambulance as an EMT since 2007. Ricky's nomination was due to his work in the field and in the dispatch center. Ricky is being recognized for his intense concentration of making sure that his jobs are well executed and that his primary role is to ensure the care for those in need at a time most urgent. Ricky also utilizes his spare time as a city council cameraman who forwards council meetings to both Comcast and Verizon stations for cable casting. Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: Mr. President, this isn't an award that's part of the triple play tonight. This is an award that's not given out lightly. This is taken on a nationwide basis as it relates to people in this particular service, ambulatory service, for which they get involved in. He's recognized for his dedication, as we all know, for his ambulance service as a professional on the job and off the job. And this is an honor that goes to an individual as part of a thank you from the American Automobile, I mean, American, excuse me, Ambulatory Association for the service that this gentleman has done as well. And it also is to applaud individuals who set examples for people in their own profession. It's a way for the outside world to understand what an ambulance driver, an EMT, was all about. It goes to paramedics, EMTs, dispatchers, customer service reps, and other operators, personnel are eligible for this nomination. But he was single-handedly chosen out to receive this nomination for both his work in and off the field. And he's well respected. He's experienced. And he volunteers his time, as he has in the past, on weekends and late evenings. for those individuals that he works with that just can't do it. I just think it would be nice to know that we have, once again, another employee here in the city, another resident of our city, who does our community proud. As a matter of fact, I believe in 2014, he was the representative of Cataldo Ambulance, who he's been with since 2007, I believe. He is the 2014 representative in the Boston Marathon that he ran. So I know he's a very shy individual. Well, no, no. I want him to come out next week. So Mr. Finkem have a per official citation for him and we can give it to him and maybe we can see him smile and that'll be very helpful.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. All those in favor. Oh, Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Madam President. I just want to echo my Councilor's comments. Over the last few years, I got to know Rich real well. And you couldn't meet a more professional, kind, young gentleman. And this is really an honor that's bestowed, as Councilor Penton mentioned, on very few. And to have such a recipient that actually walks among us, I think, is a great honor for this community, Madam President. And I look forward to next week when he wears a tie and a suit coat and comes up to the podium and accepts his award, Madam President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Great honor. Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: I negated to say that this Stars of Life Award is a celebration that takes place between all the ambulatory companies throughout the country. It's a national recognition. So this isn't local, this isn't state, this is a national recognition, which even brings more honor and more distinction. And I don't think he could have no more too proud of parents than his mother and father, who are very proud of the situation, having a son such as Ricky bring them honor and a great show of, how can you say, encouragement to the city of Medford, letting people know that we do have so many good people who receive so many honors for the work that they do that you just never hear about. So with that being said, looking forward to seeing you, Ricky, next week sometime.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So on the motion of approved by Councilor Penter, all those in, oh, Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. Ricky, congratulations. I know you're in the camera closet watching. I have a special request for Mr. Comia, Mr. President, and that's, that when he appears before the council to accept his citation, that he wear his star of life around his neck here so he can show it off a little bit to the residents of Medford as well as the members of the council.
[Fred Dello Russo]: And his fancy uniform. Congratulations. So on the motion of approval by Council Penter, all those in favor? All those opposed? Motion passes. Petitions, presentations, and similar 015-432 offered by Councilor Penta be resolved that the credit bridge information forwarded to the mayor on February 24th and having been a council topic for wanting the department of transportation to appear before the council for further explanations be addressed for immediate action. Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: Mr. President, today I spoke to our city clerk as it relates to the letter that was sent. Well, a copy was sent to you as well as other department heads as well as the mayor on February 24th. At that meeting that we had subsequent to the 24th, I believe the city clerk made a phone call on the number that was addressed in the letter to secure information as to when they would come, or if they would come, let's put it that way. And I believe in my conversation with the clerk today, he said he had not heard back, but he had made contact with them, and they were aware of what we were looking for. He made a phone call today, and he's waiting for them to get back to you. Would that be reasonable enough to say? The letter of information that was sent to us was on February 24th, and I don't know how much longer it's going to take, to be honest with you. The bids were solicited on February 18th of this year. Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highway Division is currently in the process of certifying the lowest bidder. I don't know how long it takes from February 18th to March 18th to April 18th, almost up to May 18th. Maybe government moves slow, but that's probably the slowest I've ever seen it. There's a whole host of questions and issues here, Mr. President. As you said, you don't remember receiving this, and that's okay. But our mayor did receive it. Our three state representatives did receive it. Our acting building commissioner received it. Our city engineer received it. But the one person that didn't receive it was the Office of Community Development, who was a direct part in all of this. And I don't understand. how that office was negated from being on here. And I don't understand what the mayor's problem and not responding back as to what might be going on. This Craddock Bridge is an integral part as to what's happening in Medford Square. And the fact of the matter is that we've been talking about this thing, I think, dating back to 2007, if I think. I think the very first resolution on the Craddock Bridge is owned by Councilor Lungo-Koehn going back to 2004 regarding the safety of the bridge on a question that was brought up. And she then forwarded that to the council as part of a resolution. And subsequent to that, it's been resolution after resolution and after resolution. And if this bridge was in such terrible disrepair, and if it was sinking and afraid to come apart and crumbling, we wouldn't even be talking about this right now, because it would be done. We're not asking for a $13 million bridge that the state wants to put together. It's sitting on solid granite that's been there in excess of 100 years. We're just looking for a bridge that can handle traversing traffic. That's all. We're not looking for a state of the art, mausoleum type of a bridge that we can say, oh, wow. And that's how the state gets itself in trouble, especially with spending its money without looking at the simple characteristic of putting a bridge, putting a roadway back together to let the cars go through. And if the locks have a problem that need to be resolved, then address it as a separate issue or a joint issue at the same time. But to have this thing go out that started off as a $2.5 million, then it went up to $14 million, now it's back to $11 million, then it goes up to $12 million, Even they don't even know what's going on in the state, because we don't even know what the state is going to cost in real time when they begin to do it. And then when they're talking about it's going to be done within 1,300 calendar days from the receipt of the notice to proceed, well, that's an awful lot of time, 1,300 calendar days. And even if you split that in half, because they work double time or whatever it might be, that's over 650 days. I mean, there's got to be an explanation that's better. They could do fast 14. in 12 weekends during the course of a summer, then they could make a bridge that could be working for the Craddock Bridge, build it ahead of time, and come in maybe in a week's period of time or in a couple weeks to do it. You know, I'm just disappointed in our city engineer not even responding back to us on this. I'm also disappointed the Office of Community Development, knowing now that they were excluded from it, has not stuck their two cents in there to find out why were they excluded. And deeply disappointed because the mayor, he doesn't respond to anything with us. So that's a given. This whole issue has been predicated on the council's involvement on this particular matter. We're looking for mitigation. We have absolutely no concern from anybody as it relates to this issue of mitigation. If the mayor was the mayor, he'd be out there fighting tooth and nail that before this bid goes out, there'd be some form of mitigation for any sense of disruption that may takes place here in the city of Medford. I don't know where we're going, Mr. President, but all I can tell you is this, and I'm not looking into a crystal ball, but maybe I am. If the mayor leaves before this term is over and you assume the position of mayor of this city, because that's what the charter says, then I would expect you to have a decision before this council immediately as to time, date, place, and mitigation of this bridge, because you've been just as much a part of this as anyone else has been. You've been aware of this just as much as anyone else has been. And if you do the same thing that the guy in the corner office has done by not communicating, then the shame is going to be on you. And I would hope that that does not rest on your shoulders, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you very much for that kind admonition and vote of confidence, Councilor Penta. May I take this opportunity to share with you an invitation offered to you by Paul Steadman, Acting District Highway Director, District 4, Arlington, 519 Appleton Street, to join a presentation tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. to announce and introduce the contractor of this project and to have some minor details presented publicly on this project. I've been in touch with Mr. Steadman and have asked him to present to the council. They're putting together a presentation with the contractor that will be given to the pertinent department heads in the city administration. If I happen to be the administrator at that time, you can rest assured you'd be invited to that meeting and that they'd be before the city council too. But as it is right now, I am not, nor do I foresee that happening. But in any event, the invitation is open to you for tomorrow to be present at that unveiling.
[Robert Penta]: Can I ask you a question?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Yes, if you would.
[Robert Penta]: Yes, the question is, when did you find out about this?
[Fred Dello Russo]: This, I think I found out about it yesterday.
[Robert Penta]: Yesterday, and you're bringing it to the council tonight, and you expect me by 10 o'clock tomorrow morning, for which I already have another engagement, to be there. I mean, why didn't Mr. Stedman just call the council? Why didn't he call the clerk? He had been speaking to the clerk.
[Fred Dello Russo]: I don't have the answer to that. But we are working on setting something up, and hopefully we'll have them here soon.
[Robert Penta]: The President Well, I didn't make my comment facetiously about you becoming the mayor, because the word is out that the mayor is leaving before his term expires, whether it's rumor or what have you. So I'm just telling you right up front, on any of these big issues, Mr. President, if, in fact, you do become the mayor of this community under the charter, I would hope a lot of these issues — a lot of these issues that are out there — you will address in a much better fashion than he.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Actually, Councilor President, I wanted to share that same information that you shared with Councilor Penter. I spoke with Mr. Steadman's office early last week and I too was extended an invitation to attend the meeting. However, I too am unable to go tomorrow at 10 o'clock in the morning. With that being said, I have had some conversations with a gentleman named Paul King, who also is heading up the project and working on the project to address some concerns that I have, Mr. President. But with that being said, that's just a side note. I just wanted to be sure Councilor Penta was aware that the meeting was going on tomorrow.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor Knight. Councilor Caraviello.
[Richard Caraviello]: Could you repeat that information again?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Tomorrow morning.
[Richard Caraviello]: 10 o'clock.
[Fred Dello Russo]: 10 o'clock. I think it's called District 4 in Arlington at number 519 Appleton Street. I'm afraid I don't know. It's right off of Cho. Was that the building right off of route two by St. Kimball's church?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes. Am I, am I invited to go or can I show up or?
[Robert Penta]: You can go as my, you can go as my representative.
[Richard Caraviello]: Okay. Am I authorized to depute you as the council president as the representative of the Medford city council? So I am allowed to go out. If I go, I won't be out of place, correct?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Not at all.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President.
[Robert Penta]: I don't think any person, even a citizen would be out of place.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Not at all. I think it's a public event. Yeah. So on motion of Council Penta for approval. What's the approval of receiving place on file?
[Robert Penta]: No, no, no, no. I want to keep this open. I want to know where we're going with this. So I'd like to lay this on the table until we find out further information on motion to table by Council Penta.
[Fred Dello Russo]: All those in favor. All those opposed. The matter is tabled petitions, presentations, and similar matters. 15-four 33 petition by mystic cab company, four Oh seven rear mystic Avenue, uh, suite, uh, 34 B to exchange the following two cabs license plates. Do we need the, uh, petitioner present for this?
[Richard Caraviello]: I think so. Is he here?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Is Mr. Cab here?
[Richard Caraviello]: Uh, Mr. President, I'll request that this will be tabled until he shows up.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Councilor Caraviello to table the matter, uh, until the petitioner shows up. All those in favor. All those opposed. The motion is tabled. 15-434, petition by Mr. Joseph Viglione, 59 Garfield Avenue, Medford, to discuss Media Center. Sir, please state your name and address for the record.
[Joe Viglione]: Good evening. Joe Viglione, 59 Garfield. Three years ago, I came up to the city council when the mayor was looking for a new cable advisory committee. And it was March of 2011, and I discussed bringing it to the Chevalier Theater. Now, through the great work of Fred Lasky and even Father Chip Hines, we actually went to the Chevalier Theater. There is a room up on the second floor. The room could house equipment that we could purchase or equipment that we already own. But a very key thing here, last week we found out that there's no air conditioner at the Chevalier. What a wonderful synergy to bring some of the money that we have for public access. And if the public access is at the Chevalier, we can either loan them the money, one city entity loaning another city entity the money for air conditioning system, and have shows all summer. This is so important, it's vital. The idea of Springstep that these gentlemen brought up, if you had Springstep and you had the TV station at the Chevalier, or even that beautiful, some of the people here were at the DPW this Sunday. What a magnificent building. Now there's room in there to put a radio station, a TV station. I could build these things for this city within less than a week. Give me three days, we'd have stuff up and running. It's essential that we look at what we have in Medford and what we're not doing with it. We are not doing anything with the Chevalier Theater. Nothing. It just needs to be revitalized in an action way. It's a beautiful building. It doesn't have to be revitalized in that way. It needs an air conditioner. The public access money is sitting there. And if indeed the council president becomes the mayor, I submit to him tonight that this would be a very wise decision. It would do much for him and this community to bring an air conditioner to the Chevalier, hopefully bring the TV station to the Chevalier. We have 181 days left to November 3rd. Without this TV station, we were promised, every politician in Medford, every elected official is at a disadvantage. Come August 1st, it'll be 94 days. Come October 1st, it'll be 33 days. And will we have an access TV station for each candidate to go up there and give their platform to inform the citizens of Medford? I will help this community build a station. My first choice is the Chevalier Theatre. I hope that the City Council will work with me so that we can achieve this in the next two weeks. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: No letter, Speaker.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Madam Citizen.
[Jeanne Martin]: Thank you. Gene Martington, Cumming Street. I'd just like to, now that we have a new mayor, or we're gonna have a new mayor, we don't necessarily have to take the half a loaf of bread that we were gonna take and put the station up at the Volk. It's not a bad idea to put it up at the Volk, but if it is gonna be a community station, then putting it in a centralized location in Medford Square might be something we need to think about, because it could revitalize, be part of the machine that revitalizes the square. The other thing is that there is supposed to be a high school station because 3% goes to the city, 1% goes to access, and the other half or something like that is supposed to provide.
[Robert Penta]: 50%, 50-50, 50 for police and fire, 50 for education.
[Jeanne Martin]: Yeah, so they're supposed to already get money to put up a station anyway.
[Robert Penta]: Not a station.
[Jeanne Martin]: Oh, not a station. Oh, I take that back. So, but it might be, I'm not, I'm not suggesting that we have to do it one way or the other, but it's something to rethink about. Thank you.
[Robert Penta]: Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Ms. Martin, uh, councilor Pinto.
[Robert Penta]: I think what Mr. Vigliano presents is a reasonable proposal. Also, what I heard tonight was kind of like reasonable as well, too, when they talked about the library and I think councilor Caraviello was probably on mark with that. There are two pretty central locations here in the city of Medford. The one interesting part about the library, if I remember correctly, this is history, and going back, I believe the building can withstand the addition of a top floor to the building, or there's a section in the building that you could go up and add another section to it. But the availability of Shavire Auditorium being right there and satelliting with another location for the purposes of transmission and studios and everything else like that, It presents a great idea. And I like the idea. I never even thought of it. I shouldn't have thought of it. I wasn't even thinking of the air conditioning. One agency or one division can loan the other people to a division to get the money for whatever it might be. Representative Donato has been very successful in Beacon Hill in getting money for the chairs. And maybe he can get some success in getting money for the air conditioning for the building or for a partial air conditioning for the building. But the sad part to all of this whole story It's going to take place tomorrow at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, because we have what they call an ascertainment hearing at 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Excuse me, Thursday afternoon. Excuse me, Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock. And the sad part about having this ascertainment hearing on Thursday at 2 o'clock is the contract with Comcast has already come to an end. So technically, we're actually working with them as a tenant at will. This ascertainment hearing should have taken place at minimum six months to a year prior to the contract closing. So what's going to be accomplished at this hearing is not going to make any sense at all. But the only sense that it will make is for people to come and tell them why you don't like what you're getting, whether the folks at Comcast are rude or they're not rude, whether the fees are too high, whether the channels should be a la carte or individual, or whether the programming should have a whole different type of an appetite, and to show what comparisons might be between Verizon and Comcast. As a matter of fact, Comcast has been voted the worst corporation in the country for customer services on the national agenda. And our mayor was one of 52 who wrote letters to the Federal Trade Commission for the purposes of allowing Comcast to be bought into this merger with Time Warner, thankfully that they did not allow because they felt that the corporate conglomerate would just destroy this whole idea. not only of public access, but for televising, what do you call it, bandwidth and broadband. So these are all technical things that are beyond my imagination for understanding, but all I know is having an understanding. But when they turn around and put a picture of our present mayor on a story with other mayors saying that he was a shill for Comcast, and he was a shill, and they went down to explain that the reason is because on an annual basis, got $10,000 a year for a celebration committee, got $2,500 each and every year for his golf tournament. And when you start thinking about that and you hear people talk about it, they're saying, wait a minute, we're not paying. I'm not paying my cable bill so he can have a golf tournament every year. I'm not paying my cable bill so he can have a celebration committee. And that's a cost that's built right in to everyone's cable fee. Comcast isn't giving this for nothing. They know what the cost is to give out those perks to those 52 mayors who signed on and were termed shills for Comcast. That's a hell of a way to go out of office, being known that you were shill, leaving the city all upside down with these crazy meters in the square, and God knows what else is going to happen. The fact of the matter is, We have a terrible contract here with Comcast, and nothing should be signed until a new mayor comes on board. So if we have to stay on as nothing more than a tenant, so be it. I'm going to ask that this council make a request that the mayor does not sign any new 10-year contract with Comcast and until a new administration comes on board. Isn't it interesting? They took the same thing when they were trying to hire a new public works director. They went through the whole process, and then they decided to stop. Let the new mayor come in. Let the new mayor hire that person. Well, we have enough 10-year contracts to deal with. We have a rubbish contract that I believe was in its seventh year, and it was re-upped for another 10 years when they renewed it. We have a stupid kiosk program that's a 10-year contract. And we have a contract right now that's not in operation, which is the tail end of a Comcast contract, which is all over, it's expired. So if we have to sit around and being tenants at will, so be it, so to speak. But I don't think the mayor should do anything, anything, to indulge this community into another 10-year contract without having a say, and especially not having a public hearing in advance before any contract negotiation took place. So I move that resolution, Mr. President, that the Medford City Council go on record and respectfully request the mayor not to engage and not to sign any contract with Comcast. Until there's a new mayor. Until a new mayor is sworn in.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On that motion, Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, I believe we did pass a resolution on 324.15, as I look at my resolution tracking sheet, paper number 15306, asking the mayor do not sign a 10-year Comcast contract. I'm not sure how this paper would differ from the paper that was previously passed. Is it so that he doesn't sign any contract? He doesn't negotiate into any contract at all? You know, I question the body's ability to take away powers of the executive. There's a separation of powers. The executive has certain powers in the community. We can make recommendations all we want. I think we've done that. I think we've expressed to him that we want a member on the negotiating committee, a member of this committee on the negotiating committee. I think that was part of the resolution, paper 15306. So I guess my question is, how does this paper differ from the paper that was passed previously?
[Robert Penta]: The difference between this paper and that one, we now are dealing with a contract that's expired. Number one, we're dealing with the national attainment hearing that's taking place this Thursday that should have come before the fact, and it's now coming after the fact. What the mayor intends to accomplish by doing this, and it was this council that voted 7 to 11 to have that hearing take place at 6, 630 at night to allow taxpayers who couldn't have an opportunity to come at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. We're now dealing with a contract that's already been—that's expired. You are talking about a contract that was still in operation. Now, with no contract, and having no direction from the mayor, this is a respectful request that he does not sign any contract with Comcast until on and after a new mayor has been sworn in.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, I don't see how this paper is really much different than the last one that was filed then, and I question the council's ability to actually take a power away from the executive branch. You know, I certainly think that a 10-year contract is bad. I certainly think that in the future as we start negotiating these municipal contracts, that a member of the council should be included in the participation in the discussions, Mr. President, for the simple fact that we can avoid situations like this, where we have a conflicted council, a council that's in blatant disagreement with the length of the term of the contract, and an administration that doesn't feel as though that's quite the case. They think a tenure contract might be in the best interest of the community. With that being said, Mr. President, you know, do we have the authority to tell the man that he doesn't have the right to perform the essential functions of his job before he leaves? I don't think we do.
[Robert Penta]: Well, point of further information, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Point of further information, Council Penta.
[Robert Penta]: Council Knight just included a resolve that was passed earlier this year, which I'm assuming he voted for. And now he's trying to say, what right do we have to interfere? Well, the mayor has already acknowledged it by noting that he's not going to hire a new Department of Public Works director at $120,000 plus a year. And he's letting that go. He's already set the channels in one particular direction on an appointment. Did the council receive a paper to that effect? Pardon me? Did the Council receive a paper to that? I think if you speak to the, um, um, um, what's her name downstairs? I can't think of her name. Mrs. Miller. She'll tell you that that's what the city has done.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. Again, Mr. President, if it were up to me, they'd fill the DPW director's job yesterday so we can start getting these broken roads repaired. We can start looking at doing a major overhaul of our streets. We can start looking at whether or not a citywide resurfacing plan is necessary and required, which we all know it is. We can start digging up our emergency arteries, and we can start actually moving Medford forward, Mr. President. So with that being said, You know, I just question whether or not, you know, this resolution's going to meet its purpose. I question whether or not we actually have the right to take the powers away from the executive. You know, we can ask that the mayor not do it, but to demand it or to require it, I don't think is within our scope.
[Robert Penta]: I think if you heard my question, it was respectfully request. That was the term.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good.
[Robert Penta]: Would the clerk please read back the language?
[Clerk]: I do have a respectful request. Yeah, can you read the question?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Move the question. Questions moved. Two Councilors wish to speak. Councilor Marks. You're all set, Councilor Knight. Yes. Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. And I, for one, and I don't think my other colleagues are saying that we're going to try to circumvent the mayor's powers. We know under the city charter, he has the authority to sign contracts. I think what we're saying is common sense should prevail that the mayor is going to be leaving in several months. And I don't think anyone should have the ability to strap their predecessor in for a 10-year contract. And, you know, that's where I stand on the issue. Regarding the ascertainment hearing, Councilor Penta has been bringing this up week after week, along with other citizens. But we did vote to move this to 6 p.m., which the mayor denied. So, residents in the community, people that have a full-time job and can't make a two in the afternoon meeting here at City Hall would be able to attend. There's two points that I wanted to bring up. The first one is the connectivity that we've been talking about before this council for, it's gotta be at least 10 years now, on Riverside Avenue Square. There's a number of businesses on there that can't get internet access. Why is that? In this day and age, why do you have a section of your downtown business district that doesn't have access to the internet? It just boggles my mind. That would be the first thing that, if I was signing the contract, that I would make sure whatever hurdles they have to jump over, that they're going to jump over to make sure everyone has access in that particular square. It was also brought to my attention just recently, Mr. President, and I was unaware of this, but apparently Comcast offers a number of different services in addition to cable. They offer security and fire alarm systems also. And it was brought to my attention as they refer to the life safety systems, that Massachusetts has a lot of rules and regulations that govern the life safety systems. And the rules are clear. In Massachusetts, all life safety system companies and their technicians must be licensed. Every system they install must be inspected for code compliance by local authorities. Earning a license takes years of education and training. Maintaining a license requires continuing education to keep up with the latest technologies and building codes. Furthermore, every employee of the security system company in Massachusetts has to pass a CORI criminal background check and obtain a state public safety certification of clearance every two years. Comcast has disregarded these laws, Mr. President. Apparently, there is a legal battle going on right now, but needless to say, This should be a question that should be asked by whoever's signing the contract, and in our case, it's the mayor, on behalf of the residents. If I'm a resident and I'm just looking through trying to get someone to provide a security system or a fire alarm in my house, I just look through and possibly, because I'm already doing business with Comcast, I would select them. I would not be aware that they don't cover the proper licenses, that their employees aren't checked with the CORI, criminal background check, and a host of other issues that are brought up, Mr. President. And I think it's only appropriate that that be one of the questions, the connectivity issue and the question regarding their life safety systems, why they don't comply to state statute, which requires their workers to be CORI checked and also to maintain compliance with local authorities. And I would ask that that be part of the hearing on Thursday. I, like other members of the council, I'm not sure if I can get there. I work in town. Two o'clock in the afternoon, that's why we asked to change it to six. It's difficult. And this is a very important issue. This impacts everyone in the community, whether you have Comcast or Verizon. Every person in the community is paying these high rates, Mr. President. And as was mentioned by, I think it was Councilor Penta, the service you receive is lackluster. And honestly, you know, they corner the market in this system. You can get a disc on your house, one of those dishes, if you don't mind your house looking like a satellite. I offered an ordinance back, I think it's got to be four years now, to regulate, maybe five years, to regulate the disc on the homes. And to regulate the disc don't go on the front of the homes. And when discs are no longer used, like my neighbor across the street has three of them on the front of the home. It's a rental property. They no longer, they have Comcast now. They no longer use the dishes, but you still have the wires that are running to these dishes. It's just an eyesore. There's no regulations on it as far as I know. And I think it's only appropriate that these are the questions that we should be asking in this community. The dish is a different thing than Comcast. I would ask that those be introduced, uh, Mr. President, uh, at the ascertainment hearing on Thursday.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So on the motion of Councilor Penta amended by Councilor Marks council care of yellow. Thank you, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Um, I don't recall, but I remember that we asked the solicitor for an opinion, um, on whether the mayor has the ability to resign another 10 year contract. I don't recall us getting an opinion back from the city solicitor on that.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Somehow under the opinion that we did. But I may be mistaken.
[Richard Caraviello]: I don't recall seeing them, Mr. President. On the kiosk, but I think we asked if that 10-year contract needed us to give him the okay, or was it a grandfather thing, did he get to keep on doing it? And I don't recall getting that opinion back from the solicitor.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Point of clarification, Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: The idea of having the ascertainment hearing, if it was done ahead of time, would have presented the fact that, under the way the city of Medfords has been operating, the issuing authority has been the mayor. But if the ascertainment hearing showed enough interest that the issuing authority be the legislative body, the council, OK, that would be the time for the purposes of the renegotiation. That's the whole idea of having that type of a hearing well in advance, not after the fact, because the cat's already out of the bag.
[Richard Caraviello]: I for one was planning on attending, conflicts with another meeting I have up at the state.
[Robert Penta]: I just think it's unfair because we had asked respectfully that the meeting take place at night. So residents who had a complaint could, or even a compliment could have come and had an opportunity to speak. But now who's going to come at two in the afternoon?
[Michael Marks]: Councilor Cavill, you're all set. I'm all set Mr. President. Councilor Marks. Just briefly, I think the issue was when the mayor's parking plan was presented to us, we were told by state statute, anything over three years, required a vote of the council that allowed the mayor to enter into a contract over three years. Now, this is a renewal of a contract, as the clerk just said, that's been around for 30-something years. I think the question that we posed to the city solicitor was, does a renewal of a contract have any difference under the eyes of the state statute? I'm not sure what the answer is, and I thought that's what we asked the city solicitor. The question is different.
[Unidentified]: We're not in a renewal process because we're not renewing
[Robert Penta]: We're not renewing something before the deadline. The deadline has now come and gone, so there is no contract. There is no renewal. This is like writing a brand new contract. There's no grace period in here.
[Fred Dello Russo]: May I suggest that we amend this to request a clarification from the city solicitor? Councilor Knight?
[Adam Knight]: In looking through my records here, Mr. President, I see paper 15-306, the paper that I referred to earlier. As we deliberated, I believe this was the meeting where we may have taking a recess? No, that was in the kiosk, actually. We didn't take a recess. But we did craft some language here. And in looking at the language that we have here, it says, be it resolved that the mayor not enter into a contract or any other agreement until the public hearing is conducted. That was the language. That was the language that we approved. The public hearing will be conducted on Thursday. I personally have no problem supporting a resolution requesting that the mayor not enter into any contract that's 10 years in length after the hearing is conducted. You know, and I still do have, I think Councilor Caraviello raises a good concern as to whether or not that 10-year still remains in effect. So, you know, with that being said, Mr. President, after going through the meeting minutes here, um, you know, it clearly said that the council voted to, um, you know, recommend that the mayor not sign any contract until the hearing is conducted. The hearing going to be conducted this week. Thereafter, we're going to have to be in a situation where he's either going to sign a contract or he's not. And the council is not going to be on record advising him one way or the other. Um, with that being said, you know, councilor Penter, I stand corrected. I took a look at the minutes in the old resolution that was in there. And in my review of it, it clearly says that until a public hearing is conducted, the council is recommended that the man on enter into the contract. So with that being said, the difference would be the hearing is going to take place. When the hearing takes place, the council hasn't recommended any action thereafter. So with that being said, Mr. President, um, I certainly wouldn't have a problem supporting this resolution as, um, recited by the clerk.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good. So on the motion of Councilor Penta as amended by Councilors marks, And council Caraviello requesting the city solicitor report back to us on the propriety of this by the next meeting on the propriety of the action of the 10 year contract as opposed to the three year contract.
[Robert Penta]: No, I'm not talking about three and that's not my resolution.
[Clerk]: I'm saying if they granted, You need to know if they had granted this prior before. I get a word, so it's such that you, that does the mayor now have the authority to entertain, go into a 10-year agreement?
[Robert Penta]: No, I think the contract is simple. If the contract has already expired as of April 20th, there is no contract.
[Clerk]: Yeah, but either way, it doesn't matter. It's still the 10-year that you're concerned with no more than anyways.
[Robert Penta]: can you just read read the resolution before you get to the amendments and then we'll just take them when I'm you're getting me confused with all these what's the resolution say started off the main opinion from the city solicitor on their
[Clerk]: If he can enter a 10-year agreement.
[Robert Penta]: That would be a separate resolution. That was an amendment. That's the amendment, it's not the resolution. Can you read the resolution before it's amended? That the mayor respectfully request the mayor. That's an amendment. No, that's the resolution.
[Fred Dello Russo]: The main resolution.
[Clerk]: There was a petition to speak. That's your amendment to his petition.
[Fred Dello Russo]: No. So, so the amendment then comes from councilor, uh, so that the motion then was crafted by councilor Penta that the mayor respectfully request the mayor respectfully request the city council requests respectfully request that the mayor is right.
[Robert Penta]: And then it's amended with the following. Okay. Roll call.
[Clerk]: Has one on the, uh, home security scoring check program.
[Robert Penta]: and the connectivity.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So on that motion, Mr. Citizen.
[Joe Viglione]: Thank you very much. Just very briefly, I would ask that every councilor that can't make the hearing, please write a letter. So if Councilor Marks could write a letter through the chair to Comcast and explain to them his concerns, especially about the, I didn't know that about when they install those systems, that's very important. The other second point is I was in Haines Square today going business to business. No one knew about the ascertainment hearing. They were outraged. One woman was wanting to be there and said, you know, two o'clock, I can't do it. So, and one business told me that he's going with T-Mobile. He's got a great deal. And as Councilor Penta brought up the new technologies, there you go. So, no one's been alerted. I would say the mayor should really hold off for another two weeks, have it at 630 at night. The citizens don't know about this. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval, all those in favor? Roll call vote has been requested. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Camuso? Councilor Caraviello? Councilor Knight? Yes. Vice President Lowell-Kern? Yes. Councilor Marx? Yes. Councilor Patu? Yes. President Dello Russo? Yes. On the vote of six in the affirmative, one absent.
[Fred Dello Russo]: The motion carries. Now that we've finished the regular part of the agenda, we're gonna take papers in the hand of the city clerk. We have two here that are related. One offered by Councilors Knight, Camuso, and Caraviello. The other offered by myself, President Dello Russo. Be it resolved that the Medford City Council offer its deep and sincere condolences to the family of a longtime Medford High School athletic director, Jack Regan, on his recent passing. Mr. Regan was a phys ed teacher athletic director of Medford High, great football player, and veteran of the Korean War. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. My father, having served as an educator in the city of Somerville for nearly 40 years, and the athletic director at Somerville High School for about 20 of those years, developed a strong relationship with Jack Regan when he was here at the city of Medford. Through that relationship, I too became friendly with Jack, and I really enjoyed the time that I got to spend with him. He was a mentor, he was a strict disciplinarian, and he was also an all-around great guy, Mr. President. And he will be sadly missed. After his retirement, I had the opportunity and pleasure to see him socially, as opposed to in the military setting of Medford High School. And in these dealings with him, I found him to be a well-rounded, down-to-earth gentleman. who will be sadly missed. He raised a beautiful family. He has a beautiful, he leaves a beautiful bride, Mr. President. He will be missed. So I'd like to express my deepest consolences to the family.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So if we would all rise for a moment of silence for Jack Regan. Offered by Vice President Lungo-Koehn, be it resolved that the Medford City Council request that the Medford School Committee expand and implement the DARE program to the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Madam Vice President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. I was lucky enough to be able to attend most of the meeting that was held at the Medford High School on last Thursday. It was the Medford School Committee, administrators, somebody from Marion Ryan's office. What's her name? Marion Ryan. Yes. What is it? The DA. The DA, yes. OK. Sorry. Members of a number of principals. I'm blanking on a few of the organization's names. It was a great group of people, the chief of police, the DARE officer, Officer O'Keefe, a number of Medford police officers were in attendance, Penny and Brooke from Team Medford. And at that time, we were informed, just like the city council had their meeting. We were informed, we were given statistics, and it was based around prevention within the schools. We listened to representatives from the high school and the middle schools with regards to what programming there is within the schools, what is done, not necessarily all about prevention, but what positive influences are in the high school and what's done to steer children away, teenagers away from drugs. And I thought it was very important. I was able to stay for almost two hours. I did have to go because I had to relieve a babysitter. So I'm not exactly sure how the meeting ended, but one thing I did take away from it, and I'm not sure if the school committee, you know, talked about it further, was, you know, the fact that DARE program, the DARE program was in fifth grade, sixth, seventh, and eighth in the past, as well as the high school. When funding got tight, the DARE program was eliminated from the sixth, seventh, eighth, and the high school. Now, I'm not going to put words in the chief of police's mouth, but to me it seems very much so that he thinks, especially in the middle school, children would benefit from the DARE program. I'm a true believer in the program. I've been a product of it. I believe that it teaches against peer pressure how to resolve conflict, how to stay away from drugs, alcohol. I think it's something that is needed in the middle school. And whether that's the DARE program or there are new programs out there, I think we need something in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. I think the fifth grade, it's a great base. It's a great program. It's definitely, definitely needed. But I think we need to expand that, and I think we need to grab the minds of the sixth, seventh, and eighth graders and somehow push prevention, drug prevention, on them in a positive way from mentors, whether that's police officers or teachers. I truly think that something is needed in the middle school. So I would just ask, whether it be the DEA program or another program, that something is implemented September 1. to teach drug and alcohol prevention within our middle school.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So on the motion of approval by vice president Lago-Curran, councilman Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much and thank you, councilman Lago, for bringing this resolution forward. It's very interesting. The district attorney's report on opiate abuse came out and some of the statistics in there were staggering. The average age of those afflicted by opiate and heroin abuse is 45 years of age. The number one community in Middlesex County that's suffering the most per capita is the community of Redding, a very wealthy and affluent community, Mr. President. And I think that it's also important to point out that nearly 100 percent of the individuals in Middlesex County that were categorized in this study were Caucasian. It's very interesting to see the demographic breakdown, and I think that that's very important data, Mr. President. The council has heard from the Board of Health on a number of issues. We've heard from the Board of Health on a resolution that they're going to be putting forward before this. I mean, I'm sorry, an ordinance that they're going to be putting forward to this council for review and approval that would be related to substance abuse, Mr. President. And as an amendment to this resolution, which I wholeheartedly support, I would ask that we get a request, an update from the Board of Health on that ordinance as to what direction we're going in with that ordinance, where we are in the process, and why it hasn't been presented to this council for approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Vice President Lou Kern, seconded by Councilor Knight, all those in favor? Roll call has been requested. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll. Yes. Yes. In the vote of six in the affirmative, one absent, the motion passes. Offered by Councilor Marks. Be it resolved that the Medford City Council recognize the Medford Middle School's String Ensemble for winning its fourth gold medal at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Chorus Conductors Association Band and Orchestra Concert Festival. Very nice, Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. The Middle School String Ensemble has really had a large impact on the concert festivals throughout Massachusetts. This particular one is held in six cities across Massachusetts, with approximately 160 instrumental ensembles participating. This is the fifth year that they've medaled. They have four gold medals and one silver medal. And it's all been under the direction of Sophia Chang, who has done a tremendous job with these youngsters in getting the proper string equipment and also organizing the buses and organizing the students to participate in these particular festivals. I would ask that the city clerk put together some council accommodations for the entire Method Middle School String Ensemble and that they receive citations at a future upcoming meeting. Mr. President, congratulating on them, congratulating them for their fine efforts in this field.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor Marks. Very good. So on the motion of approval by Councilor Marks, Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, I'd just like to thank Councilor Marks for bringing this resolution forward. I think it's very important that we recognize the successes of individuals and of groups in our community. I think that, you know, this resolution is a perfect segue into what we opened our meeting with this evening. It shows that the work of the Arts Council is paying off at the highest levels. We have our middle school string ensemble here getting high accolades, Mr. President. So that just shows what a commitment of the arts can do for the kids in our community, as well as the business and economic drivers. So with that being said, I too would wholeheartedly second the approval of this motion.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good. So on that motion, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries. Offered by Councilor Marks, be it resolved that the Medford City Council recognize the Medford Community Coalition for organizing a cleanup of Medford Square on Saturday, April 25th. Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. On Saturday, April 25th, I had the opportunity to go down and lend a hand to cleaning up the square. It was myself, Councilor Penta was there, and he wheels a big broom, let me tell you. This guy, I've never seen someone with a big broom like him. He gets around, he did a lot of sweeping in the downtown area, The cleanup, there was roughly 60 volunteers organized by Medford Community Coalition. We collected over 100 trash bags of trash and recyclables, Mr. President. The cleanup included Riverway Path, the library grounds, bus stops throughout the square, parking lots, and they also planted a number of pansies around the square area with soil donated by school committeeman Falco. I know School Community Woman Paulette Van der Kloot was there also. And like I said, a number of volunteers. If anyone wants to get active, this particular group, the Method Coalition, Community Coalition, is really involved. They have a number of events set up over the next several months. You can visit facebook.com backslash methodcoalition or you can email them at methodcoalition at gmail.com. And they're really a tremendous, tremendous group. And I look forward to their volunteerism over the upcoming years, Mr. President. And it was just refreshing to see so many people come out on such a beautiful day and really, you know, with their kids and lend a hand to cleaning up an area. I also want to thank, I'd be remiss if I didn't, Steve Tanaglia and his DPW crew that came out with the trucks, provided the bags, provided the shovels and and rakes and brooms, and took all the trash away also. So I wanted to personally thank Steve Tanaglia under his leadership, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good. So on the motion of approval by Councilor Marks, all those in favour? Those opposed? Motion carries. Offered by Councilor Marks, be it resolved that the Medford Traffic Commission review the resident permit parking enforcement hours on Placetid Road from Irving Street to Century Street. Area residents pay for a residential permit sticker. However, enforcement only takes place between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. I was contacted by a resident on Playstead Road, and this has actually been an issue for a number of years, but most recently, because of the new parking enforcement and the resident permit parking, residents now are getting tickets in front of their home, which they pay for, a permit sticker, but the permit sticker doesn't go into effect until after 11 p.m. And the issue, Mr. President, is apparently along Playstead Road, we all know Playstead Park is there. On the park side, you can park there. It's not resident permit parking. You can park there with no problem. On the opposite side where the homes are, there's permit parking, but from, I believe it's Irving Street all the way up to Century Street, The parking, it may not be the full length, but I know directly across from Playstead Park, the enforcement is after the hours of 11 p.m. until 7 a.m., so you can't park there unless you have a permit sticker between those hours. But residents that may get home at six o'clock, seven o'clock, eight o'clock, coming home to an area, they can't find a parking spot. And I think the whole intent with permit parking is to at least give residents the opportunity to park near their home or on their street. So I would ask that the Traffic Commission review this policy to see if there's anything we can do to make it so residents that are paying for a permit parking sticker receive the same benefits that everyone else receives, that if it's a permit parking street, only people with permits can park there. And currently, that's not the case on a good portion of Playstead Road. So I'd ask that that be reviewed, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor Marks.
[Richard Caraviello]: Councilor Caraviello. Thank you, Mr. President. I echo Councilor Marks's sentiments. I've seen the people of West Medford. I've heard the complaints about the cars parking there, especially now with the kiosks being there and the commuters are starting to slide off onto all those other streets now. And actually, it isn't just on those streets. It's pretty much all on that all high street Playstead Road bus line. they're all getting a little, all those streets are getting a little clogged up with the commuters. So again, I support Councilor Marks' petition. Thank you, Councilor Caraviello.
[Robert Penta]: Thank you, Councilor Marks, for bringing this up. I brought this up a few weeks ago on two separate occasions relative to cars being swinged over there, but it's a result of the 16 cars that were allowed to park on the corner of Winthrop Street and Playstead Road. And right now, you're lucky if there's one car there a day. So take the average of 15 cars a day not being there at $5 a day. That's $75 a day. Once a month is $300, times 12 is $3,600 a year that they're not getting that they anticipated. And by pushing these cars onto the side streets over there, you're just going to compound. You're going to create another problem. that the resident parking, that these cars that are not capable of doing. I have a letter, which I'll bring next week, from a resident who tells me on four particular occasions how she had to go out and help people, not only negotiate the meter, but the glare. Going right back to what you said, Rick, the glare of the meter, you can't see it. It's unreadable. Who put money in the meter did not get the right receipt that came back. One got a receipt, two people later, Another one put the money in the meter, got four quarters back for his quarter. It's a stupid system. And it's the stupidest thing that this mayor could have ever come up with. He could resolve his whole legacy if he just comes forward and says, listen, we made a mistake. We're going to get rid of it. And we're going to go revert ourselves back to a local, as Councilor Marks alluded to, a revenue traffic enforcement program. And we'll do it in-house. And we'll start slow. And we'll move forward. This thing is not helping anybody. You can go to the business. The business merchants will tell you. It is not helping us. As a matter of fact, it's so unfair. You go to West Medford, they still have a meter in front of a residential home, but people are still trying to put it in, and they're not supposed to. That meter should have been taken out of there months ago, and it's still there. How do you put a meter in front of a dentist, a one-dentist-person office on High Street, and the other one in front of a — in front of a what? We'd call it a funeral home, okay? I mean, it's unfair. It's just — it just doesn't make any sense at all. It's a killer to the city. It's anti-business. It's anti-citizen. It's just anti-everything. Medford is not downtown Boston. It is not these places. And as Councilor Mark's resolution points out, it's forcing people to go to other parts of the community to park their cars. And you're going to start to see people really getting pedoed with people parking in front of their houses. And you're going to see some damage done to these cars, because people, you know, someone turned around and sold something. You can't tell me where to park. I can go to the public street, and I can park here. And this is the issue. So this issue was really compounded and multiplied itself and it needs to be resolved immediately before something happens. Something personal happens to the property and something personal happens to someone. If physical altercations take place because of this. So I thank you for putting that forward. And I would ask Mr. President, Councilor Marks, I would ask that you forward, you want a response from the chief of police on this immediately, immediately on this matter.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So the motion of Councilor Marks as amended by Councilor Penta, Madam Citizen.
[Jeanne Martin]: Hi, Jean Martington coming straight, and I'm glad you brought this up, Mr. Marks. I was just talking to a senior citizen today who often goes down, she lives in Medford, and she goes down to the senior center and all that. She said that there's a lot of abuse of those placards, that people will take somebody's, you know, one of their relatives' placards, and put it on their car, and then is able to park in one of those, you know, spots, the handicapped spots. So I just wanted to bring that up. So whoever is monitoring, whether it's the private company or whether it's the police, to just, she says that people cover the faces of the person and that they need to show the face of the person and try to clean that up because it's not right. The people that need those spots should have those spots and the people that don't should walk. Thank you.
[Michael Marks]: just briefly, Mr. President. I think we're at the point, and we all took a vote recently, but I think we're at the point right now, Mr. President, that we really need to revisit this parking program. And we had a meeting a couple of weeks ago, and we got a listing of the revenue that's coming in for the program, but we still haven't addressed the needs of the business community and the residents that I've been talking to, Mr. President, regarding these kiosks. I think people are all in favor of moving cars along and providing consistent enforcement throughout the community. I haven't heard one person say, you know what, we don't want enforcement. People want enforcement, business owners want enforcement, the pay for parking program needs to be revisited in this community. Now whether it's this mayor or the next mayor, that is the subject that I'm hearing out there in the community, and I'm not sure why the mayor's not willing to have a conversation Maybe he's just going to let it be on the plate of the next person. But it's definitely the topic that's out there now, and the dialogue needs to take place sooner than later, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion, Mr. Clark, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Be it resolved that the Medford Traffic Commission review the resident permit parking enforcement hours on Playstead Road from Irving Street to Century Street. Area residents pay for a resident permit sticker. However, enforcement only take place between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. and response back from the chief of police immediately.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the matter, we'll enforce this immediately to get an answer from the chief. So send it to the mayor's office and the chief, the traffic commissioner and the chief directly.
[Clerk]: Councilor Camuso, Councilor Caraviello, Councilor Knight.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Vice President Long and Kern. Yes. Councilor Marks. Yes. Councilor Penta. Yes. President Dello Russo. Yes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: With a vote of six in the affirmative, none in the negative, motion passes. The records of last week's meeting are passed to Councilor Camuso. In his absence, we will table those on recommendation of Councilor Caraviello, table those records on the motion of Councilor Marks to adjourn. All those in favor? Oh, happy Mother's Day? Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, both near and far, and grandmothers, and mothers-to-be. Yeah, that's a dangerous one.
|
total time: 16.82 minutes total words: 1127  |
total time: 29.18 minutes total words: 1227  |
total time: 20.28 minutes total words: 776  |
total time: 5.16 minutes total words: 239  |
|
total time: 4.36 minutes total words: 416  |
total time: 9.44 minutes total words: 1122  |
||