[Fred Dello Russo]: The eighth regular meeting of the Medford City Council will come to order.
[Clerk]: Mr. Clerk, please call the roll. Councilor Camuso?
[Unidentified]: Present.
[Clerk]: Councilor Caraviello? Present. Councilor Knight?
[Unidentified]: Present.
[Clerk]: Vice President Lungo-Koehn? Present. Councilor Marks? Present. Councilor Penta? Present. President Dello Russo? Present.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Six present, one absent. Please rise to salute the flag. I, Pledge of Allegiance. I was called by Councilor Caraviello today to inform me of his absence due to ill health. 15-091 offered by Councilor Penta. Be it resolved that the Medford City Council establish a citizen street recovery program. Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: Mr. President, um, I think during this past winter season, we've all seen, um, the problems that exist not only here in the city of Medford, but out throughout the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And as a result of that, and after speaking with the folks at the, uh, Massachusetts department of transportation and going online and reviewing some things across the country, as it relates to streets and neighborhoods, sidewalks, curbs, and a whole host of things, where the money might be coming from. And after noticing that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts just had this new identification program implemented, asking people on any state roadways, if you see something that's dangerous, please take a picture, send it in, and identify a particular location. It gave me the idea that here in the city of Medford, it doesn't take a genius to figure this out. Just drive down any street in the city of Medford and you have potholes all over the place and desperate need to be filled, you know, potential damage just waiting to happen on any car or truck that may be driving down the street. But that also leads to another host of issues as it relates to the good weather and the good times and how are we going to handle certain things such as Um, viruses that seem to be emanating, um, from certain drains and soil systems, um, as the West Nile virus has presented itself. Um, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ran a survey last year of the 351 cities and towns, um, for which 229 of them responded on a major road survey. And unfortunately, and I don't know why the city of Medford did not respond to this. And this was in regards to Chapter 90 roadway funds that could be used for local communities had they sent in a description of what their needs might be for Chapter 90 roadway needs. And it comes especially in light of the fact that this administration, Governor's administration, Charlie Baker, has made a commitment to Chapter 90 roadway funding. But unfortunately, where the city of Medford falls in this, I don't know. They didn't do the survey, and the survey methodology wasn't complete. It was complete for 229 cities and towns. We have here in the city of Medford a brand new building for which we are spending approximately $15 million for a new Department of Public Works building. And in that Department of Public Works building, it would be hoped that we would have the men, the equipment, and the wherewithal to handle all the things necessary to look at our streets here in the city of Medford and as we continue to go forward and into the future, making our city better than what it has been and what it could be. As a result of that, I'm going to be asking in a two-part layered program that if anybody out there, whether you're on your own street or you see a city street, private way, and you have a concern because of a pothole, take the picture of it. Take the picture of it, ID it, send it in to the city clerk's office or the Department of Public Works, where you would at least get a, hopefully a system would be set up. You would get something that would be timed, dated and stamped and identified as to where the location might be. This could also be representative of if your street is in desperate need of repair. This is also in regards to when NSTAR and any other utility comes into the community, digs up a street, And six months or a year after the fact, there's a big concave in the ground. There's a hole in the ground. And that hasn't been addressed, and it doesn't take place. And that turns out to be a hole in the street. I think when you're asking the taxpayers of this community to recognize $15 million is now being put into a new public works building, I think you should also be asking that issues such as this need to be addressed. And they shouldn't be put on a burner saying, we don't have enough money to do it. We don't have the equipment. or we don't have the men to do it. I think we need to stop looking at where we're going with this type of rehabilitation that's needed here in the city of Medford. A most recent law passed by the state legislature will now allow sewer systems and drainage systems to have lava sides be placed into their drainage systems. Lava sides would be something that will be able to address Westphalia West Nile virus and any other potential that might be out there that has been out there. In the past, um, that has not been allowed because of, I believe the pesticide content that might be, have an environmental impact, but because of this inbreeding and the extension or the acceleration of, of West Nile virus and other, and other issues related to that, um, this year, um, department of public works, um, and city engineers, um, will be allowed to use lavisides into these particular locations. We have in excess of $6.5 million in free cash. I would hope that approximately $1 million of that money would be used to get into this city restoration street program. We all know that some monies may not be all, but some monies will be coming back from the federal government because of these storms. I believe it's a two-phase application from MEMA. And as a result of that, I believe The state administration feels comfortable approximately 35% of that, if not more, will be forthcoming on the first round, not knowing if they're going to accept the second round, having it to be identified as an emergency. And hopefully it will be identified. This is the first time in many, many years the weather has done what it has to the Northeast region in the area. So taking that into consideration and also recognizing that the new MS-4 permit that we talked about last week is now a real bone of contention. I went to a meeting last week up on Beacon Hill, where the Mass Water Resource, not MWRA, the Mass Water Resource Association, which comprised about six individuals that deal with water and sewage and drainage and EPA requirements, are on board with this because they know that the cost, which is going to be anywhere from $800,000 plus per each community to implement an MS4 system, is also going to have an impact on roadways and sidewalks and streets, curbings and machinery. They're asking not only for a delay to this, but they're also asking, as we had asked last week, our city engineer, to ask a pushback in an educational program for educating not only our community, but all the communities, of what this is going to entail and the cost impact. We know also on an annual basis that we have approximately a million dollars or thereabouts that comes back each and every year on our budget because of expenditures that don't take place, excise tax revenues, and a whole host of other things. So I think our commitment should be upfront relative to doing the streets and the potholes and doing them correctly. There are ways of doing it rather than just getting a shovel and taking it off the back of the truck and throwing it into a hole and let somebody drive over it, as compared to taking the time, putting it down, pounding it in, and making sure it's going to stay there for a reasonable period of time. Some streets are going to just need to be done completely all over. And I think one of the things, and I think this council has addressed it on numerous occasions, we keep giving licenses to NSTAR for whether it's gas or electric, whatever the diggings of the streets might be up. And I believe we have a $10,000, I think that's it, Mr. Clark, isn't it a $10,000 bond that they have to put up? I think we really need to start holding these accountable. I believe the last time that one of the utilities came here, we asked that it go back in six months. And if not, we were going to take that money. So we have the mechanisms, we have the avenues to do this, but I think this not only bodes well for our community, I think it puts ourselves in the right direction, because all the streets in our city are in desperate need of repair, and some shape, manner, and form. So in essence, in a nutshell, it basically is asking any person in the community to go out there, whatever you see that you might think is a hazard, take the picture of it, or if you don't wanna take the picture and you can't, make a phone call, either to the clerk's office or the highway department, and hopefully they'll set up some kind of a situation where you call on a particular day, you get a number, and that's it. It goes to the highway department, and they start addressing that this spring. It would be a shame to have the city administration say, we don't either have the equipment or the personnel to handle this, because that's not what they voted for when they voted for a $15 million building to upgrade the Department of Public Works, who claimed, or the city claimed, hasn't been upgraded in years, and they were working in a substandard building. We need to understand that if we're going to be paying monies to upgrade buildings and refurbish them or whatever we need to do. We need to have the equipment, the men and the tools to go with it, to handle what our city needs might be. So with that being said, Mr. President, I move the question, ask for a roll call vote and welcome any opportunity for comments. Thank you, councilor.
[Fred Dello Russo]: That's an excellent resolution. Um, and, uh, if I just may briefly comment in thanking you for bringing this up and also pointing out that, uh, We've talked about this so many times before, and I'm glad you're keeping this on the forefront, because it's appropriate for this time of year. And Councilor Lungo-Koehn, I believe it was, Vice President, had the resolution not too long ago for the 311 system to be enacted quickly. So on the motion of Councilor Penta for approval, Councilor Camuso?
[Paul Camuso]: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilor Penta, for bringing this up. Unfortunately, I'm a little bit saddened that the administration didn't pursue participating in the survey, which may have told the state what our needs were. And sometimes the state uses this type of data when it comes to funding purposes for cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth. But with that being said, I'm not surprised that he just let it sit on a disc or go on a shredder or whatever. With that being said, I do support this this evening, and I'm not gonna tell Councilor Penta what to do, but I'd like to make that, if you make the motion, I'd support it, the million dollars out of certified free cash to repair the roadways throughout our community. So you're gonna bring that up? You wanna do that now? And I'd second that.
[Fred Dello Russo]: As amended by Councilor Penta, seconded by Councilor Camuso.
[Robert Penta]: That a million dollars be taken out of free cash.
[Paul Camuso]: To repair the roadways. And last but not least, as I said earlier, I'd just like to commend the councilor as well as Councilor Lungo-Koehn for being forward thinking with the 311 system that she brought up a little while ago that this council supported because these are tools that the administration could use if they wanted to. But we're talking about an administration that doesn't have a fire department that has email throughout the entire department, picks and chooses who has it, as well as an administration that doesn't have voicemail. So, certainly, I'm not that surprised. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So, on the motion for approval, Mr. Clerk, please call the roll. I apologize. We had a technical glitch. Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. I want to thank Councilor Penta for bringing this up. like my other colleagues have mentioned, sounds very similar to the 311 system that this council has voted on three or four times over the last year with the department of public works building being redone for millions and millions of dollars with personnel, you know, we have the personnel, the staff that I truly feel that the 311 system is completely necessary and it sounds very similar to the citizens street recovery program because the 311 system From what I understand from Somerville, that number one, emails and concerns and questions that are brought up and brought to the City of Somerville, DPW, have something to do with streets, sidewalks, and potholes. So this is the right time to do it. We need to show our residents that we're responding to each and every issue that arises. We can't just keep telling residents, we'll put it on a list, we'll put it on a list. Well, where's the list? Who's on the list? Who's first? First come, first serve. We need accountability. We need responsiveness. And the residents need an avenue, whether it's a street recovery program and the 311 system or the 311 system. It needs to be put into place, especially with a state of the art facility. So I agree with Council Penta. One thing I'd like to amend actually is to ask, is the state, do we have any word, does the administration have any word from the state on if we're going to get any state aid with regards to the plowing, um, snow and ice removal costs or the pothole costs? I know a few years ago we got state aid with regards to the snow and ice removal. And last year we got state aid with regards to the potholes. repair in potholes because it can get very expensive and it is so needed. I brought it up last week with regards to potholes, asking the dpw when are we going to start repairing them. We're going to start getting liability claims within the legal department for busted tires, screwed up cars. It's a safety issue. So I would like to know if the state plans on, if we have any word if we're going to get any state aid. And I would just like to second the approval of this and also that we send it to the mayor, that the 311 system should be implemented immediately. Because if I've learned from anybody, I've learned from Council Penta, you keep bringing something up when it's important, just like the condom shell should have lighting. I know it's off subject, but you keep bringing it up when things are important, and that's the avenue this council has, to keep speaking on it. And that's something that our residents deserve. They deserve to make a phone call, to say there's a pothole somewhere and somebody's gonna get hurt or a car's gonna get damaged, They deserve a confirmation number, and they deserve to know when it's going to be repaired and, you know, how quickly it's going to be repaired. That's what people pay taxes for. Somerville has that program, and we deserve it here, too.
[Robert Penta]: Thank you. On that matter, from my understanding, the first — Point of information, counsel. Okay. Okay. There were four snowstorms that we're dealing with. I think what the state is trying to do is put the first three in together because of its closeness in time and calling that the major storm. If, in fact, that goes through, a larger portion of federal monies will come back to the state. If they take them separately or individually, it'll be a lesser portion, and each will have to be argued. There are two avenues. You're right. One is for snow, and one is for potholes. It's a priority. It's the second priority on the agenda of the Baker administration, so I'm quite sure you're going to see something come out of this. We'll see some action. Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank Councilor Penter and my colleagues for speaking on this important issue. You know, this is very similar to the crosswalks that we ask to be painted every year, basic city services that are not being done in the community. The request that Councilor Longo, myself, and other members have offered with the 311 system is just a reporting mechanism that allows people by electronic device. Imagine that, Mr. President. Nowadays, you can use an electronic device to report something. You don't have to pick up the phone and reach out and listen to the mayor's 10-minute message board on what department to contact. Ironically, the mayor is about three quarters of the way into the recorded message. So you have to listen to 20 other departments before you get to quote the mayor's office to issue a concern or request, Mr. President. I find that quite amazing in this community. You know, the state is already out filling potholes. I've seen it on the Fells Way in the Wellington area, and we should be no different. I realize that this is not the ideal time to fill potholes, but it's imperative that we get out there right now and fill these holes, have a tracking mechanism. I agree with Councilor Penta, whether it's sending an email or using your iPhone, there has to be a tracking mechanism that the city can log these requests in, and get back to residents in a timely fashion on whether or not their problem has any type of resolution. The other thing, Mr. President, is the city of Boston, as well as Somerville and Cambridge, they know how to involve the community. What better than having 58,000 sets of eyes out in the community saying, hey, you know what? There's a pothole on this street. There's one at the corner. There's one next to the sewer on High Street. There's one next to the catch basin on Main Street. What better than to have 58,000 reporters out there letting you know where the problem is? I would welcome that. I think that's, you know, I know it's a daunting task, but I would welcome that type of information. And in our community, it's frowned upon. You know, they make it so difficult. to report in this community that people say, you know what, forget about it. And I think what you're seeing on our streets and our roads is the years of the forget-about-its. People aren't calling in anymore. They say it's not worth it. You know, we get no response. And, you know, I think this is long overdue, Mr. President. The 3-1-1 system, you know, I believe, as was mentioned, some of us has had this in their community, I think, for 12 or 15 years. maybe even longer. There was initial startup costs like any good program, but now it's worth its weight in gold. The number of complaints they receive and the number of calls that are adjudicated within a timely fashion speaks volumes to how city government should operate. And it shouldn't be the constant phone calls, because even during the storm, and I brought this up, Mr. President, residents would call me and say, I don't want to call you in particular, I just want to know how do I get a hold of someone? It may be 5 o'clock on a Saturday evening or Sunday morning, but I still need to get someone. And that was the tough task of trying to put them in touch with someone that can assist. And I think these are the things that the mayor needs to move forward. We've asked the mayor about having on the phone some type of mechanism where you can leave a phone call, a message. There is none of that at City Hall. So if someone's not in their office, and many of these offices, as we know, are understaffed, And there may not be someone there. The mayor rather the phone ring 7,000 times and no one pick it up than someone be able to leave a phone message to the appropriate department. That's how this city works for some reason. I'm not quite sure, Mr. President, but I wholeheartedly support this resolution, the motion that was offered by Councilor Longo a few weeks ago. And I would say, Mr. President, as I've done in the last couple of weeks, These are the issues that we should take to budget, and when the mayor says, hey, I need all your vote, I need all your vote for the budget, we sit down and say, yes, Mr. Mayor, you'll get that in due time. And that time is when you start working on some of the issues that's going to help this community move forward. And one of them is the 311 system, Mr. President. I feel strongly about that. We also received through a request I had on the equipment that DPW has. I know we all know there's going to be a new yacht, and I was flabbergasted to see the equipment that we have currently right now with no plans to update, with a brand-new state-of-the-art facility coming in, and equipment that's 25, 30, 35 years old, Mr. President, in this community. You know, it's nice to get value out of your property, but at some point, it becomes an old piece of rust, and it's no longer valuable, and it ends up sitting behind the DPW yard, or in back of the police department, or a lot of other locations in this community. So, there needs to be a capital improvement plan. There needs to be something done in this community, and I hope the mayor takes this not only under advisement, but acts upon it, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Councilor Penter as amended, Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilor Penter, for filing this resolution. I feel as though it's a good idea. Anytime that we can take steps to connect people with government and ensure that government works for them is a good thing. So I certainly will be supporting this endeavor. However, I would like to amend the paper by way of a B paper, Mr. President, because I think that it's safe to say that You know, the state of our side streets is so that they can't be traveled down as frequently as they have been when no snow has been on them. So the wear and tear on our main roads has become excessive. That coupled with the fact that we've done a good amount of snow removal on those roads has really torn them up. And I'd like to see what the cost would be, Mr. President, maybe an estimate from the city engineer explaining to us what the cost would be to resurface all of the emergency arteries in the city. So I'd like to amend the paper, Mr. President, asking that the city engineer and the DPW commissioner report back to this council on a cost estimate as to what the price would be to actually resurface from curb to curb each emergency artery in this community.
[Paul Camuso]: Thank you, Councilor Knight. Councilor Camuso. Thank you. The mayor has a wonderful asset, too, in his office. We all know Stephanie Muccini-Burke, who was a stalwart as a councilor, and she was all about accountability. And if the mayor can't figure this out, he can just reach across his office and maybe ask her to bring some of her leadership thoughts forward on this particular issue. Because as I said, we all know that she was all about holding people accountable when she was a city councillor, and she brings so much to that office. So if he can't figure it out, maybe he can get some of his staff to maybe look into the 311 or some type of similar product that may be out there. Thank you, Councilor. Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: Councilor Naylor, maybe I'm confused. Are you talking about side streets or off main streets?
[Adam Knight]: I'm saying our emergency arteries, the dedicated emergency arteries that we have here in the community have been, you know, beat on because of the high volume of travel and the high volume of heavy equipment that's been on it. And they're all falling apart as well. We have a reporting mechanism here for people to report back whether or not they see something wrong on their street. But I think it might also be important for us to, actually get an estimate of the cost to resurface all those roadways that are in disrepair, so that when someone's coming into Medford from the city of Somerville, they can't tell they've entered Medford because of the way that the street feels.
[Robert Penta]: I've got no problem with that. I think I'd like to just divide that into two parts. The first one, we've had construction companies and utility companies dig up our streets. And if the cost has to be attributed to them, and maybe we should, again, getting back to, as compared to the legitimate cost of a city street, maybe just break it down in two ways. That which and how the city's been dug up, it's caused the problem. And if it's a legitimate city street that we own outright with no other interference from an outside vendor, be it an instar or a contractor, so be it. And I think we'll get a better handle of what the true cost would be.
[Adam Knight]: Right, and I mean, I don't think that the price is going to be the price. And then we can always go back and subrogate against whoever we do feel as though is responsible for it to get a collection of our money back in that regard. If we have main street and four different sections of main street are broken up, one's national grid, one's, you know, and star and the other one is the city. We're going to do four different construction projects.
[Fred Dello Russo]: I think we're going to end up in the same exact situation that we'd be in if we had the key to this effort will be in the city's enforcing the contracts and the ordinances with these, uh, with these outside vendors.
[Robert Penta]: That's part of the key. And the other part of the key is going back to a council of marks of literature, I mean, if we're building this new building, and we don't have the equipment, and we don't have the men, or whatever it might be, we probably need to be looking at something that's going to cost us a few more dollars. And that's what our free cash is for. You know, they have a special machine that's called a pothole pounder. I don't know if anyone's ever seen it. It comes out of the Midwestern part of the country. And what they do is they go up and down the streets, and in the middle of the truck, where where the hot tub is, it's hot, it goes into the ground, and then the pound, it just goes down, ba-boom, ba-boom, like that. And it's perfect. And it goes ba-boom, ba-boom. It pounds itself right in. And it might cost a few thousand, $100,000, a couple of hundred thousand, whatever it might be. But you're looking at the long-term effect of this. And that's what the whole thing is. We're not looking for 10. Yeah, right, we could borrow it to see how it works.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So on the motion, we'll take the B paper first. for the city engineer to give to the city councilor a cost estimate for resurfacing the emergency arteries into our main streets of the city of Medford. So on that B paper, all those in favor? Roll call. A roll call has been requested on the B paper. Mr. Clerk, if you would call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Camuso. Councilor Caraviello? Councilor Knight? Yes. Vice President Lungo-Koehn? Yes. Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Penta? Yes. President Dello Russo?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Yes. A vote of six in the affirmative, one absence. The B paper passes. And on the main motion, as amended, offered by Councilor Penta, again, a roll call vote has been requested for this. So Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Paul Camuso]: This includes the million dollars
[Fred Dello Russo]: including the request for a million dollars from free gas.
[Clerk]: Councilor Camuso? Yes. Councilor Caraviello? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Vice President Lungo-Koehn? Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Penta? Yes. President De La Russa? Yes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: With a vote of six in the affirmative and one absent, the main motion carries. Motion of Councilor Knight. to take papers in the hands of the clerk offered by Councilors Knight and Caraviello. Be it resolved that the Medford City Council extend its deepest condolences to the family of World War II veteran Herbert Clark on his recent passing. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. It's my pleasure to bring this resolution forward. I had an opportunity to speak with Councilor Caraviello earlier this evening and he was very regretful that he wasn't able to make it. Mr. Clark was actually waked this evening down at Gaffey Funeral Home and he's a great gentleman, a World War II veteran who was on foreign soil in Germany during that great clash, Mr. President. He raised 10 children here in the city of Medford, and he will be sadly missed. I've known Mr. Clark for a number of years, although we hadn't been in touch since I gave up my paper route. He lived around the corner from me. But he was a gentleman, he was a great man, a great family man, raised a great family, served his country well, and he will be sadly missed, Mr. President. So I'd ask that this meeting this evening be adjourned in his honor.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So moved. And if you would, I'll stand for a moment of silence.
[Paul Camuso]: Councilor Camuso. While we're under suspension, I'd like to, if my council colleagues don't mind, I think a report of all the transfers internally that have taken place from July 1st up to say February, the end of February, would give us a good idea on where the mayor's transferring money within the budget and will prepare us to start looking at next year's budget. But as we know, the only transfers that need to come before the council, if it's for a totally different line item. So there's so many transfers that take place on a daily if not weekly basis within the departments. I think we should have a good picture because we know that there's positions within the budget right now that have been funded that still have no one in the position. DPW director is one. It's over $100,000 a year job and the individual is being paid three days a week because it's a part-time so-called contract employee. It's a retiree. that's currently doing the job rather than the, um, so, so I'd like to see where that money for that salary has went. So, uh, if we could ask the administration by the way of a resolve to provide us with all transfers that have taken place amongst, um, all the departments internally, and most of this will be the DPW, we'll be doing it from one line item to another line item that may have went to the overtime line item. But I think it's incumbent upon us to look at that as we get ready to, uh, to come into budget time so we can actually have a realistic look on where the mayor is moving the money around. So I'd like to get a roll call vote on that.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So on the motion of Councilor Camuso, a roll call has been requested. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Thank you very much, Mr. President. I think this is a great proactive approach for us to prepare for budget debates that are going to be coming up in very short order. And with that being said, on a similar focus, I think it may be important, Mr. President, for the Assessor's Office to report back to us whether collections are keeping up with forecasted revenues, Mr. President. So I'd like to see a contrast between current collections and projected revenues to date.
[Fred Dello Russo]: And so as amended, that this paper be sent to the Assessor's Office and the Office of Budget and Finance. Excellent.
[Paul Camuso]: And if we could also ask for the other report that we get, where exactly we are financially six months plus into the year. We used to get a report every month. We haven't been seeing that. So I just think we need a clear picture to realize how much money is being moved around. internally, because there may be areas that the mayor may want to add a line item. Hey, instead of moving the money around every year, maybe I want to do this or do that. And realistically, that's when we can look at it and see if we think there should be a reduction in the line item, an addition in the line item, because we're not seeing those transfers that take place during the year. The only transfers we technically usually see are the major ones that come to us June 20th, June 26th for moving major money around. But for instance, the police overtime budget. I'm sure that that's close to in the arrears, if not in the arrears, and they have to fund it some way. So there's another line item somewhere within the budget that they would allocate money from. So I think this would be a very good tool for all of us. And then we may want to ask for this again in like three months. But I'd like to put the last day of February as a date because those are transfers that have already taken place and we can actually see it. And then maybe at the end of this month we'll ask for another one and another one. because I'm sure there's areas within the budget that are underfunded or overfunded that funds are being allocated from different line items.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So on the motion as amended, Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Yes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Yes.
[Clerk]: With the vote of six in the affirmative and one absent.
[Fred Dello Russo]: The motion passes. May I just make one brief comment? If anybody's worked hard in this past month and worked full-time, in fact, overtime, it's been Paul Geer, Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: I'd like to make a point of, just a point of correction. I believe in, and when I gave my comments regarding the street recovery program, it was the Mass Municipal Association that ran the survey for the Commonwealth of Mass of the 229 cities and towns. I may have missaid that wrong, but that's, that's who did it. So I just want to let you know. And that's how they presented their chapter 90 budget because of the input that mass municipal gave to the state. And that's how they presented it. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So thank you for that, um, that, uh, correction Councilor. And while we're on suspension, before we return to regular business, I just want to announce that I'm calling for a committee of the whole meeting next Wednesday, March 18th, from 6 to 7 30 in the council office to deal with the issue of the opiate addiction. And we've reached out to people that are tied into that and we'll meet and it will be a beginning in dealing with this issue. Councilor Marks. I'm coming to you.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. While we're under suspension, Um, over the last several days, I received a number of phone calls and emails from, uh, particularly residents in salt method, uh, that are concerned about, uh, the resident permit parking, uh, or I should say lack of resident permit parking that's happening in the community. Uh, I mentioned to many of the residents that called me that, uh, the chief of police is looking into, uh, permit parking, resident permit parking citywide. Um, and, uh, he said within the next year or two, They will probably come out with some type of plan. However, Mr. President, we need immediate attention to this issue. And we not only need immediate attention, we need to look at sector parking. Right now, as we all know, when area residents on their street want permit parking, they have to get together a petition. If 51 percent of the residents sign it, it goes before the Traffic Commission, and then the Traffic Commission will vote it up or down. whether that street will have permit parking. And it's only good for that street. So if I happen to live on Yield Street and want to park on the next street over that are both permit parking streets, I can only park on my street. And as we all know, the issue, particularly in these snow times, is that there may be 20 spots with 50 residents that have permit parking that are looking to get spots. To me, sector parking makes sense if you wanted to break it down by precinct or by ward. Um, I've also had people mentioned, well, the reason why we started permit parking was that if I live close to, uh, just say the West Medford train center, uh, the commuter rail and people from other parts of the city or even outside the city want to use the commuter rail, uh, they can park on my street and take the commuter rail and stay there for eight hours. And if you have one permit citywide, the same will be the case. You can have someone from North Method that comes down into West Method, parks there all day under his permit sticker, and takes the training. So I think it does make sense to have sector parking out there. I think that would eliminate a lot of the issues with people maybe from other areas parking for a particular reason in other neighborhoods. But something needs to be done immediately to resolve this issue. It's not getting any better. The parking program that the mayor put in place has a lot of faults. And one of them, Mr. President, is the fact that after hours, on weekends, the only way you get permit parking enforced is by calling the police department. And that's the system we went away from when supposing this new parking program was coming into effect. It shouldn't be on an add need basis. So residents shouldn't need to call to get basic enforcement of resident permit parking streets. That's why you petitioned the traffic commission. That's why the enforcement should be there. So, um, you know, something needs to be done. I would ask that we take a vote on this council asking that, uh, the chief of police make this a priority. I know he's busy with a lot of issues, but, uh, you know, with this parking program, there should have been more involvement. and more input from the community regarding resident permit parking and how it's going to work throughout this community. Because clearly right now, it's dysfunctional. And at best, it functions on occasion and by phone call into the police department or into park method, which, in my opinion, is unacceptable. Residents shouldn't be required to make phone calls. So I would put that in the form of a motion, Mr. President, that the chief of police report back to this council when he will start his process for revamping permit parking in this community and also to take into consideration sector permit parking.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Fifty minutes ago, he informed me that that is his priority. On motion of Councilor Marks, Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. I did speak to you before the meeting. Did he mention when? about how long with regards to the sector parking? Did he mention a couple weeks?
[Fred Dello Russo]: He said that they've begun the discussions and they're working on it. And so it's something that he's aware of and is working on. He's done, as we know, he's been forced to deal with all the issues around all of this parking. And he's been the point person on it. And frankly, people who, no matter what perspective they have, on what's unfolded before us regarding the parking program have been unanimous in my experience on one thing, that he is handling this in an outstanding way. And I have no reason to believe that he'll do nothing less in the coming weeks as this unfolds.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. If I may, I did also get a number of phone calls and emails today and yesterday with regards to just the issues people are having. Mainly, the calls for me came from South Medford and the hillside where it's, you know, obviously more thickly settled. But we have a real issue when there's 40 or so cars on a street that only can fit 30. Some even, some homes that are on corners where people are so used to, they have the permit and they're so used to just parking on the next street over, and they're getting ticketed and tagged. And I think that's something that needs to be looked at immediately, not two, three, four weeks down the line. Whether we cease tickets to those people that have permits that are parking on a street over due to lack of parking on their street, or I just don't think the waiting game is what we can tell these residents who are getting ticketed and tagged. So I would ask the chief to look into possibly having his officers, especially on the overnight basis, If somebody has a permit and has a permit for Yale Street and is parking on the street over, that they lighten up on actually ticketing until something is in place, whether that's two weeks, three weeks, a month, or longer to implement sector parking like Councilor Mark had mentioned. I think it's something that needs to be looked into, it needs to be discussed, and it needs to possibly be implemented sooner than later. you know, I don't live in South Medford, but I have in the past. And if I couldn't park on my street, the obvious thing is, especially if I have a permit, I would feel like I'd have the right to park on the next street over. So I think it's definitely something that needs to be tossed around and discussed and possibly implemented.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. So on the motion of a main motion of council mocks as amended by vice-president Lugo current Councilor Penta, I yelled to the lady at the podium. Oh, I'm sorry, Councilor, the lady at the podium.
[Jeanne Martin]: Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you. Jean Martin, 10 Cummings Street. And I respectfully disagree with you, Mr. Delarusso. The person who has been the point person for the parking program has been the chief of police, not the mayor. I don't know. Did you say the chief of police?
[Unidentified]: Yes.
[Jeanne Martin]: Oh, then I apologize wholeheartedly to you. But I would say that we do have a city that I've talked to people in Wellington, and they have relatives in North Medford. And we have a city that's kind of divided by sections or segments. And the folks that live in North Medford aren't as thrilled about the parking permit program, because they don't have as many problems with it. So the thought that they might get ticketed, or have to shuffle things around, or have to pay for a permit parking pass, they're not as thrilled about it as the people who need relief, like the people in South Medford, West Medford near the commuter rail, or Wellington near Wellington Circle. And so I just wanted to put that out there, You know, it's going to have to be a joint effort. But I want to apologize then, because I misheard you. And I'm glad I misheard you. Thank you. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, ma'am. Councilor Penta.
[Robert Penta]: On that subject matter, I believe it was one of the topics that was brought up today at the Traffic Commission meeting this afternoon. I'm going to make a request on these boards and these commission meetings, just as an aside. There are a lot of people who would have liked to have attended, but they can't go at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. you know, either that or televise it or what have you, but to have it in an afternoon and knowing how important of an issue this is, and now as it is escalating into another part of the issue. Also, from last week to this week, once again, I happened to, again, have contact with people, especially in the West Method area, and I think they were the majority of the people at the meeting today, voicing not only their concerns but their objections to this whole kiosk program and how it's hurting their business. Um, and they can say whatever they want when the mayor makes the comment, he hasn't received one complaint. Well, they know that that's not true because either they've either called or they couldn't get through or that's nothing but good PR for what he wants to believe. Um, as of March 5th of this week, and once again, we have pitches of this wonderful Republic truck from Tennessee going out and according to page 11 of the contract, it states in Operator's Vehicles Part B, the rear of all vehicles shall have a sign warning of frequent stops. There's no sign indicating frequent stops. I don't know, each and every week, this has been going on since January, what does it take for this company, more importantly, what does it take for this man to understand that this company from Tennessee is just not doing what it's supposed to be doing? It's not honoring the contract, and it's not working out to the best of abilities for everybody. Councilor Marks, you asked, I think it was two weeks ago, when does 8-6 start? Has anybody gotten that answer yet? They passed it today. So 8-6 becomes effective when? So if that's the case, then when does the three-hour parking in the municipal lots go up? And when do all the signs that are bolted to the trees around the city, when do those things change? You know, there's a whole host of issues that revolve around this, and I'm not so I'll say it again, and as I said it before, I just think the whole thing is anti-business. I don't think it serves any purpose of doing anything to enhance business here in the city of Medford. The complaints are just too numerous. One lady in particular, unfortunately, two weeks ago or thereabouts, if not longer, falling down, trying to put money in a kiosk, getting rushed to a hospital. They parking in front of meters and hydrants, they can violate the law and they have to be told not to. And once again, you're right, Gene, you have to tell the chief. The chief has to go and tell them. These people know what the rules are and whatever it might be. And I think we're getting pretty close to the point that I think I probably would be moving pretty soon that we just end this contract. It'll be the best approximately $900,000 this city could spend to get rid of this company and then stick your head to the grindstone and figure out an enforcement program that makes sense here in the city of Medford, hiring people on a part-time basis, And I think people would acknowledge that. Or, and the alternative, as Councilor Camuso, you alluded to it in the beginning, if they put meters out there in the beginning, people would have understood it. They would understand seeing a meter, putting the money in the meter, and so be it. But it's too discombobulated. There is no uniformity. When they thought they were going to make a clean killing on Playstead Road from people from Winchester parking all day there for $5 a day, There's nobody there. Not one car. There's nobody there. So whatever they thought they were going to accomplish, they're not accomplishing. And changing from 7 to 7 to 8 to 6, it's 12 hours a week. That's 48 hours a month. Think about it. I mean, if I was Republican, I'd be running out of town and saying, hey, this isn't worth it for me. And that's it. So that's my comment as an aside to what you folks talked about right now. And it's obvious. Again, the problems continue to exist. with the McGlynn Traffic Enforcement Program, it's just not working. Thank you, Councilor Penta. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. I think the situation that we're seeing down off of Yale Street and Berwick and Benton and Bradford is really a failure of the street-by-street permitting system. If I live on Bradford Road and I have a permit to park on that road and, you know, you're only allowed to park on one side of the street, So there's, say, 20 spots, but there's 50 cars on Bradford Road, 50 cars with permits to park on Bradford Road. And I can't park on Bradford Road. Where am I going to go? I'm going to go to the next street over. However, that street's permitted for residents that just live on that street. So by the time I find a parking spot, I'm going to be down in Alexander's, walking all the way up the street to Main and Ovid. So I think that the street-by-street permitting system that we have in place is not appropriate. situations like this highlighted, that coupled with the fact that it's been brought to my attention, and I'm doing some research to figure out if it's the case, is that Bradford, Benton, and Berwick historically were granted a variance to be allowed to park along Yale as well as Bradford, Berwick, and Benton when the permitting parking went into place some four years ago down there. So, you know, Republic is tasked with the job of enforcing our current ordinance. We've had an ordinance that's on place, and because of the lack of enforcement, we're now seeing a lot of the problems that are coming up, Mr. President. I think that it's very important to note to the individuals that right now are in a situation where they're going to get tickets, and they're going to continue to get tickets, that they need to go before the Traffic Commission and petition for a variance to be allowed to park on Boynton or Yale Street The chief is well aware of the situation. The commission is well aware of the situation. And the members of this council are working towards a resolve as evident by the discussion that we're having here this evening, Mr. President. But, you know, I think that one of the things that we're seeing is a number of abuses that are coming out of renters in these streets with visitor's parking permits. They're not registering their car in Massachusetts. They may have five people living in a small apartment. They're registering three cars in Medford getting three resident parking permits and two visitor passes. So on a street that has 48 spots, not in a snow emergency, that's taken down to 20 spots in a snow emergency on one side of the road for 50 cars, and then of those 50 cars, we're seeing another 10 of them with visitor passes. It's creating a real, real problem, Mr. President. So, you know, I certainly commend the work of Councilor Marksley on this. You know, I'm going to do my part. I'm going to talk to the chief as well and see if we can't find out whether or not this variance is available for the residents that live down there on what I've referred to as the three B's. off of Yale Street at this point in time. But I really think that going forward, this is something that needs to be considered. This is good policy. It's not hard to break it down by ward. It's not hard to break it down by ward and precinct, for that matter, if, in fact, we have concerns about people coming from the north part of the city and parking at the train station, or people going from the west part of the city and parking close to the bus to get the bus. But I really think that this is just an example of how the street-by-street permitting system can fail. because it just pushes the problem to the next street, and to the next street, and to the next street. And now we have folks that are in a situation where they're going to have to take a taxi from their car, where they parked, to get to their house. So with that being said, Mr. President, I'd like a report back from the Traffic Commission, and I've already made this request privately, as to whether or not there is a variance or a grandfathered exemption for the three Bs off of Yale Street.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So as amended by Councilor Knight, Councilor Camuso.
[Paul Camuso]: not on this after we dispose of this, just announcement.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Okay.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, one of the issue that I failed to mention was that, uh, prior to this new parking program, uh, residents that got resident permit parking, uh, permits would put a sticker on their windshield. So if you lived on a street, you'd be able to see on the street who had a resident permit parking and who was parked illegal. Now they did away with the stickers, so if you need to call in and say, you know, this person's illegal on the street, there's no indication now. And that's a huge concern. So on the weekends and at nights, if your street's packed with cars, you're not gonna be able to look for a sticker anymore. You'd have to know because the cars go by that do the vehicle identification reading by the plates, and they can tell if you have a sticker or not. So it really wipes away any of that activity from residents that can call in and say, Hey, these particular cars are parked illegal. And that's an issue that wasn't well thought out. Uh, I know the intention was all, uh, uh, well-purposed, uh, doing away with stickers. But now, you know, if, if the enforcement's not out there and residents want to call, what do they call on? There's no indication anymore. And that's another thing that, When the chief gets together, and I have every faith and confidence in the chief, and I know the chief will involve the community, he'll involve the business districts, he'll involve everyone and come to a consensus, unlike some other people in this community that came to the consensus dealing with their three or four department heads and had no involvement at all. I know whatever the Chief does, it'll be well thought out. I would just ask that this take place quicker than later, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So on the main motion as amended, offered by Councilor Marks, all those in favor? Aye. Councilor Penta?
[Robert Penta]: Quick. You just alluded to the word consensus, and I just want to highlight the fact that I thank you for bringing that up. I think the Mayor of Boston should be complimented. for him asking the citizens of Boston and anyone what their thoughts might be for the expansion or the upgrading of the City Hall Plaza down there. And that's just a great way to get people involved when you do that. What a shame that that doesn't take place in this community. And this administration is so close-knit on everything that they do. There's been nothing that talks about, nothing that talks about complete community interaction. So I thank you for bringing that up. And I would hope, you know, Wouldn't that be interesting if we put a budget item, a line item in the budget for community expansion by way of advertising. So when something comes up of a great magnitude, the people of this community, everyone will be notified in advance and they'll have a chance to participate rather than the clothes shop that apparently operates right now in a vacuum. It's a vacuum. Thank you. Councilor.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So on the motion of a Councilor, Marks, as amended by Vice President Lungo-Koehn, Councilor Knight, and Councilor Marks. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries. Mr. President.
[Paul Camuso]: Councilor Camuso. If I just may, I'd like to make a community announcement. Please. This Thursday, Mayor McGlynn, in conjunction with Senator Markey, as well as Representative Catherine Clark, will be holding a fundraiser for the Crystal Campbell Memorial Peace Garden. That's going to be this Thursday, March 12, 2015, And it's going to be from 5.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. at 200 Rivers Edge Drive. It's $50 per person. If anyone that can't make it that would like to participate financially can do so at medford.org. And the first 200 donors will get a copy of Bill Brett's, who's a famous photographer in the Boston area, new book, Boston Irish. So the mayor, I got to give him a compliment for this. He's doing a nice job in the Crystal Campbell Peace Garden. And this is for the upkeep of the garden after the construction has taken place.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor. Thank you for that important announcement. So on the motion of Councilor Camuso to revert back to the regular order of business, all those in favour? All those opposed? Petitions, presentations and similar matters. 15-092 petition by Joseph Viglione, 59 Garfield Ave, Medford to address the, uh, council on people's forum. Um, before I begin, uh, uh, it was, uh, the dish, this was a bit of an edit to the, uh, petition that was submitted to the clerk because I would imagine it mentions people's names and because it does so, um, uh, in a, in a manner that might not be consistent, that isn't consistent with the rules of the city council. I'm going to rule that this petition is out of order. uh, as it, uh, uh, isn't, uh, consistent with, uh, uh, the manner of I've removed the name, sir, and I have gone into a different direction with this petition. So we'll take this opportunity to remind you, uh, to, uh, in your remarks to, uh, do so in a manner that, uh, isn't disparaging of others.
[Joe Viglione]: Absolutely, sir.
[Fred Dello Russo]: If you could please state your name and address for the record.
[Joe Viglione]: Joe Viglione, 59 Garfield, Medford Mass. We need a reverse 911 or a CTY connect about the People's Forum every week. I think every week this city needs a topic of discussion that is brought to the attention of the public prior to a council meeting. I look behind me and there are five other people in the room in a city of 57,000. That's staggering. Where is the community involvement? It's the duty of this council because it is the people's forum, and the people are making an investment they might not be aware of. The ratepayers are putting about 200 grand into the broadcasts, or cablecasts, sorry, the cablecasts, and the salaries of the city councilors. This is an investment by the public. Now, we have a lot of topics in the city, and some great topics were brought up tonight. The potholes, the chevalier, cable bills, empty storefronts. This is an opportunity for the city to come together. There has to be more than six people in attendance. It's disrespectful to the city council to not have an audience that's vibrant. The drug issue is very important, and last week we saw that the people came up here and discussed that. It's important that the public have an opportunity to speak, the council listen, and then after all the public has had its voice heard, then the council can bring in all the points of information that they want to. But my goal here tonight is to foster more public discussion with the public because you councils are hearing it. You're hearing all the compliments, you're hearing all the complaints. We need to get that into a forum where it's on a fixed media, and then maybe it goes onto the internet. Maybe if we don't have an access station right now, we take the government channel and we put that on Made in Medford. So that's basically what I wanted to say today. If we could use Captain Clementi's Reverse 911, or CTY Connect, whatever they call it these days, to bring one issue a week, one issue a week to the attention of the city, where people know they can come and speak on that issue, skating rinks, sports. I think it would do a lot for you city councilors. I think it would do a lot for the community. And that is basically the gist of what I had to say.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you very much, sir. The motion of council night that the people be received him.
[Robert Penta]: Quick question. Yes, sir. You used the term, if we could do it and put it on Maiden Medford. What is Maiden Medford? What is that?
[Joe Viglione]: Maiden Medford is one of Comcast's platforms. As you know, they have the Every Block platform, and they have this Maiden Medford platform, which was supposed to be an addition to public access, which is in six cities in the country. Medford is considered the test site, but in St. Petersburg and five other communities, they have a full Made in Medford site, which is Comcast trying to satisfy the FCC because they purchased NBC. Because they purchased NBC, they had to make a deal with the FCC to supplement public access where it wasn't happening. So Medford is one of those cities where it wasn't happening, although the former TV station was bragging, saying, hey, look, we're one of the only ones in the country because we're doing such a great job. No, they were doing a poor job, and in order to satisfy the FCC, Comcast had to give us something else. Now, that's on the web, and as many of you know, there is a unit you can buy at stores to access the web and not have cable or satellite. And I know people that are already employing this device, where they get Hulu, they get the NFL, and it is all going there. It is all going to go there, and I think it's going to happen sooner than later. I'll make a prediction. three and a half to four years, you're going to see people buying their programming from these Internet sites, and cable knows this. So, a la carte is certainly the way it's going to go. Public access will have a voice there, but how it fits in and if it will cluster, we don't know. But to answer your question, this Maiden Medford thing is something Mayor McGlynn brought in. He was very proud of it. He got his FaceTime on all those commercials, and he used it liberally. I think it was during a campaign time, too, but, you know, the point is, it's for the people, Your Honor. It wasn't for you. And you should have had just John Q. Public that had never been on TV. Not me, not anyone in this room, but people from out there that have never been on TV before. And let's introduce them to public access, because outreach is what is missing from the component that City Hall is obligated to give the public outreach. And this mayor has not done it. He has not told us what Maiden Medford is. He has not told us that we have an access TV station. So thank you for asking.
[Michael Marks]: Just if I could, while the gentleman was up there before he leaves, you referred to every block. That's also a tool where residents can communicate with
[Joe Viglione]: It's difficult because it's an app for your phone, but then it might take a lot of your contacts, so you might not be willing to give up in order to get. And so I'm still unclear on every block. And I was at the press meeting with Councilor Caraviello, and Alex Rupenthal was there. So if we were there at this press conference, I don't get it still. And I've asked them, Comcast directly, and they've given me information. But where is this EveryBlock, and why hasn't the mayor advertised it so that we know? I mean, I was there, and I don't know.
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President, maybe we should get a representative from Comcast to come and inform this council on what EveryBlock does and how it would impact the lives of residents of this community.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I have an announcement after this is finished.
[Jeanne Martin]: Oh, just real quick. I would love to, Gene Martington, Cumming Street. What I did like about what he said while he was talking, I was thinking about we get these robocalls by telephone, but a lot of people today, you know, get email notices or whatever. I don't get email notices when there's a storm or parking or anything like that. I was wondering maybe we should think about that because everybody, I'm sorry? Oh, okay, that's great. And then the other thing is I like the idea of putting up the council meetings on the computer. Is there a way to put the council meetings on a computer program?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: We ask for that, yes.
[Adam Knight]: That matter was discussed previously and I believe we're going to be holding a rules committee meeting on the 18th of this month to discuss papers and committee, one of them being that.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Yes, along with the Crystal Campbell, which was already announced, that fundraiser. There's also a fundraiser for children's hospital. It's the second annual 5k leprechaun race, which is Saturday, March 14. this coming Saturday at 1030. The race starts at 1030. It's going to be held at the Elks in Medford. I believe that's on Washington Street. It was a huge hit last year. A ton of people, a ton of fun. So just encourage anybody who wants to get out. Hopefully it's a nice spring day. And it's a great race. Raises a lot of money for Children's Hospital.
[Fred Dello Russo]: The records, the tabled records of February 17. We'll pass to Councilor Caraviello on the motion of Councilor Camuso that those remain on the table until Councilor Caraviello's recuperation. Well, Mr. Clerk, allow it if you would. Note that the temperature in this chamber is 65 degrees tonight. The tabled records of February 24th. On motion of Councilor Knight, that those be tabled. All those in favor, all those opposed, Councilor Penta, on that matter?
[Robert Penta]: Well, I would like to discuss the minutes of 224 if they're relative to me. If they're relative to something else, that's a different story.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So those minutes remain tabled. And the records of March 3, 2015 were passed To Councilor Marks, does anybody find anything in order? No.
[Michael Marks]: I actually read the records, find them to be in order and move approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of approval by Councilor Marks, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? On the motion of council to adjourn? Adjourned. Thank you all.
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