RSPEC: City Council Newsletter Draft - 2025-12-10

AI-generated transcript — the recording is the record.

Agenda

[Marie Izzo]: Yeah. I had to have Paul have the cleaners, because they spent literally four hours in there cleaning the gas.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Justin, can you hear me? Yes. Yeah, I can hear you. All right, great. All right, how does this thing work?

[Marie Izzo]: You ready?

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Yeah, I'm just trying to. Yeah, how does.

[Marie Izzo]: So you would just in a. Oh, yeah, Mike is six, right? All right, cool.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Just keep our mics on for this. All right, Jim, you ready? There will be a meeting of the Medford City Council of Resident Services and Public Engagement Committee. Mr. Clerk, when you're ready, please call the roll.

[Marie Izzo]: Councilor Azarro. Councilor Azarro is absent. Councilor Scarpelli. Councilor Scarpelli is absent. Councilor Tseng. Present. And Chairman Leming.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Present. Three present, two absent. We have a quorum. Committee. It's called order. Only thing that we're going to be discussing today is the draft of the Medford City Council newsletter. Councilor Tseng.

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: Thank you. Thanks for putting this together. My main note is just to add one more item to general business about the trash. Yeah. Can you hear me now?

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Yeah, just repeat what you just said, sorry.

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: Yeah, so my main thing is just, my main suggestion is just to add one more point to the general business section. I can paste in draft language in the chat, but basically just about the trash resolution that we passed as a council. Right. Yeah, let me let me paste that into the chat and read it out for you guys. I just need to make sure I have the correct date for it. Okay. At the November 18th meeting, the City Council passed a resolution. Oh, I forgot to take out the word detailed. Passed a resolution responding to the administration's plan to shift to bi-weekly trash collection as part of the Zero Waste Initiative. Noting significant resident concerns that unanswered questions about the fees of or we can also just have for that language a little bit, but noting significant resident concerns. The council formally requested clear public communication, comprehensive reports on operational. public health and equity implications, and a public forum to gather community input. The resolution also urged the administration to evaluate alternative waste reduction strategies, outline a mitigation plan for potential negative effects, including rodent issues, and explain how services will be sustained once the $200,000 grant expires. And we can just edit it down a little bit. I know that's a little long.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Yeah. Okay.

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: Yeah I mean I think we can cut like and answer questions about feasibility and impacts of the proposal. I know administration has been working on that.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Okay. What about. I'm going to shift to my weekly trash collection. OK, that's still still a bit of a lengthy. Meeting but. It's not as lengthy as some of the other some of the other things on there, so I think it's acceptable. So the, what I just proposed and what I just tried to edit it down to was the November 18th meeting, the city council passed a resolution responding to the administration's plan to shift to biweekly trash collection. The council formally requested clear public communication, comprehensive reports on operational public health and equity implementations in a public forum to gather community input. The resolution also urged the administration to evaluate alternative waste reduction strategy and explain how services will be sustained once the $200,000 grant expires.

And feel free, Councilor Callahan or Councilor Tseng to just speak up since it's only the three of us.

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: Yeah, I think it looks fine too.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Okay, cool.

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: Thank you.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: And I'll also note that I didn't, this was originally drafted by Council Vice President Collins and I didn't I realized that when I was adding items to it, that occurred since she passed me this draft. I didn't go through all of the regular meetings, commemorations and acknowledgements. So I would request when we do pass this, that you just give me a, like, let me just include whatever other commemorations and acknowledgements we had since that I may have failed to put into this current draft.

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: That sounds great by me.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Okay. Beyond that, does anybody else have any, do either of y'all have any other concerns, comments, questions, edits?

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: Should we put in a point about the committee, the whole that we had yesterday? I don't think I saw that on here.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Yeah. I'll just write something. It was the Roberts School, right? Glenn. Yeah. Glenn. Okay, I don't love this language, but if anybody has any other suggestions. At the December 9th Committee of the Whole, the Council heard a presentation on a plan to put solar panels on the McGlynn in preparation for potentially approving a 20-year contract with, what was it called? Okay. Yeah. At the December 9th Committee of the Whole, the council heard a presentation on a plan to put solar panels on the McGlynn School in preparation for potentially approving a 20-year contract with Select Solar. Does anybody else have any suggestions for?

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: Yeah, I would just add in the power purchase agreement to purchase electricities produced by said installation.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Wait, sorry. Can you repeat that just word for word?

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: I'm just taking it directly from the text that we got. Let me just paste it in the chat. Yeah, yeah. So I would just add in the power purchase agreement. And if there's a good way to combine this information from the slides.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: December 9th committee, the whole council heard a presentation on a plan to authorize the city to enter into a 20 year lease agreement to allow for installation of solar photo. They lick PV on the McGlynn school roof, as well as a power purchase agreement to purchase electricity produced by said installation, uh, installation of solar photo.

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: I think you could probably just say solar panels. Yeah. I added some information in the chat that might be helpful for residents. There might be a way to synthesize it shorter. Just the last three messages I sent, I think those would answer some questions that residents might have. about this.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: I'm seeing your notes. I feel like that gets a little bit too into the weeds for a newsletter. I could link to the documents.

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: Yeah, if you could link to the documents.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Yeah, some of this also assumes that we will agree to the contract extension. And it says installation will start fall 2026. I mean, yeah.

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: I was thinking you added the word would. I mean, it's all hypothetical. But yeah, I mean, I wasn't saying that you should copy and paste. I think we would have to say would. But yeah, if you could just link it, I think that'd be helpful.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Yeah, I haven't had time to, yep.

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: Yeah, and maybe if you could just add in that, like, we did requests more information ahead of the, like, yeah.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: And that's for next week's December 16th meeting?

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: Yes.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Okay. How about this? That works. Okay. Cool. Okay. Anybody else have any other suggestions for this? Do we have any motions on the floor?

[Councilor Anna Callahan]: Motion to approve with the, allowing you to add any of the commemorations.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Do we have a second? Second. On the motion to approve with the caveat that I'm allowed to add in the additional commemorations and acknowledgements. Mr. Clerk, when you're ready, please call the roll.

[Marie Izzo]: Councilor Callahan? Yes. Councilor Tseng? Yes. Chair Leming?

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Yes. Three approved, two absent. The motion passes. Do we have any other motions?

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: Motion to adjourn.

[Councilor Matt Leming]: On the motion to adjourn, do we have a second? Second. On the motion to adjourn by Councilor Tseng, seconded by Councilor Callahan. Mr. Clerk, when you're ready, please call the roll.

[Marie Izzo]: Councilor Callahan? Yes. Councilor Tseng? Yes. And Chair Lemme?

[Councilor Matt Leming]: Yes. Three yeses, two absences, a motion to adjourn passes and the meeting is adjourned. Thanks guys.

[Councilor Justin Tseng]: Thanks.