[George Rick Sacco]: Rick Sacco, 21 Ridgeway Road Method. My story starts very simply. I have a tree in front of my house. It's a Norwood maple. It's a very nice tree. It's on city property. I went down to the DPW because I was concerned about some serious overhanging of some limbs that I felt that were a danger to the public, a safety issue. So I went to the DPW and I asked them if they could have a city go down and trim those limbs off the tree. I was told that I own the tree. I said, I own a city tree. She said, yeah, well, you own a private way. I said, yeah. Well, I guess the ordinance says that if you own a private way and you have a tree in front of your house, you own that tree. you are responsible for that tree, unless it's a public safety issue, then the city will come in and trim the tree. So I said, well, I'm gonna go out and get a quote from a tree service company, which they came out and I'll read the quote. This is a very reputable company. It says a safety pruning of a Norway maple, remove large dead wood, rotting and weak branches. Perform a weight reduction when necessary. Clean up wood and brush. Gave me a price. So I take this down to the DPW commissioner. They go into the office, they look at it. They come out, basically says to me, well, the quote doesn't say public safety issue. So what do you mean? Well, it has to say public safety, it's a public safety. I said, so the word public, if it's not on the quote, that means I don't get the tree tripped. So my question is this, anybody that has a tree that's on a private way in the city of Medford, they own that tree. I just want the people to know that's listening in, that this is a new ordinance that has to be changed. It's a simple thing to do. I'm not asking for sewers, I'm not asking for curbing, because a public way requires curbing and sewage. Private ways do not require that. But all I'm looking for is to have my tree trimmed. That's it, all right? The other issue, which doesn't have to do with trees, and I wanna make the public aware of this, that live on private ways, is that if, If your street is torn up from excessive traffic, and it's a private way, and that street has to be repaved, the cost of that repaving is done by the people that live on that street, not by the city. The public way is different. So I live on Ridgeway Road, I'm getting off in a little bit here, but I live on Ridgeway Road, and between six and nine o'clock, 10 o'clock in the morning, there's 80 to 100 cars that go down that street. That's a private way. Now that street is getting worn, you can see cracks in the street. If that street gets deteriorated to the point of rebating, we have to pay for that. So I just want the public to know this, but all I'm asking for is the council to go into committee or rules and just very simply say, if you live on a private way and you have a tree in front of your house, the city will trim it. I'll replace it if necessary.
[George Rick Sacco]: That's going to take time.
[George Rick Sacco]: It does. I understand what you're saying, but my question also is the liability. What happens if a limb falls off that tree and lands on someone's head that's walking underneath the tree and they're seriously injured? Who's liable? Me, the person that the tree's in front of or the city? Is the city liable for that? If that limb comes down and hits somebody and damages a person or a car or whatever, am I responsible or is the city responsible? You're saying, the city's saying that it's not danger. So what happens if we get a windstorm and that limb, and these are big limbs, and it comes down and it takes somebody out, who's responsible? I'm not gonna be responsible.
[George Rick Sacco]: So that's another issue that maybe somebody should be looking at too. Who's liable on that kind of a situation?
[George Rick Sacco]: I know it's- I'm happy to revisit it again.
[George Rick Sacco]: If there needs to be- I understand. I had the tree warden come out and look at it. I understand that she determined it's not. Okay. But I have a professional tree company that's been in business 30 years that says, yes, it is a safety issue.
[George Rick Sacco]: If it's an immediate threat to the public- I'd appreciate it if you'd look at it again and make another determination on it.
[George Rick Sacco]: I appreciate it.
[George Rick Sacco]: And the other thing is, it's a nice tree. It's a Norwood maple, and I really want to save the tree, because I figure if I could take these limbs down, it's only going to give growth to the tree. So it's not like I'm, you know, it's more than, it's a safety issue, but it's also an issue where I want to save that tree.
[George Rick Sacco]: Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you.
[George Rick Sacco]: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming. My name is George Rick Sacco, and I'm a candidate for Medford City Council. As a community advocate, volunteer, husband, father, grandfather. I want to work in bringing more leadership and positive action to the citizens of Medford. I'm a lifelong resident of Medford. I've been married for 46 years to my wife, Sandra. I have two sons, Brian and Eric, and six wonderful grandchildren. I'm a Medford High School graduate. I served three years in the United States Army, serving one year in Korea. I'm a veteran in pride in honor to have served my country. I attended Hampshire College, graduated with a business degree in management. I have retired from the General Electric Company after 38 years of service as a senior sales engineer. I was a member of the Mayor's Energy Commission for six years, and I received the Medford Green Award for citizen participation in that program. Medford has very specific needs that must be met to improve our quality of life in our neighborhoods. These are just a few of those needs that I've outlined. I can't get into specifics on each one, but I would like to discuss the opiate crisis, the charter review, and the street and sidewalk program, the issues which I should have mentioned, I am going to mention, uh, the charter review, sports zoning issues, adequate funding for our police and fire department, parking enforcement review of the existing contract, the opiate crisis and historical preservation of our buildings and our open spaces. I'd like to start with the opiate crisis. I want to give some statistics. Medford in 2015 was ranked 25 in opiate deaths in Massachusetts. 2010 to 2015, 71 opiate drug-related deaths in Medford. 2014, we lost 14 people. 15, we lost 20. 16, we lost 17. 2017 numbers are in yet, but they're gonna be double digits. 2016 to 2017, 610 deaths in Massachusetts alone, opiate and drug related deaths. July 2016 to June 2017, in this city, Our police department responded 52 times to narc drug users, basically brought back 52 people to life. We have a crisis. When I'm elected city councilor, I'm going to ask the administration for a line item in the budget geared specifically for the opioid crisis. And included in that budget, I'm going to ask the administration to supply and equip our police and fire first responders with the latest personal protection equipment. They're the first ones that go in these buildings, and the first ones as far as health issues. They have to be protected. As far as the charter review, 30 years. The charter is our most important document. It's like our Constitution. Our Constitution is looked at. Congress looks at it. The people look at it. We make changes, we don't make changes. We have to do that for Method. 30 years, we have not looked at this charter. It's a review. The people vote. Whatever comes out of the commission, the people vote, any changes up or any changes down. So it is a people's involvement, the citizens of Method's involvement in the charter review. As far as street repairs, sidewalk repairs, currently, Our streets are repaired on a yearly basis. The council gets a budget.
[George Rick Sacco]: I'm going to end. I'm looking forward to serving as a Medford City Councilor. I appreciated you coming tonight. And vote for me for City Council. I'd appreciate it very much. November 7th. Thank you.