[Knight]: I'd just like to ask Attorney Dash, how are you?

[Knight]: Good to see you again.

[Knight]: How long have the process has been for the applicants from start to recount?

[Knight]: How long ago did they initiate this process?

[Knight]: Four years?

[Knight]: Have there been any significant delays coming relative to the legal aspect of this?

[Knight]: Because we don't have legal counsel or city solicitors.

[Knight]: Well, we were... You've got to wait three days to get somebody to call you back, four days, five days a week.

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately what I'm hearing is that they started the process four years ago, and at some point it's going to present some sort of economic hardship.

[Knight]: And, you know, we can only hold people over a barrel for so long as they try to shake them down in a negotiation going on in another department over here.

[Knight]: But if this is just an issue, whether or not the council feels they should change the deed of restriction, I don't see why we should be the ones to hold them.

[Knight]: In full disclosure, I live on Movement Street.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: I live at number 200.

[Knight]: I'm probably three football fields, four football fields away.

[Knight]: I'm not a direct butterer.

[Knight]: I'm not a butterer.

[Knight]: I'm not a butterer.

[Knight]: But, you know, just in the interest of disclosure, I'd like to say that.

[Knight]: It's not a motion, it's more of a question.

[Knight]: I mean, at this point, Councilor, this is my last meeting, I'm a lame duck Councilor.

[Knight]: I'm not going to bring any racial items forward at this point.

[Knight]: But, you know, I just kind of find it curious that, you know, it's taken these hardworking individuals in this community four years to get this process really rolling.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Councilor Caraviello is absolutely right.

[Knight]: The coverup is always worse than the crime.

[Knight]: And Councilor Bearsley is right.

[Knight]: Trust in the public process is paramount, especially when it comes to elections.

[Knight]: So why is it that we have an elections commission that's going to go hide under their bed?

[Knight]: when the largest issue in this community has come up in a very long time.

[Knight]: I don't understand how an election commission can vote 3 to 1 to postpone reporting back to this community the flaws and errors that occurred during their mismanagement and incompetency following that election.

[Knight]: I sat up here the evening of the election, and I heard them read off the figures.

[Knight]: I heard them read off the total vote count.

[Knight]: And I said to myself, you're missing

[Knight]: like 4,000 votes.

[Knight]: You're wrong.

[Knight]: You don't know what you're talking about, Councilor.

[Knight]: You don't know what you're talking about.

[Knight]: I know one plus one equals two.

[Knight]: I know one plus one equals two.

[Knight]: The way that election was handled was the most embarrassing sight I've seen in a long time.

[Knight]: I worked on political campaigns since I was seven years old.

[Knight]: I've never seen anything handled like that before in my life.

[Knight]: The elections manager was not in this room the whole entire night.

[Knight]: I was here from 8.05 until almost one o'clock in the morning

[Knight]: And the elections manager was nowhere to be seen.

[Knight]: All the vote totals in bags, unattended, all over this room.

[Knight]: Individual members of the election commission, unsupervised, alone, going through the bags, looking through them, rifling through them.

[Knight]: And you wonder why stuff is going missing.

[Knight]: You wonder why we can't put it together, Madam President.

[Knight]: That was the biggest embarrassment I've ever seen in my life.

[Knight]: Now, shockingly, we do have a CEO in this community.

[Knight]: who's been extremely quiet, extremely quiet about what happened during this election.

[Knight]: Which leads me to believe that this behavior is something that's acceptable with this current administration.

[Knight]: Because I know if it were me, and the integrity of my election would be brought into question, I'd be sure that the department heads and the board members

[Knight]: by way of which I appointed personally, because I'm the mayor, would have their heads rolling down the street.

[Knight]: The way that they treated election day volunteers, people that wanted to participate in the process and be involved, was shameful.

[Knight]: And for them to now vote, to postpone the discussion, just tells you what kind of culture we have here at City Hall, Madam President.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: I would find it very interesting if the mayor could point out when she did become aware of these circumstances.

[Knight]: You know, she's remained relatively quiet about it with the exception of a press release

[Knight]: And historically, that office has been really good at press releases and social media.

[Knight]: So it kind of concerns me, Madam President.

[Knight]: It makes me scratch my head and wonder if the mayor had knowledge about this before Halloween and didn't share it with the community.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Ricky, first things first.

[Knight]: It's your turn to pay at the Mets tomorrow morning.

[Knight]: I've served on this council for 10 years, and I've never, ever served a year without you.

[Knight]: And it's been a great ride.

[Knight]: You know, I think back to when I first had the opportunity to meet you.

[Knight]: I think I was in kindergarten, I was with your son Richard, running across High Street, going over to Hastings Lane, visiting the house, and you know, a lot's transpired since those times, and now here I am serving with you as a colleague, and I've had the opportunity to not only, you know, spend a lot of time around your family and your children, but also your grandchildren.

[Knight]: And I really think that shows what you're all about.

[Knight]: You're a true family man, and you're a true throwback to that old school politician.

[Knight]: You're the type of guy that when someone calls you on the phone, you call them back.

[Knight]: And if they don't answer the phone, you show up at the door.

[Knight]: Because you truly care about people in this community, and you want to make a difference.

[Knight]: And rest assured, Ricky, you have.

[Knight]: You really have.

[Knight]: You've done an excellent job, and it's been an honor and a privilege to serve with you.

[Knight]: And it's even more bittersweet to walk out the door with you.

[Knight]: So with that being said, thank you very much for your service.

[Knight]: I do think that there are a couple of people in this audience that haven't been recognized yet this evening that I know you're going to take a chance to recognize.

[Knight]: for the past, what is it, 12 years now?

[Knight]: The family's been very good at...

[Knight]: throwing you out of the house, letting you get out here and serve the people of this community.

[Knight]: And what is to be said about a family that's so willing to share such a great man with so many people here in this community.

[Knight]: So thank you, Carol and Lauren and Richard and Nikki for letting us have a piece of Ricky for the past decade plus.

[Knight]: Well, Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I didn't realize that subtlety was such a strong suit of mine, but apparently a couple of my colleagues feel so it is.

[Knight]: Now, who would have thunk it?

[Knight]: Back in 2013 when I was elected to the city council and I was the liberal.

[Knight]: But thank you.

[Knight]: Thank you for all the kind words that you said.

[Knight]: You know, it's kind of weird getting out of the public life, getting out of electoral politics.

[Knight]: And, you know, everywhere you go, you have people coming up to you.

[Knight]: Thank you for your service.

[Knight]: Thank you for your service.

[Knight]: Thank you for your service.

[Knight]: And I'm looking at them like they're crazy.

[Knight]: I'm not a veteran.

[Knight]: I don't know what you're talking about.

[Knight]: Thank you for your service.

[Knight]: It feels wrong to me.

[Knight]: It feels like I should be the one saying thank you.

[Knight]: truly.

[Knight]: Serving the residents of this community as a member of this council has been an honor, truly has.

[Knight]: And it's been a great run.

[Knight]: I'm very proud of the work that together we've been able to accomplish and very thankful for the friendships I've been able to make along the way.

[Knight]: You know, I wish the incoming council the best of luck.

[Knight]: I thank my past and current colleagues for their service and work.

[Knight]: We've had a lot of laughs.

[Knight]: We've done a lot of good for this community.

[Knight]: And we've always kept Medford in the forefront.

[Knight]: To my family, they've been great.

[Knight]: Sacrificed a lot to allow me this opportunity.

[Knight]: And it's something I'll be forever grateful for.

[Knight]: It's nice to see my old colleagues here, my old friends, Councilor Marks and I, at a number

[Knight]: a number of great debates right in these chambers.

[Knight]: Thank God for TV3, because we can go back and watch them and laugh at what donkeys we were making of ourselves as we picket back and forth.

[Knight]: I'm upset that Representative Donato had to leave because I remember back a number of years ago, my grandfather was still with us.

[Knight]: And I went over to the house all excited.

[Knight]: I'm a young kid and I'm working on a political campaign.

[Knight]: And I grabbed my grandfather and I'm saying, Hey, grandpa, we got to help this guy, Paul Donato.

[Knight]: He's running for state rep.

[Knight]: And you know, he's my friend.

[Knight]: And Donato, guy's a bum.

[Knight]: What do you mean?

[Knight]: I'm not supporting Donato.

[Knight]: It's a grip.

[Knight]: What are you talking about?

[Knight]: Now?

[Knight]: This is, you know, 2000 or so.

[Knight]: It's a grip.

[Knight]: What are you talking about?

[Knight]: He ran against my friend Dennis McKenna in 1982.

[Knight]: I'm not supporting that guy.

[Knight]: So if that tells you anything about the Knights in the way that we approach politics, you know, sometimes we have a long memory.

[Knight]: But with that being said, this has been a job that

[Knight]: I had never considered work.

[Knight]: I considered it something that I love to do, a form of service and an opportunity for me to give back to a city that's given me so much.

[Knight]: Sitting here tonight, being able to reflect on all the good that we've been able to accomplish together is truly rewarding.

[Knight]: I thank you all for being here this evening.

[Knight]: the people that put me in the seat, because without them, it never would have been possible.

[Knight]: Most importantly, though, I do have to, again, reiterate thanks to my family and my campaign team for all the work that they put forward over the years.

[Knight]: It's a very difficult job, and there's two jobs when you get involved in this type of business.

[Knight]: And if you don't do the first job good, it doesn't matter how good you are at the second job.

[Knight]: And the first job is getting elected, and nobody can do that alone.

[Knight]: And you're only as good as the team that you have around you.

[Knight]: You get elected, and you get in the seat, and then you've got to earn your bonus.

[Knight]: But if you can't do the first job right, you're never going to be able to get a chance to do the second job.

[Knight]: And my campaign committee worked tirelessly, tirelessly, over the last decade to ensure that I had this opportunity.

[Knight]: And for that, I will be photographed.

[Knight]: Praise me.

[Knight]: Praise me.

[Knight]: I got something here?

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: Is there any water in this thing?

[Knight]: This is going to be long.

[Knight]: Madam President, congratulations.

[Knight]: It's been a great run as well.

[Knight]: Maybe not as long as Councilor Caraviello and I, but that's because you chose to not make it that long.

[Knight]: You could have served in the city council for as long as you felt like it.

[Knight]: I don't know if you guys know this,

[Knight]: Councilor Morell might be a tad competitive.

[Knight]: She doesn't show it.

[Knight]: but she might be a tad competitive.

[Knight]: Very tenacious on the campaign trail.

[Knight]: I've talked to several of my neighbors and they said they voted for her just because she wouldn't get off her porch.

[Knight]: She's going to have to vote for her because she keeps coming back and she won't get off her porch.

[Knight]: And that strategy worked out very well for the council, as evident by her vote totals.

[Knight]: And when she first got elected to the council after

[Knight]: her first foray into public office.

[Knight]: We had a nice discussion when she came up here and we invited her up as a councilor-elect to observe.

[Knight]: And I said to Nicole, she had a very, very, very important decision that she had to make that's gonna shape her future here on the Medford City Council.

[Knight]: This decision that she makes is probably gonna be the most important decision that she makes as a city council.

[Knight]: And she had to choose where she wanted to sit, next to me or next to Councilor Marks.

[Knight]: And apparently, subtlety is not one of her strong spots either.

[Knight]: And I lost out on that one, Councilor Marks.

[Knight]: And since that time, she tells me that your private whisper conversations with Councilor Bears aren't whispers at all.

[Knight]: I can hear you all the way over here.

[Knight]: So with that being said, congratulations, Councilor Marks, you're responsible for helping shape and mold our president right now.

[Knight]: But as I sit here and I see you there, and don't take this the wrong way, Councilor, but I feel as though your talents are wasted at the chair.

[Knight]: You're an excellent city councilor, very capable on the council floor and a very formidable debater.

[Knight]: I enjoyed the time where you'd step away from the chair and step down on the floor because you always brought forward well thought out arguments that were rooted in fact, not fiction.

[Knight]: that was supported by Data Not Drama.

[Knight]: And that helps move this body along.

[Knight]: So with that being said, thank you very much for your approach to the office and for the way that you handle yourself and tried to handle this body.

[Knight]: It's impossible to hurt a bag of cats and you did the best you can with what you got here.

[Knight]: You know, we've had some great, we've had some great meetings and we've had, we've had some, some very,

[Knight]: very, what we could say, colorful meetings over the past four years, and you've handled yourself with great dignity and great respect.

[Knight]: You've carried yourself in a fashion that's admirable, and you're certainly worthy to wield that gavel and worthy to carry the title Councilor, and it's been an honor and a privilege to serve with you.

[Knight]: Councilor Marks, on that topic, can you tell us what you made when you were in the school?

[Knight]: Madam President, point of personal privilege.

[Knight]: No, Madam President.

[Knight]: So do.

[Knight]: We can dispose of the paper first.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Shortly after the budget debates in late June, following 16 weeks of pregnancy, my brother and his wife gave birth to their second child, Amira.

[Knight]: And after several months of hospitalization,

[Knight]: She was unable to withstand the college medical procedures and was laid to rest in mid-October.

[Knight]: I've served on this council for a decade now.

[Knight]: I think my record will reflect that my first eight years of service, I missed one regular city council meeting, and that was for the birth of my second child, Brandon.

[Knight]: I don't think anybody in this room can say that I haven't come to these meetings prepared, ready, or able to do the work.

[Knight]: When I first decided to run for elected office, it was with the support of my family and the understanding that they were always going to come first.

[Knight]: That's what needed to happen during this time.

[Knight]: So I do regret my absence from the council during this period of time.

[Knight]: It's a very private and personal matter to both me and my family.

[Knight]: But quite frankly, it was something I felt like I needed to share this evening, albeit reluctantly.

[Knight]: I offer this not specifically of a justification for my absences, but for an explanation to the voters here in this community.

[Knight]: You know, I've heard the conspiracy theories and underfunded criticisms and comments made by many people in this community, and I find it necessary that I address the situation.

[Knight]: So I thank you, Madam President, for entertaining me at this time.

[Knight]: Madam President, it appears to be rather self-explanatory.

[Knight]: I'm comfortable moving forward, absent the presentation from the administration.

[Knight]: And with that, I will go- Mr. President, I just want to reiterate the fact that- Councilor Knight, I haven't recognized you.

[Knight]: I do.

[Knight]: I'd like to fact check.

[Knight]: Mr. President, just on the facts, I believe you stated the school committee's salary has not increased from a figure of $12,000 per annual.

[Knight]: Mr. President, you did mention that the school committee's

[Knight]: Monetary figure may not have changed since the year 2000, but I do believe that their compensation structure has changed, which is something that's important to point out.

[Knight]: Previously, their compensation structure was that of a stipend, which made the position a line item budget item.

[Knight]: And now it's turned into a pension eligible health insurance eligible benefited position, which therefore can become

[Knight]: what would be called an unfunded pension liability.

[Knight]: So that's something that we also have to take a look at as we move forward.

[Knight]: But the pay structure did change from the way that the committee was compensated to the way they are currently compensated previously, where stipends were added and included into their salaries to raise that pay and reflect pensionable monetary gain.

[Knight]: Point of information on that, I do believe if the mayor's in the room, she can tell us when she was on the council how she collected health insurance.

[Knight]: When she became mayor and didn't need it anymore?

[Knight]: I just want to know when these discussions happen.

[Knight]: I'll recognize you after Councilor Caraviello.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Must have some English teachers in the room today.

[Knight]: Fiction, maybe a little fiction.

[Knight]: There's some fiction going on here tonight.

[Knight]: You know, it's a good story.

[Knight]: But to me, being the cynic that I am, it does somewhat sound like a money grab for the faces that I share in campaign literature.

[Knight]: You run as a slate, and then the first thing you do is move to give raises.

[Knight]: I think that presents a questionable standard of ethics that the next council is going to have to deal with.

[Knight]: And I don't think it's fair to them that they're going to be put in that position.

[Knight]: When looking at the paper on face value, the paper is contrary to law.

[Knight]: Um, you know, we look at MGL section 71 chapter 71 section 53 as the enabling language to give the city council the authority to issue raises.

[Knight]: But if you look what that section of the general law says, um, in its first line, it says the school committee shall serve without compensation, but they may be compensated for this services by a majority vote of the city council.

[Knight]: This has already been done.

[Knight]: This has already been done.

[Knight]: The language in the general laws that speaks to salary adjustments is governed under Chapter 44, Section 33A.

[Knight]: And this section clearly reads that the annual budget shall include the sum sufficient to pay the salaries of all officers and employees, fixed by law or witness.

[Knight]: Our budget's passed, and these figures are not included in that budget.

[Knight]: The section also reads, no new position shall be created or an increase in any rate made by ordinance, vote, or appointment during the financial year subsequent to the submission of the annual budget, unless provision, therefore, has been made by means of a supplemental appropriation.

[Knight]: Without a money paper, we can't change the ordinance based on state law in my reading, which is a question for

[Knight]: the ever so invisible and elusive city solicitor.

[Knight]: I thank the council president for entertaining me.

[Knight]: Included in our packets this evening were a series of amendments that I have offered.

[Knight]: In response to this paper, I would spare the chairman the

[Knight]: long duration of having to read through it and motion that it be included as part of this paper going forward and hope that the new city council and their divine wisdom acts in the best interest of this community.

[Knight]: We hear a lot of talk about a revenue crisis, the need for the city of Medford to raise more revenue

[Knight]: the need for a Proposition 2.5 override.

[Knight]: And when this issue came up previously, there was some discussion about whether or not it was really a revenue crisis or a spending problem.

[Knight]: And I think that when we look at a paper like this, I think that it shows that we do have a little bit of a spending problem.

[Knight]: And a solution to hard decisions a lot of the time is to throw money at it.

[Knight]: And that does not fix systemic problems and issues.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I do thank my council colleague for the time and do ask that the paper be included by way of a motion to waive the reading and include.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: First of all, I think we can all agree that diversity is important, and it's commendable for a public official to pursue diversity.

[Knight]: I also think that this issue before us here sheds light on a perfect example of why diversity of thought

[Knight]: and diversity of opinion is necessary when you go to the ballot box and you cast your vote to elect somebody to serve.

[Knight]: Because without diversity of thought, without diversity of opinion, what you're going to see is more and more of the same.

[Knight]: So I leave you with this.

[Knight]: Moving forward, everybody behind this rail makes decisions.

[Knight]: based upon what they feel is those in the best interest of the city of Medford in one way or another.

[Knight]: And it's not easy to come out here every evening and be criticized and be trolled and be attacked.

[Knight]: And all it is is an opportunity for us to have a discussion.

[Knight]: Now, Councilor Penta came up and said that someone should make a motion to receive this and place this on file.

[Knight]: Then what?

[Knight]: It fails, then what?

[Knight]: Then what?

[Knight]: I think it's safe to say that we're all acting on behalf of the people.

[Knight]: And it's that diversity of thought and that diversity of opinion on how do we address issues like this that's really coming into play right now.

[Knight]: For these reasons, I'm going to support the paper this evening, because quite frankly, I attached five amendments to it that ask a number of significant legal questions as to whether or not this is even the appropriate process, or whether or not the paper is even in proper legal form.

[Knight]: And as we move forward, this isn't going to be the last you hear of this.

[Knight]: This isn't going to be the last you hear of it.

[Knight]: It's going to come back.

[Knight]: When your landscape is out there,

[Knight]: blowing the leaves in your yard with an electric leaf blower.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: You guys are gonna still be talking about the school committee and whether or not they're getting a raise.

[Knight]: That's the fact of the mat, all right?

[Knight]: But with that being said, you know, I think that, you know, when we move forward in this community and we think about what direction we're gonna go in, diversity of thought and diversity of opinion is something that we really need to think about.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, the more I think about this,

[Knight]: the more I think that there could potentially be a solution.

[Knight]: And, you know, week in and week out we come up here and we have Mina come up and talk to us about all the great things that the mayor's doing, all these grants and these outside contracts that they have and consultants that they have that are running the city.

[Knight]: And one of the things that the mayor's been touting as of recent is the fact that we have a grant.

[Knight]: We have this wonderful grant for a compensation equity study.

[Knight]: Now, we got the grant.

[Knight]: I don't know if the study started or not, right?

[Knight]: But we have these titles.

[Knight]: And they want to go around to every other surrounding community, and they're going to see what people in these titles make.

[Knight]: Why wouldn't we refer this paper to the city administration for inclusion in the compensation classification study that's provided by grant funding?

[Knight]: We're costing the city $0.

[Knight]: I would second that.

[Knight]: Take this off our table.

[Knight]: Let's see what the report says when it comes back to see if they're being compensated equitably.

[Knight]: I would second that.

[Knight]: And if they are, they are.

[Knight]: And if they aren't, we've got a report there that's been done by an outside third party that's compared this with all those surrounding communities and people in like responsible positions.

[Knight]: And then we'll be able to provide something that's driven by data and it's not driven by desire.

[Knight]: I'd like to make it as a motion.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: And I join Councilor Scarpelli in offering my condolences to the family.

[Knight]: Mr. Garrity was a great person, Lawrence State's resident, known by friends and family alike as Bayer.

[Knight]: And I think Councilor Scott Nelly hit the nail on the head.

[Knight]: Although he's left us here, he's going to leave a legacy behind.

[Knight]: If it weren't for the Garrity family, I don't think the city would have been in a good position to create the Office of Outreach and Prevention.

[Knight]: But they came up with this council and they advocated for this story out there, and they helped fight the addiction stigma.

[Knight]: and it was because of their work that Wisconsin has been able to move forward this season, fighting the epidemic and I just want to echo Councilor Scarpelli's indulgences and also my gratitude for their services.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: It's amazing to think that what started out as a small convenience store in Malden three generations of family ago has now transformed into one of the largest camera stores around.

[Knight]: I had the great pleasure and opportunity to go to school with both Scott and Gary, and I call them both friends actually.

[Knight]: I see Gary quite a bit.

[Knight]: He's moved back to Metro recently.

[Knight]: And it's just great to see that they've been able to continue the family tradition and continue so much success with the business.

[Knight]: So I want to wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors and congratulate them on such a momentous occasion.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: I'll defer comment at this time, Madam President.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Point of clarification, Madam Mayor.

[Knight]: It sounds more like a reorganization of the whole entire agenda than taking an item out of order.

[Knight]: Can the council just explain the purpose for making the request.

[Knight]: Thank you for the explanation, sir.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: No.

[Knight]: Madam President, motion to waive the remainder of the reading and move for approval.

[Knight]: This is a contractually adjusted wage increase that's been negotiated by the administration and the union.

[Knight]: I have never been one to stand in the way of waiving the readings to ensure that hardworking men and women in the city of Medford receive the cost of living adjustments as they duly deserve.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I think it's also very important to point out that this is 100% an enforcement issue.

[Knight]: And we do have the controls in place and it's a matter of the administration taking steps that are necessary to ensure that neighborhoods are protected.

[Knight]: So that's number one.

[Knight]: And number two, we also have to think about what's prompting residents in this community to move towards not being landlords and instead being Airbnb operators.

[Knight]: And some of it has to do with the discussion, I think, about policies that might go into effect in this community in the future.

[Knight]: Some of it has to do with the fact that there's a lot of strong tenant rights laws

[Knight]: And landlords feel like sometimes they're at a disadvantage when they go in to pursue non payment or rent issues and the like.

[Knight]: So policy that we create also impacts these trends in housing.

[Knight]: So it's important for us to look at the big picture as we move forward.

[Knight]: But I can certainly agree with all my council colleagues and saying that this is 100% enforcement issue.

[Knight]: And it's something that needs to be handled the forthright.

[Knight]: Ultimately, you know, it's about protecting the neighborhoods.

[Knight]: And right now we're not doing it.

[Knight]: And that's something we need to do.

[Knight]: So I thank the council for bringing the issue forward.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I look at this in a couple of different ways.

[Knight]: The first of which is, you know, all of this,

[Knight]: getting involved between someone trying to sell a house and someone trying to buy a house and the regulations and restrictions that surround it is part of the due diligence process when you're purchasing a home.

[Knight]: or when you're purchasing a piece of property.

[Knight]: And I know that that's a process that's heavily regulated as it is.

[Knight]: I think we better be very careful in how far we're going to be going in performing the due diligence for these private landowners conducting private land transactions.

[Knight]: So, with that being said, you know, I can certainly see the issue going on with the lack of enforcement of BMPs in the community, the strict code that we've established that would provide you only 90 days a year for rental.

[Knight]: But at the end of the day, you know, I think that there has to be a spot where government doesn't get so involved in people's lives.

[Knight]: So, we have to draw our line somewhere.

[Knight]: And I think that when that line is doing the due diligence for

[Knight]: potential homebuyers.

[Knight]: It just doesn't really fall within the scope of what a government service is.

[Knight]: And I think that at the end of the day, we'd be providing far too much energy and effort and performing an exercise that's not going to reap great results.

[Knight]: I think we'd be much better off putting our energy, efforts, and time into enforcement.

[Knight]: So that's where I stand on this matter, but thank you.

[Knight]: That's an old high five, Madam President, my apologies.

[Knight]: On that point, Madam President.

[Knight]: I think it's important to point out that we probably do have one of the strongest short-term rental ordinances in the region.

[Knight]: But again, it's an issue about enforcement.

[Knight]: To Mr. Castagnetti's question, this has been

[Knight]: reviewed at the state level extensively, and it's been determined that local municipalities can't ban them.

[Knight]: But what we can do is regulate them, but we can regulate them only to a certain extent.

[Knight]: And we've utilized our legislative power to do that to the fullest.

[Knight]: The question now is, can the administration put the teeth that we gave them to good use, and be sure that our ordinance is enforced to the level that the taxpayers deserve?

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I think moving forward as we go through our zoning reform, this is something we also might want to take a look at where the ADA requires a minimum of 20%.

[Knight]: I don't think there's anything that could prevent us from requiring more than that, number one.

[Knight]: Number two, as we've established policies in this community as a council through zoning reform that's reduced

[Knight]: the parking minimums in certain developments with that obviously would come a reduction in the number of parking for handicapped blackout holders.

[Knight]: So again, you know, an unintended consequence of policy change.

[Knight]: So it's something that needs to be addressed.

[Knight]: And I think a good way to approach that might be through our next round of zoning codification and maybe increasing the minimum number of parking spots that would be required or reserved for our disabled residents here in the community and elsewhere that are visiting our community.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I am at a loss sitting here hearing that after the amount of money that we spent on outside council, that represents the mayor personally and not the city of Medford, an amount of money is some of the totals close to a half a million dollars.

[Knight]: over $450,000 we spent on KP Law's legal fees in what appears to be violation of city ordinance, Madam Mayor, Madam President.

[Knight]: Once again, I'm calling you Madam Mayor, because I'm just wishing it would be somebody else, but the one that's in there.

[Knight]: When I think about this, Madam President, it makes me crazy, because for three years, I feel like I was talking in an echo chamber.

[Knight]: saying we need to hire a city solicitor.

[Knight]: We need a city solicitor.

[Knight]: We need to hire a city solicitor.

[Knight]: We still don't have a city solicitor.

[Knight]: Instead, we have a private law firm that we paid a half a million dollars to.

[Knight]: It's too busy to go to court and represent the interests of this community.

[Knight]: That shows you where their priorities lay.

[Knight]: It also shows you how inept this administration is.

[Knight]: when it comes to the deliverance of basic city services, number one.

[Knight]: And number two, the protection of the taxpayers' interests when it comes to having in-house legal counsel that represents the taxpayer and not the corner office.

[Knight]: So here we are again, two months after the budget passed, asking for more money for a code enforcement office.

[Knight]: So when we had an opportunity, when we had an opportunity to hold up a budget and get what we needed, number one.

[Knight]: Number two,

[Knight]: And we're coming off the heels of a budget where the mayor said she was gonna hire a solicitor and an assistant city solicitor for the council and never did.

[Knight]: Unfulfilled promises, Madam President.

[Knight]: Unfulfilled promises.

[Knight]: This has been the number one issue, the number one underlying theme throughout this past term for this council is where is our legal representation?

[Knight]: We're driving a ship without a compass.

[Knight]: We're going into uncharted territory, and we need guidance.

[Knight]: Please help us.

[Knight]: Please help us.

[Knight]: That's the council asking, and the council gets ignored.

[Knight]: Now, Madam President, we have residents asking.

[Knight]: They're saying, please help us.

[Knight]: Please help us.

[Knight]: And they're now being ignored.

[Knight]: And KP law is defaulting on court appearances that they filed, that they filed.

[Knight]: KP law is directing the board of health not to put clean it and lean it notices on homes after the council is directing them to do so because such levels of dissatisfaction in the public administration of the enforcement of code.

[Knight]: So again, we can put the record on repeat.

[Knight]: Madam president, here we are again, the same spot we were 12 months ago, the same ones we were the same spot we were 12 months before that.

[Knight]: I sit here and I scratch my head every day and I say, let's name one thing the city does well.

[Knight]: Let's name one thing.

[Knight]: Our school test scores are down about eight, 9% across the board in the last three years.

[Knight]: Our city streets look awful.

[Knight]: Our sidewalks look terrible.

[Knight]: We can't get trees trimmed.

[Knight]: We can't get stumps removed.

[Knight]: We can't get crosswalks repainted.

[Knight]: We can't get 3-3 paved.

[Knight]: The only saving grace we have in this community is we pick up that phone and dial 9-1-1.

[Knight]: And we know that the police and the fire are always going to show up with or without a contract for 700 plus days.

[Knight]: So when I sit here and I reflect on what's going on in this community and I ask myself, what are we doing well?

[Knight]: What are we doing well?

[Knight]: That's one of the hottest questions I have to struggle with every day.

[Knight]: Because when I look around, I don't see anything that we're doing well, that we're exceeding at, that we're excelling at.

[Knight]: I don't see anything that's putting Medford on the forefront, that's keeping Medford where it was.

[Knight]: 10 years ago when I got elected, Medford was the hottest zip code in Massachusetts because of its large inventory of single family homes and its small class sizes.

[Knight]: Boy, how times have changed.

[Knight]: Boy, how times have changed, Madam President.

[Knight]: We're a community that's losing its identity.

[Knight]: And pretty soon we're going to be swallowed up and become just a pocket of Boston.

[Knight]: The zoning reform that's coming up is going to be very important to us.

[Knight]: And I hope the mayor keeps her word this time around and provides us with the tools necessary to succeed.

[Knight]: Because right now, I feel as though the city is not in a strong position for now or for the future.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: I have a question regarding enforcement.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Actually Tufts through their development has agreed with the city to pay taxes, property taxes, I believe in all the new purchases of land and I've done so for over a decade now.

[Knight]: But I think Madam President that the most moving thing that was said tonight was take care of the good people because if you don't, you're going to lose them.

[Knight]: And you're just going to get more of the bad.

[Knight]: I really think that was the most moving thing that was said this evening.

[Knight]: Take care of the good people.

[Knight]: Give the good people some help.

[Knight]: because that's all they're asking for.

[Knight]: So I appreciate the gentleman.

[Knight]: That's something that really resonated with me.

[Knight]: I think that, you know, we all know what we need to do.

[Knight]: We need to get action on this.

[Knight]: We need to hold the administration accountable for their failures and delivering the basic public services that these people deserve.

[Knight]: And I can't understand why we don't have a program or a maintenance plan or a review plan where we go out to these distressed properties, which we know we've had problems with.

[Knight]: year after year and do a spot check once every 6, 8 or 12 months.

[Knight]: I mean, it's basic, basic, basic stuff.

[Knight]: The person that's answering the phone knows the phone's gonna, knows they're gonna get the phone call and when they see who it is that's calling them,

[Knight]: know exactly what it's about.

[Knight]: It's gotten to that point with people in this community.

[Knight]: So I don't understand why we can't take a couple of steps and be a little bit more proactive and have an outreach program where, you know, when we know we have these distressed properties and these properties that are failing to do right by the neighborhood, that we don't go out there and do a little bit of outreach and preventative maintenance, as they like to say, to prevent this from happening and rising to this level of frustration.

[Knight]: I want to commend my council colleague for suggesting that we move to supplement our code enforcement staff with the use of, whether it be retired police officers, was it, Councilor?

[Knight]: Or code enforcement?

[Knight]: Yeah, I mean, I think that's a great idea, especially when you look at how human resources in this community is handled.

[Knight]: I mean, how many times have we had per diem department heads?

[Knight]: We've had a per diem assessor, right?

[Knight]: We've had a per diem building commissioner.

[Knight]: We had a per diem veteran services director.

[Knight]: Why can't we do that with code?

[Knight]: That sounds like a great idea to me.

[Knight]: That was an oldie but goodie.

[Knight]: Madam President, I will be happy to waive the reading and give a brief synopsis as my intention is to request that this go to some subcommittee or committee.

[Knight]: Jesus Christmas.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I bring this resolution forward requesting that we have a little bit more accountability and some tracking and measurement of data when it comes to the use of take-home vehicles here in the community.

[Knight]: Now, there are certain positions in the community that one would expect as a take-home vehicle, the chief of police, the chief of fire, the DPW commissioner, but there are other positions in this community where people are allowed to take-home vehicles.

[Knight]: So the question therein remains, how much use and wear and tear is being put on these vehicles that's being utilized for purposes

[Knight]: work.

[Knight]: Ultimately, this council has appropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions of dollars for the replacement of equipment and part of our fleet.

[Knight]: And as we go through the process of replacing vehicles that are becoming, I guess we'd say, less equipped to deal with the wear and tear of our everyday

[Knight]: work that we perform here in our community.

[Knight]: It's interesting to see where these new vehicles are going and what their uses are for.

[Knight]: Ultimately, you know, I think that there are some protections that we need to put in place to prevent the city from getting into circumstances where we might be liable for things that we didn't anticipate we were going to become liable for.

[Knight]: Now, whether or not these trucks are provided by contract or by grant, the department head or the mayor, they do have implications.

[Knight]: For example, Madam President, if someone were provided a take-home vehicle and they were injured in the line of work, the cost of that take-home vehicle goes towards their wage.

[Knight]: So when they're out of work collecting compensation, they'd be compensated based upon the wage that they earn plus the value of the vehicle.

[Knight]: So that greatly increases the city's liability when it comes down to certain issues of employees that are into the line of work, number one.

[Knight]: Number two, take-home vehicles also increase the city's liability if there were an accident to occur outside of working hours, outside of city limits.

[Knight]: There's also a question about how much of the city's resources in the form of gasoline

[Knight]: and other maintenance and upkeep necessities are being placed on these vehicles through the commute to and from work and they're not used inside the city limits or for city purposes.

[Knight]: So the intention of the ordinance, Madam President, is to put some restrictions upon this and put some data reporting requirements on this so the city knows where their fleet is, what their fleet is doing, when they're doing it outside of city limits and outside of city operating hours and how much

[Knight]: wear and tear is being put on these vehicles that's being done not in the performance of the city duties but in the performance of traveling to and from work commuting and other items for life.

[Knight]: I mean ultimately a take-home vehicle would be only utilized for the purpose of going to your house and from your house and when you get home you're going to get into your own private vehicle so tracking this mileage is very important I think for us in this community to be sure that our fleets are being maintained in the proper and most satisfaction in the court.

[Knight]: also take on vehicles to present tax implications, if I'm not mistaken, Madam President.

[Knight]: So these are things that we need to take a look at and be sure that we're complying with all standards of our federal state statute as well going forward.

[Knight]: So that's why I raised the issue.

[Knight]: It's something that seemed important to me.

[Knight]: It doesn't seem too important to many of you, but I certainly think that asking that a city

[Knight]: vehicle isn't something that's too much to ask, and that we track where these vehicles are going when they're outside of city limits, outside of working hours isn't too much to ask, and that we track the mileage on these vehicles when they're outside of city limits, outside of working hours isn't too much to ask, Madam President.

[Knight]: So that's the basis of the ordinance, and I ask for my council colleagues to support sending this to subcommittees so that we can have a further discussion with our future legal counsel.

[Knight]: It's up to you guys, really.

[Knight]: It's an ordinance, so it probably should be fitting to go to that subcommittee, but if it wants to go to public safety, or if it wants to go to, I do believe there was a request prior to put together a subcommittee on legal services and litigation that we're still waiting to see.

[Knight]: It could go there once that gets created, but whatever it is that you see fit, council, if it has any divine wisdom, I'd be happy to support.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I think Councilor Scarpelli is correct.

[Knight]: Things at Tufts University aren't very different than things at City Hall when it comes to labor relations.

[Knight]: The only difference is our friends at Tufts University have the power to strike.

[Knight]: And that's what they did.

[Knight]: And I commend them for taking the steps that they see necessary to ensure that they secure a fair collective bargaining agreement.

[Knight]: I support their right to organize.

[Knight]: I support any group's right to organize.

[Knight]: I do feel as though Tufts University this evening has been given a very bad rap.

[Knight]: And I, in no uncertain terms, agree with the way that Tufts University is handling this issue with their RAs.

[Knight]: Nor do I agree with their position on the issue.

[Knight]: However, they've been taking a pretty good beating this evening.

[Knight]: And I think it's important that we point out there are many benefits that do come with being host to a university.

[Knight]: One is prestigious as such university.

[Knight]: We keep talking about the fact that they don't pay taxes.

[Knight]: That's patently false.

[Knight]: They don't pay taxes on a portion of their property.

[Knight]: And they've entered into an agreement voluntarily.

[Knight]: But they've said that they will continue to pay property taxes on newly purchased properties.

[Knight]: And this has been going on for quite some time.

[Knight]: So Tufts University is not the villain that we make them out to be.

[Knight]: Do problems come along with having Tufts University in our community?

[Knight]: Absolutely.

[Knight]: Every problem in every community stems from something.

[Knight]: Tufts is not a villain.

[Knight]: when we look at the benefits that they bring to our community, like diversity, like economic stability during unstable and poor economic times, or like the community of academics that tend to call Medford their home after being employed at one of the most prestigious universities in the United States of America.

[Knight]: So, Madam President, I can understand that being a good neighbor is one thing, but I think that they've always been a good partner, they've always lent a listening ear, and they've always invested in this community.

[Knight]: Whether or not you feel as though they're giving enough is one thing, but they always have been some of us willing to come to the table and sit down with us, and I think that that's important to point out.

[Knight]: I just wish that Clemson University took that same approach with their RAs and was willing to sit down with them at the table and put this issue behind them and reach a fair collective bargaining agreement for all involved so that we can move on because ultimately the ones that get affected the most are the students and the school.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President, these parents are making a $70,000 investment

[Knight]: for the kids to worry about whether or not their IRAs are gonna have a contract.

[Knight]: So we need Tufts to get back to the table and negotiate this, because these Tufts students are residents of Metro, and the IRAs are residents of Metro, and they deserve our support.

[Knight]: I support the people of Iowa.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: It's in the direct rebuttal to the statement.

[Knight]: I just know I just don't want I don't want you to think that I'm saying the firefighters should go on strike or that I support that or that number or number two.

[Knight]: that the firefighters would even consider that because I think we've heard time and time again the firefighters come up here and say all we want to do is keep Medford safe and we're going to continue to come to work no matter what and we're going to fight to do that and we're going to fight for fair wages in the meantime and if it takes 800 to 900 days we're not going to lie down but we're going to still continue to come to work today and I don't so I don't I don't think the firefighters would support the statement of saying we're going to go on strike.

[Knight]: And I don't want anybody to think that that's what I was intending to say, or intended to say that they should do, because I don't speak for them.

[Knight]: So I just don't want to be misconstrued or misinterpreted in saying that I think the firefighters should go on strike, or that I think the firefighters would go on strike if they have the power, because I can't speak for them.

[Knight]: But from what I've heard and from my conversations with them, these men and women will come to work every day to make sure this community is safe, and they have.

[Knight]: and they will continue to do so, and I don't see them ever, ever, ever taking a position where they take a strike action against the city.

[Knight]: They'll continue to fight for fair wages in the proper format, but I don't ever see them doing something illegal in order to jeopardize the safety of the residents in this community, nor would I condone it, nor do I think they would.

[Knight]: So thank you, Madam President, for allowing me the opportunity.

[Knight]: I just wanted to be very clear in my words, and I didn't want to get them misconstrued, because sometimes that happens over social media.

[Knight]: virtual Zoom stuff, not social media.

[Knight]: I apologize.

[Knight]: Don't activate me, Councilor.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Motion to adjourn.

[Knight]: Excuse me?

[Knight]: These are mandatory topics of bargaining, correct?

[Knight]: Yeah, so you guys should be taking care of this at the table.

[Knight]: You guys need to enact your rights.

[Knight]: I mean, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: You have rights under the- I don't get it, though.

[Knight]: Amy, time out here.

[Knight]: Time out here.

[Knight]: We're not the administration.

[Knight]: We don't negotiate contracts.

[Knight]: That's the job of the chief of staff per ordinance.

[Knight]: All right, now, I haven't seen the chief of staff in a contract negotiation.

[Knight]: That's a whole different story.

[Knight]: We have KP Law doing that.

[Knight]: Yeah, I agree with you there.

[Knight]: But these are mandatory topics of bargaining.

[Knight]: So when the administration is, you know, depleting the number of membership, the number of

[Knight]: employees that are in the membership, you have to look at the work that's being performed.

[Knight]: And if the work that's being performed by an employee that's actually union workers, not in the union, they didn't bring the city up on charges.

[Knight]: You know, we've seen time and time again in this community, the level of respect that's given to organized labor by this administration.

[Knight]: All right, and it's lacking, it's lacking and never before and I mean, I've worked in local government now for

[Knight]: Shoot, since 1999, I represented union workers all across the Commonwealth from Worcester County to Springfield and back, all right, state, local.

[Knight]: And I've never seen anything like this before, where employees are treated like this.

[Knight]: And, you know, I just,

[Knight]: I'm afraid for you for being up here right now, tonight and speaking out.

[Knight]: I'm afraid for you right now from being up here and speaking out tonight.

[Knight]: And the reason I say I'm scared for you right now is because I could go down a list of people

[Knight]: have got they've gotten rid of come up here to this microphone and they've spoken out against some injustice, the councils agree with them, and those people are gone.

[Knight]: So we look at Brian Karen's Mike for ready.

[Knight]: Mike Durham, Aleesha Nunley, Molly kibbe.

[Knight]: That's five people, right?

[Knight]: That's five people, five people with families, five people who need health insurance.

[Knight]: Five people that committed to work for this community that came up here and spoke on behalf of the people and the taxpayers and the world let go.

[Knight]: I applaud you for your courage, Amy.

[Knight]: I do applaud you for the courage that you have for coming up here.

[Knight]: I think a lot of this stuff really is mandatory topics of bargaining and mandatory topics of negotiation that need to be addressed at the table.

[Knight]: I agree with you that the actions of this body and the vote that some people take, given these people raises, there's no question about that.

[Knight]: The council needs to fund this, the mayor needs to propose it.

[Knight]: And the mayor did propose a significant pay hike for a number of people.

[Knight]: What's the number councilor Bears?

[Knight]: I believe it was 16 requests have been made so far for reclassification of positions and the council is- 18, we rejected 16.

[Knight]: 18, we rejected 16.

[Knight]: I hear you, and you know what?

[Knight]: When nobody listens to us at this meeting, tonight's the night.

[Knight]: It's our go-to, all right?

[Knight]: Because for a year, we've been sitting there, and we've been saying that we need certain tools in the toolbox to do a job for these people in this community, including you, including the workers in the city hall, and we haven't been given them.

[Knight]: We haven't been given the tools that we need to do the job.

[Knight]: And tonight is gonna be a day of reckoning because I don't think there's anybody behind this rail based upon the debates that I've listened to that's happy with the direction that this community is going in, that's happy with the way that we've been treated, that's happy with the way employees have been treated in this community, right?

[Knight]: And I think that's safe to say, nobody behind this rail based upon the commentary and the minutes that have been approved by this body, that nobody behind this rail is happy with the direction this community is going in.

[Knight]: All right, so think about how frustrated you are.

[Knight]: Now think about how frustrated we are.

[Knight]: We're the last stop.

[Knight]: You come to us for help and we can't get answers.

[Knight]: The only time we can get answers is from January 1st to, you know, maybe, maybe, sorry, June 1st to June 31st, June 30th, you know, right at the, right at the close of the fiscal year.

[Knight]: That's when we get answers.

[Knight]: Hi, Camilla.

[Knight]: Good, good to see you.

[Knight]: Well, here's the problem, Camilla.

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately, you want to time out point of information, you ask the question, let me answer it.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: So you want to know where you can go and where you can turn, right?

[Knight]: I'd say I'd say turn to the city solicitor.

[Knight]: But we don't have a city solicitor.

[Knight]: We have no we have nobody in the law department that's here represent the interest of the taxpayers.

[Knight]: Well, Amy, I think that's inaccurate.

[Knight]: The raises that have been, the raises that you're referring to have already been passed and they've already been funded.

[Knight]: So regardless of whether or not this budget passed, these pay scales established by ordinance.

[Knight]: everything except for I think Mary's position, the one that you referred to, because that hasn't been passed by ordinance and the human resources position that they keep ignoring us on.

[Knight]: But ultimately, these classifications for non-union titles and the cost of living adjustment that's attached there too, was passed by this body, not unanimously, but it was passed by this body and it was funded by this body.

[Knight]: Right, but you have the power to negotiate in these non-union policies.

[Knight]: So just a question so the negotiations between the clerical union and the administration I'm going well.

[Knight]: Really, no, I'm just thinking back to when the mayor put her budget presentation on opening night, and she said how great negotiations are going with all the negotiations and how close they were to settle.

[Knight]: Amy, the council did also in that proposal that was given to us, the mayor didn't tell us what classifications were included in that.

[Knight]: And then when we did an investigation and we looked into it, we found that the executive was included in that.

[Knight]: The mayor proposed a raise for herself in that proposal and we cut that out.

[Knight]: And the mayor had also proposed a raise for the council and we cut that raise out as well.

[Knight]: You know what I mean, to stand by what we've said that you know what I mean, rising tide floats all ships and we think that you guys should go so...

[Knight]: Again, these are cost of living adjustments.

[Knight]: They're not performance-based.

[Knight]: Right, but you're in a union, so you gotta negotiate that.

[Knight]: They don't, you know, you have a collective bargaining.

[Knight]: And I just want to just be on that point we did that last year Amy we did that at what one o'clock in the morning the mayor came up here in the magic money tree in her that grows in her office she shook it bunch of money fell out of it next thing you know we were going to get a lawyer that was going to come and help us out with zoning never happened.

[Knight]: What else we're going to get out of that deal.

[Knight]: City solicitor yeah assistant city solicitor the city council, never happened.

[Knight]: Well, it's something else was supposed to come out of that too I think but you know what I mean.

[Knight]: And then the way that they were going to fund all of these promises that they made to the council was they were going to take the money out of the negotiated salaries account, which is the account that they use to fund your raises.

[Knight]: And this council said, no, you're not taking the money out of that account.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: So if you want to find magic money, you better find it somewhere else because you're not balancing this budget on the back of the working people in this community.

[Knight]: And the mayor went and took the money out of the public utility account.

[Knight]: So now we look at the transfers that are on the agenda this evening, we'll see hundreds of thousands of dollars in transfers so that we can pay to keep the lights on.

[Knight]: I'm just a little confused as to what leads us to mediation, because usually you go to mediation when you no longer can sit at the table anymore and make any forward progress, right?

[Knight]: So mediation means you're at a stalemate at this point in time, right?

[Knight]: You've reached what's called an impasse, is the negotiating term.

[Knight]: You've reached an impasse in negotiations, and we can no longer move further or backwards.

[Knight]: So my question is, if you're working with these unions and these employee groups, how have we gotten to a point where at impasse with multiple groups, if in fact we are working with them?

[Knight]: Because it doesn't make sense to me if we're going to mediation to a third party negotiator, a third party to handle our negotiations, right?

[Knight]: Outside person, right?

[Knight]: Through mediation because we reached impasse, that doesn't sound to me like the definition of working together with somebody.

[Knight]: So I'd just like to get a response from the chief of staff because she always likes to answer questions and provide points of information.

[Knight]: So I'd like to ask the chief of staff, what got us to this point?

[Knight]: Why are we at a point of impasse when these contracts have been open now since this administration got elected?

[Knight]: My question is this, is Feinberg, Dumont, and Brennan an employee organization?

[Knight]: they're not.

[Knight]: And Feinberg, Dumont, and Brennan is a law office.

[Knight]: They're a law office that also works with Local 25.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: So the way that this works is if you're going to decertify from a union, they're a member of the SEIU and they want to decertify.

[Knight]: You can't decertify when your contract is active.

[Knight]: So what happens was the union said, we're going to decertify from SEIU.

[Knight]: And they did.

[Knight]: And they picked up private representation because there's a cooling off period that's necessary before they can apply with another union.

[Knight]: But nothing precluded them from going to the table and negotiating once they decertified from SEIU and once that contract was open.

[Knight]: Madam President, I just like to know what the timeline is.

[Knight]: I just like to know what the timeline is.

[Knight]: I'm just asking a question.

[Knight]: point of information that men present.

[Knight]: I do believe the council asked for a legal opinion as to whether or not that paper was posed with an and sound ethical footing, because what happened was the mayor asked the council to actually approve its own raise and erase for herself in the same year that they perceive it, we never received a response to that so if Nina could follow up on that, that would be good.

[Knight]: question Madam President on that.

[Knight]: Can you just tell me who represents the city in the collective bargaining sessions can the chief of staff tell you who represents the city.

[Knight]: Yeah, yeah, whoever that's her name Yeah, that'd be fine.

[Knight]: Who represents who represents the city.

[Knight]: And just on that note, Madam President, the administration's well aware of city ordinance section 2-680.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: And part of that ordinance does read that the chief of staff shall be responsible for representing the mayor and I'll collect the bargaining sessions.

[Knight]: Is the Chief of Staff employed by KP Law?

[Knight]: Is the Chief of Staff KP Law?

[Knight]: Madam President, on that point, the Chief of Staff is wrong in her reading of the ordinance because that was not the legislative intent.

[Knight]: And I can speak to that personally because I voted for it in 2016 when it came up.

[Knight]: I was a part of this body at that time.

[Knight]: So a reading of it is incorrect and is not in line with the legislative intent.

[Knight]: And I think that any other member of this council that was on the body in 2016 can also concur with that.

[Knight]: All right, so the way I'm looking at this now is we have an essential function and essential duty of the chief of staff that's been taken away.

[Knight]: The salary is still $135,000, but an essential function, essential duty has been taken away and it's been farmed out to a third party, private third party law firm.

[Knight]: That's an expense.

[Knight]: So when we sit down and we talk about why the council needs a city solicitor, it's to control these expenses and these wasteful spending habits that this administration has.

[Knight]: So when we look at the chief of staff's title in the ordinance that supports the job that you're supposed to do, and we'll go through it, the majority of the duties have been taken away, but yet the salary remains the same.

[Knight]: So when I hear members of our clerical union get up here and quite frankly,

[Knight]: properly express dissatisfaction and disgust because they've been out of the contract for 48 months and then listen to the chief of staff come up here and try to explain our way out of the fact that it's because they're not able to sit down at the table and negotiate properly and then try to spin it by saying that they're precluded from doing it when I know for a fact they're not.

[Knight]: It's just bizarre to me, Madam President.

[Knight]: And I feel like what it is is it's for the cameras and it's not for us.

[Knight]: And it's to portray a picture and control a narrative that's not a reality.

[Knight]: So that's where I am with this.

[Knight]: I thank the chief of staff and president of the clerical union, Mr. Naglia, for being up here this evening and sharing with us their insight on such an important topic in the community.

[Knight]: And I am going to what I'd call use my reasonable deduction to determine who's being more truthful than not.

[Knight]: I just like to join Council Scarpelli and offer my condolences.

[Knight]: Although I didn't know Fred, as well as George that I do remember him from a very young age, when I was involved in Methodist soccer, and I also had the opportunity to go to college with the sun Steve, and what a good kid.

[Knight]: Freddie Rita was just a nice guy.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: George hit the nail right on the head.

[Knight]: He was someone that wasn't afraid to put himself, put the community before himself and put himself out there to do the work, roll up his sleeves, get dirty and not seek an ounce of credit for it.

[Knight]: He was a great man.

[Knight]: Like you said, great family.

[Knight]: And I joined my council colleague and extending my deep condolences to the family.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Was the mailing done, Madam President?

[Knight]: How far out did those notices go?

[Knight]: I know Mayor Longo, when she was a council, wanted to expand it to like 11 miles from where they were doing the project.

[Knight]: It was 300 feet by law and then Mayor Lungo when she was a councilor wanted to expand that I think to 1000 or 600 or something like that and then it got passed.

[Knight]: But then I don't think it's been a practice.

[Knight]: Administration change.

[Knight]: And then I just have one more question, Madam President.

[Knight]: The process that Ms.

[Knight]: Evans has outlined this evening, has that been reviewed by legal and been approved by legal as the proper way to enact such a measure that's before the body this evening?

[Knight]: What I'm hearing is, you know, based upon a new zoning, the city council is not required to do this, this, this and this and now we have a special permit granting authority pursuant to this and so forth.

[Knight]: This is the first time we've seen one of these papers before us where we're the site plan review granting authority.

[Knight]: So my question was whether or not this procedural aspect was reviewed by legal counsel to ensure that we're in compliance with our own ordinance that we draft

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: So the council approved it.

[Knight]: Now, we have a process that's in place as this process been reviewed by legal to ensure that it complies with what we put together.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: And what I'm doing is asking whether or not because the council hasn't seen one of these and so many things have come through in so many years that this process that's being established now for the first time in so many years is legally sound.

[Knight]: Okay and we've conferred with him and he says this is the way we do it.

[Knight]: So no we haven't conferred with legal as to whether or not this is the way that we do it.

[Knight]: and said this is the process that we're going to do I have we not I don't know why every question we ask, it's a yes or no question gets 6,000 different answers.

[Knight]: Point of information, Madam President, before he starts, I just want to go back to that.

[Knight]: So Attorney Desmond, the proposal is that all your deliveries are going to take place between 12 o'clock and 9 1 o'clock in the morning in a in a location that abuts a residential neighborhood between 11 to 12 for Sunday through Thursday and not every evening.

[Knight]: It's not working out so great, though.

[Knight]: And when you went before the CD board this proposal of eliminating the loading dock and then telling them that you're going to apply for a special permit before us to have the loading take place after hours was presented to them in that fashion.

[Knight]: It was, and that was something that they supported.

[Knight]: Does the applicant intend to apply for a license for an illuminated light or permit for an illuminated light sign?

[Knight]: I'm assuming you'd want the light to light up if you guys want to be open to one o'clock in the morning on the weekends, you don't want people driving by it.

[Knight]: Yeah, but there's also houses across the street, people that live there.

[Knight]: Are there any new curb cuts that will be made from either Riverside Ave or the Fellsway to gain access to the property as part of the site plan?

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: So, what you're telling me is that you're going to guarantee that these trucks that are delivering are going to follow this route every single time that they come here at 12 o'clock at night, three times a week or four times a week that they do it from now until the end of time as long as we have this permit.

[Knight]: Because you did say they were going to be coming from Taunton, right?

[Knight]: So it's guaranteed their first stop is Medford every time, right?

[Knight]: Because they're coming from, I mean, those are the variables that I'm talking about.

[Knight]: It's like, there's no way we can guarantee that they're going to take the same route every time and go in there the same way every time.

[Knight]: And then you spoke about a couple of other Raising Canes that have very similar patterns, I guess, here.

[Knight]: So is it their model that they don't have loading docks?

[Knight]: Any of that sort?

[Knight]: I don't care about out of state just yet.

[Knight]: I mean, they're efficient plans for the business.

[Knight]: But there might not be efficient plans for the residents that live in the neighborhood.

[Knight]: And I think that's the number one concern right is the abundance right the people live across the street we have residents on Riverside we have residents across middle sector residents on the phone.

[Knight]: And that's where I'm coming from on this but I appreciate it I'm not gonna keep saying we got residents live across the street I think you get it.

[Knight]: Just one more question.

[Knight]: Estimated number of vehicle trips per day to the store?

[Knight]: Per day?

[Knight]: No, per week or whatever you want.

[Knight]: I can do math.

[Knight]: Based upon my math, that's like an average hour, we're looking at 1.8 to 1.9 vehicles in and out every hour.

[Knight]: I'm sorry, every minute.

[Knight]: Every minute, every minute.

[Knight]: 1.9 every minute.

[Knight]: Yeah, 114 divided by.

[Knight]: Does that fall in the parameters of 41 a 65 days right from when we receive it?

[Knight]: Yeah, we keep the public hearing.

[Knight]: I think Councilor Bears might have some, he wants to say.

[Knight]: I didn't make a motion.

[Knight]: All I said was I don't want to wait the six day waiting period and I don't support voting on it until the six day waiting period is over.

[Knight]: Suppose Madam President, where it's a special permit, the special permit should go with the business and not with the address as well, right?

[Knight]: We already have that?

[Knight]: I'm not in favor of this.

[Knight]: I'm not putting any restrictions on it because I'm voting no.

[Knight]: Right, so we can't put restrictions on a special permit.

[Knight]: Can you put restrictions on site plan?

[Knight]: Did that come from Alicia or did that come from a lawyer?

[Knight]: That came from the Community Development Board.

[Knight]: That's why I asked the question initially, Madam President, right?

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: At the end of the day, we need to make sure we're making decisions that are legally sound and strong footing and foundation.

[Knight]: We don't have that opportunity with this administration.

[Knight]: We haven't had it for three years.

[Knight]: At this rate, Madam President, this thing will pass with a constructive passage because we'll never take a vote on it the way that this administration is with us when it comes to giving us legal opinions and legal advice and access to legal counsel.

[Knight]: We can't put this on the table pending a legal opinion.

[Knight]: We'll never get one.

[Knight]: I mean, and we did it with BJ's too and then we got advice and then that advice ended up getting us taken to court again and then they called and said, what do you want us to do now?

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: It's like, it's just a, it's a comedy of errors in terms of the representation that we received legally here in the community, Madam President.

[Knight]: It puts us at a very significant disadvantage when it comes to making issues, making decisions on issues like this that will have a vast impact on the quality of life of the people that are about us.

[Knight]: All right, so I don't blame Raising Cane's.

[Knight]: I thank Raising Cane's for coming here and wanting to invest in our community.

[Knight]: All right, but the problem that I have is that the administration's not providing us with the tools to make informed and well-sounded decisions.

[Knight]: Okay, so at the end of the day, what happens?

[Knight]: Who suffers?

[Knight]: The residents in this community, the taxpayers in this community.

[Knight]: Why do they suffer?

[Knight]: Because we're not able to make determinations that are going to impact things like growth, which is probably the most important thing in this community.

[Knight]: So we get a letter that comes out, we get a newspaper article from the Boston Globe that says, you know, Medford's the fastest growing community.

[Knight]: It can grow fast.

[Knight]: The question is whether or not it's desirable.

[Knight]: Is it a desirable place to live?

[Knight]: I don't see Medford as being desirable right now.

[Knight]: It might be growing fast, but I don't see it as desirable.

[Knight]: And part of the reason that I don't see it as desirable is because the elected officials in this community aren't treated with respect or given the tools that they need to do their job properly and ensure that the taxpayers' rights are protected.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President, when it comes down to this paper that's before us this evening, it's something that I can't support.

[Knight]: You know, we talk about economic development and growth here in this community.

[Knight]: We had the opportunity to bring in a 300 plus million dollar development on Boston Ave, life science and biotech.

[Knight]: It gets blown up by the administration, but we get chicken fingers.

[Knight]: We get chicken fingers, though.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: So that's the vision that we have in this community right now.

[Knight]: That's the vision that we have when it comes to economic development.

[Knight]: Fast food restaurants, nail salons, Dunkin' Donuts, banks.

[Knight]: All right, we don't create jobs that bring a living wage.

[Knight]: We don't create jobs that provide health insurance for individuals.

[Knight]: When we're looking at this job model here, this position, this entity that's coming before us here, the job that it's gonna create aren't gonna pay people a living wage, not gonna pay them enough money to live in this community.

[Knight]: I have serious and significant concerns about a two-lane highway drive-through where people in flag waver outfits are going to be out there waving people through.

[Knight]: I have serious concerns about an illuminated sign.

[Knight]: I have serious concerns about noise traffic and product drop-off, especially with the extended hours in an area that's abutting a residential neighborhood.

[Knight]: You know, these are the reasons that I'm not going to support the bill.

[Knight]: And I thank you for inviting me and providing me the opportunity to explain my vote.

[Knight]: I'd just like the record to reflect Madam President that all these votes this evening are being taken without the advice of legal counsel.

[Knight]: Question, Madam President, why wouldn't the same restrictions relative to the permit going with the business and the reviews be attached to this?

[Knight]: They should be, yes.

[Knight]: I just question.

[Knight]: This was something that was brought to my attention by the many retirees in the city of Medford after an alert was sent out.

[Knight]: by PARAC and the Massachusetts State Retirement Board, saying that the city of Medford hasn't fully funded its cost of living adjustment capabilities for the upcoming fiscal year.

[Knight]: So as we see in this ordinance, I'm sorry, in this resolution, Madam President, the Massachusetts State Legislature, in its divine wisdom, did allow municipalities the local option to increase the cost of living adjustment for retirees to 5%.

[Knight]: It allows us to add an additional 2%.

[Knight]: Now, when we look at the cost of living adjustment that was given to retirees this year, it's actually higher than the 2% standard that the administration has put in place and in effect as the standard cost of living adjustment for active employees.

[Knight]: However, we do have an opportunity, Madam President, for us to take a leap forward and take care of some of the retirees, the people that worked here in this community for a number of years,

[Knight]: that made meant for the great place that it is.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: So when I look at this paper, what the request is, is to ask the administration to send us the request so that we can approve this document.

[Knight]: There's a two part process for which this needs to be approved.

[Knight]: And the first is the retirement board and the second is the mayor.

[Knight]: So I'm asking that the city administration, retirement board, which falls under the purview of the executive, takes the necessary steps to ensure that our retirees are taken care of.

[Knight]: We hear a lot of people come up to these microphones and talk how much they value the employees and what a great job they do and how much they care about the community and how wonderful all these people were.

[Knight]: Well, show it.

[Knight]: Put your money where your mouth is.

[Knight]: know, I'm sure there'll be another narrative or another reason why this can't happen, Madam President, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: And it's probably going to be rooted in not logic or reality, but what's going to control the spin.

[Knight]: But ultimately, at the end of the day, this is the right thing to do.

[Knight]: All right, these people are on fixed incomes.

[Knight]: Okay, many of them live in this community.

[Knight]: They're all elderly, they've reached retirement age.

[Knight]: And if they reach retirement age that means they've put in at least 10 years of employment and service to the general public and the taxpayers of this community and they deserve to be respected, and they deserve to be rewarded.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President asked my council colleagues to support this paper.

[Knight]: When the elections manager was up here, they had put this on our agenda, and they had tried to make us vote to support the proposal that they put forward.

[Knight]: But they said that the council doesn't need to support this proposal.

[Knight]: They were just putting us on there to make us aware of it, to put us in a position to support it.

[Knight]: We didn't support it.

[Knight]: We sent it back and we asked them to make those changes, right?

[Knight]: So now we need an official paper from them saying that the Elections Commission has made this policy change, send it back to us and put it on the agenda just like they did previously, unless they're not going to be transparent this time around, because they had to change their mind.

[Knight]: I'd appreciate a waiver of the remaining of the reader I think we need some bottom line there at this point.

[Knight]: Motion passes.

[Knight]: This evening we got, I believe our third and fourth budgets from the administration.

[Knight]: We didn't get the I didn't see the press release that went out about how the administration's put out

[Knight]: three more budgets since the initial one.

[Knight]: But, you know, today at two o'clock, and again at six o'clock we got two additional budgets, right with updates or amendments or reallocations, and I'm wondering if the paper that before us this evening reflects those changes that have been made by the administration.

[Knight]: Did the mayor meet with any of the councils personally in our office to discuss this budget?

[Knight]: Or on the telephone?

[Knight]: Or you for that matter?

[Knight]: Did you meet with any member of this elected body individually to discuss the budget?

[Knight]: It's not a trick question.

[Knight]: So these conversations were outside the scope of the public forum.

[Knight]: It's on that point of information.

[Knight]: So I'm looking at this paper and it says that this was

[Knight]: the mayor's fiscal year budget amended on 6 14 23.

[Knight]: Today 6 2023.

[Knight]: We've gotten two emails from you wanted six o'clock.

[Knight]: I wanted two o'clock today that further amends the budget.

[Knight]: So what you're telling me now is that the paper that's before us that was amended on 6 15 reflects those amendments that you sent us on 6 20.

[Knight]: I did I was just gonna say on that point in these other communities normally when financial data is requested from the legislative body they receive it they're not told that they can't get it even though the ordinance says it should be providing it that the book should be provided to the Council upon request, you know, so you know when we talk about what they do other places.

[Knight]: Let's talk about the good.

[Knight]: But let's talk about the bad that we do here too because what other places do we don't do.

[Knight]: So why do we have a meeting?

[Knight]: Just a quick question.

[Knight]: When did the mayor determine that it was time to have a discussion?

[Knight]: Absent a vote of the council?

[Knight]: Not as the leadership team, as council of business noted earlier.

[Knight]: I'm not trying to trip you up I'm just saying as the elected president I had the same issue with john Falco, and I got my ass kicked for it.

[Knight]: But I called him out on it, and I got a beating on it.

[Knight]: You know what I mean, because I like the president to represent the interest of the body not the interest of yourself.

[Knight]: So when you get elected president of the council.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: different responsibility.

[Knight]: You have responsibility to the people buying this realtor.

[Knight]: Now you did what you did.

[Knight]: It is what it is.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: And I know that you haven't been in the chair a long time, so I get it.

[Knight]: I get it.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: But ultimately, right, we're a body.

[Knight]: We're a body.

[Knight]: We're a body.

[Knight]: Now,

[Knight]: We're a body, right?

[Knight]: So right now what I'm seeing happened is we have a budget that's before us that wasn't the budget that we got when the press releases went out saying this is the first time you ever got a budget, because it was a fake budget, because the school department never passed their aspect of it before it comes to us, which is the normal practice.

[Knight]: All right, now we have an administration horse trading, horse trading outside the public sphere.

[Knight]: to ensure passage of a budget.

[Knight]: The same administration that runs on transparency.

[Knight]: That's not transparent.

[Knight]: I don't care what anybody says.

[Knight]: It's a classic divide and conquer strategy.

[Knight]: A classic divide and conquer strategy.

[Knight]: So the mayor for three years can fail to respond to the body public.

[Knight]: Fail to respond to the body public.

[Knight]: Then there's closed door deals with select Councilors.

[Knight]: And other Councilors that are elected by the people of this community are excluded?

[Knight]: You guys think you know about the open meeting law?

[Knight]: I'm gonna tell you right now, I think you're teetering very close, very close to a violation.

[Knight]: Just because you weren't in the same room at the same time doesn't mean there wasn't deliberation.

[Knight]: I'm not making that accusation, but what I'm saying is, perception is reality.

[Knight]: So the perception that I get right now is that the mayor picked up the phone, called a few people into her office, and cut a deal, left the rest of us hanging on the shelf.

[Knight]: So we sat here, and we made votes, and we made speeches, and we made pledges, and we made commitments to the people in this community, to the people in this community.

[Knight]: And sometimes making hard decisions isn't politically expedient.

[Knight]: Sometimes making hard decisions isn't politically popular.

[Knight]: But people didn't elect us to take the easy road.

[Knight]: People didn't elect us to take the easy way out.

[Knight]: So we've sat here and we beat our chests about, oh, we're gonna protect everybody.

[Knight]: We're gonna get this, we're gonna get that.

[Knight]: We've gotten nothing.

[Knight]: This administration's accomplished nothing other than recycling and regurgitating old plans from previous administrations.

[Knight]: And we're sitting here passing it like a rubber stamp, pot and parcel.

[Knight]: Because it's not about Medford, it's not about the community, it's about what we can get on the way through the door.

[Knight]: It's a disgrace.

[Knight]: It's a disgrace and I'm disgusted.

[Knight]: For the first time in my life, I'm embarrassed to be from this community.

[Knight]: I love this city.

[Knight]: I've loved this city my whole life, and I am embarrassed.

[Knight]: When I go to neighboring towns and other communities, and I get people going, what the hell's going on with your city?

[Knight]: What's going on with your mayor?

[Knight]: What's going on over there?

[Knight]: And we all say the same thing.

[Knight]: I know it's a disaster.

[Knight]: It's a disaster.

[Knight]: I hear every single person behind this rail say it.

[Knight]: I know it's a nightmare.

[Knight]: I know.

[Knight]: I know.

[Knight]: Oh, it's awful.

[Knight]: It's only going to get worse.

[Knight]: Just wait till next year.

[Knight]: And here we are.

[Knight]: Give me the rubber stamp.

[Knight]: Let's stamp it now.

[Knight]: I got what I needed.

[Knight]: Someone might've got a job out of the budget in the closed door deal.

[Knight]: I don't know who got what.

[Knight]: All I know is I got nothing.

[Knight]: All I know is I got nothing.

[Knight]: Not even the courtesy of a telephone call.

[Knight]: I got a text message at 418.

[Knight]: I'm not sure what time you guys met with the mayor, but I got a text message at 418 saying if I have any last minute questions on the budget, let me or Nina know.

[Knight]: A text.

[Knight]: A text.

[Knight]: A text message at four o'clock.

[Knight]: Two hours before a meeting, we were talking about $180 million plus.

[Knight]: Enough's enough with this clown show.

[Knight]: Madam President, I rest my case.

[Knight]: I'm not supporting the budget.

[Knight]: I'm not supporting the budget because I don't feel it's transparent.

[Knight]: I don't feel as though it's an accurate depiction of the finances in this community.

[Knight]: And I don't feel as though it positions us for a future of growth and for a future of success.

[Knight]: All right, our school department is going to fall apart next year.

[Knight]: We're going to have to lay off 33 teachers because all of our SM money is gone.

[Knight]: Nobody cares about that, though.

[Knight]: You know why?

[Knight]: It's going to look good in the press releases this year.

[Knight]: It's going to look good in the campaign material this year.

[Knight]: Time in and time out.

[Knight]: Time in and time out.

[Knight]: What's the number one rule of an elected official?

[Knight]: Once you become an elected official, get reelected.

[Knight]: We all know that, right, Madam President?

[Knight]: And I want to finish my question, Madam President.

[Knight]: Ultimately, right.

[Knight]: We've been asking.

[Knight]: We've been asking.

[Knight]: We've been asking for financial documentation.

[Knight]: for two years and haven't gotten it.

[Knight]: And now here we are at the budget and you say no, that's a mistake.

[Knight]: Oh, that's a mistake.

[Knight]: Maybe if they shared this information with us that we've been asking for, as the conduit of communication per the city ordinance that the chief of staff was as a badge.

[Knight]: Maybe if some of this do you have a question for me?

[Knight]: Yeah, I do.

[Knight]: I do.

[Knight]: How is it that we're planning a budget based upon figures that are mistakes?

[Knight]: It's all this is, you know, so, so, so, so, so, so when it comes to clear that sucks.

[Knight]: And when it comes time for us to do our research, we know clear that's not good so we asked for the information and we don't get the information, but then we're expected to make an informed decision.

[Knight]: And then when it comes down to us actually sitting down and having a transparent discussion, the mayor doesn't divide and conquer strategy.

[Knight]: You know, so that's where we're at in this whole thing.

[Knight]: This is a joke.

[Knight]: Let's just look at the law department as an example, Madam President.

[Knight]: Now, we haven't had a city solicitor or an assistant city solicitor for a year.

[Knight]: Last year, we budgeted what, about $422,000?

[Knight]: We still don't have a city solicitor.

[Knight]: We still don't have an assistant city solicitor, yet the department's budget goes up.

[Knight]: How does that happen?

[Knight]: There's nobody even in the office, but the department's budget is going up.

[Knight]: There's no employees there except for Janice.

[Knight]: There's one person in the office, but the budget goes up.

[Knight]: How is that possible if the positions are vacant?

[Knight]: I don't wanna hear we pass the COLA, because the person that comes in should be starting at step one.

[Knight]: So I don't wanna hear we pass the COLA, because that's just another way to control a false narrative.

[Knight]: Okay, why are we giving the city solicitor a raise when the position is vacant?

[Knight]: Why is the budget in this the law office going up when the two positions that have funded through the vacant?

[Knight]: Yeah, please don't.

[Knight]: Okay, and didn't we not have vacancies in the finance director's position during that period of time?

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: Madam President, can you repeat that?

[Knight]: Instead of taking votes as a body, we want us to email... No, you said you want us to email them individually instead of taking votes as a body and raising the issue with the body public?

[Knight]: And not discuss them, yeah?

[Knight]: It was never shame on you shame on me.

[Knight]: Madam President ultimately right we talked about this is this is a communication issue right more than anything else.

[Knight]: It's a communication issue.

[Knight]: Would everybody agree this is a communication issue.

[Knight]: Absolutely.

[Knight]: Everybody.

[Knight]: So who's responsible for communication from the mayor's office.

[Knight]: Anybody, anybody know who's responsible for the communications from the mayor's office?

[Knight]: Who went from the mayor's office?

[Knight]: Anybody?

[Knight]: No, it's not the communications director.

[Knight]: It's not the COVID specialist, communication specialist or the other two people they got in that office.

[Knight]: According to the city ordinances, there shall be a chief of staff of policy appointed by the mayor whose duty shall include managing communication and information both to and from the office of the mayor.

[Knight]: So we talk about some of the problems that we have in this community.

[Knight]: A lot of it lies in the application of the ordinances and the incumbents interpretation thereof.

[Knight]: So when I sit here and I look at a lot of the problems that happen in this community, and I think about the things we get we get all upset about KP law, one of the biggest things we get upset about right, let's read the city ordinance.

[Knight]: Let's read what the city ordinance says.

[Knight]: Okay, about an assistant city solicitor, because the city ordinance says that the mayor may appoint an assistant city solicitor.

[Knight]: Now, can anybody tell me in last year's budget what the assistant city solicitor was?

[Knight]: I believe it was $422,000 was the legal department's budget.

[Knight]: And our city ordinance says that the administration can't spend more than has been appropriated for the department.

[Knight]: But we have correspondence from this administration saying they spent $450,000 on KP law.

[Knight]: which exceeds the 422,000 in the budget.

[Knight]: Whether or not that information is presented to us now as accurate is in question.

[Knight]: But ultimately there's a significant misapplication of the city ordinances in terms of the way that the city is supposed to run.

[Knight]: The first of which being there shall be a city solicitor.

[Knight]: Well, there isn't.

[Knight]: There shall be one, there has to be one, there isn't one.

[Knight]: Then there are controls put in place through city ordinance to prevent wild and uncontrolled spending like what's going on with KP law.

[Knight]: And we don't abide by that either.

[Knight]: But to ensure that we are complying with it, we don't have the financial data before us to allow us to make that determination as to whether or not we're in compliance with our local ordinances.

[Knight]: Last time we raised an issue about an ordinance, the mayor said, well, the city council can just change it.

[Knight]: Last time we raised an issue about process, the chief of staff said, we'll just do it under suspension.

[Knight]: This is the same administration that ran on transparency, the same administration that ran on community.

[Knight]: Okay, so when we sit here yelling and screaming at each other, let's understand, we're not the problem.

[Knight]: Us in this circle behind this rail are not the problem.

[Knight]: You know what we are?

[Knight]: We're frustrated.

[Knight]: You know why we're frustrated?

[Knight]: Because we've been putting a plastic bag and we've been trying to punch our way out for the last two years.

[Knight]: That's why.

[Knight]: So we got Zach and George getting frustrated at each other.

[Knight]: Why?

[Knight]: Because of the administration.

[Knight]: Nicole and I becoming very good friends through this whole entire process.

[Knight]: Why?

[Knight]: Because of the shared concerns and values that we have with the administration.

[Knight]: Doesn't look that way, but that's really what's going on.

[Knight]: That's the fact and the reality behind the situation.

[Knight]: Now, some of us speak a little bit more passionately than others.

[Knight]: Some of us have been around a little bit longer than others.

[Knight]: So some of us have a level of frustration that's a lot higher than other people's.

[Knight]: Some of us have also had the experience of putting up with what I call a BS meter.

[Knight]: We all have a BS meter.

[Knight]: We can all smell it from a mile away.

[Knight]: Some of us are better at smelling it than others.

[Knight]: Some of us allow people to have a little bit more leeway when it comes to wafting their BS around here.

[Knight]: I'm not one of those people.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: I'm not going to sit here and waste my time listening to BS.

[Knight]: That's not what I'm here for.

[Knight]: I'm here to make good decisions on behalf of the taxpayers in this community.

[Knight]: And I can't do that because this administration is fearless.

[Knight]: So we sit here and we infight and we argue and everything else.

[Knight]: We all want the same thing.

[Knight]: We want the respect that we deserve from this administration so that we can do the job that the people in this community elected us to do.

[Knight]: And we can't do it based upon the tools, the resources, the processes, and the procedures that this administration has implemented.

[Knight]: And week in and week out, we express these frustrations.

[Knight]: And week in and week in, we beat our chest.

[Knight]: And week in and week out, nothing changes.

[Knight]: Everything stays the same.

[Knight]: Everything stays the same.

[Knight]: And how do you make things stay the same?

[Knight]: By doing things like divide and conquer.

[Knight]: By doing things like cutting back on deals and making promises you're not gonna keep.

[Knight]: By sending out press releases that control narratives that aren't true, but control the spin because there's no local media in the community.

[Knight]: Those are the realities of the situation.

[Knight]: That's what's going on.

[Knight]: And these are the hurdles that we face as a body.

[Knight]: But for people who are watching this or people that are sitting in the audience saying, Jesus, these people are nuts.

[Knight]: What the hell is going on?

[Knight]: We all want the same thing.

[Knight]: We're just mad because they're not giving it to us.

[Knight]: That's what it is.

[Knight]: Everybody on this side of the rail shares the same value.

[Knight]: They wanna make Medford a better place.

[Knight]: Everyone on this side of the rail has been asking for the tools to do that.

[Knight]: There's only one common denominator and one common thread.

[Knight]: One hurdle, one reason that we haven't been provided with the tools that we need.

[Knight]: And it comes from across the hall.

[Knight]: And let's not forget that.

[Knight]: Because at the end of this meeting, we're all gonna leave, we're all gonna be pissed off at each other and everything else for no reason.

[Knight]: Because this is what the administration wants.

[Knight]: This is the method that they created to divide a wedge between us.

[Knight]: to make it so that this body can't be effective and that they can continue to move with reckless and abandoned and lack of transparency.

[Knight]: And it hurts the taxpayers.

[Knight]: It hurts the residents in this community.

[Knight]: It hurts the process and it makes people distrustful of government.

[Knight]: When people distrust government, they don't participate.

[Knight]: And when people don't participate, then government operates in a vacuum.

[Knight]: We have an administration that already said they throw a third of the voters off of active roles every year.

[Knight]: When you're taking off the active roles, you know what you don't get in the mail?

[Knight]: Literature from candidates that are running from office.

[Knight]: Wow, imagine that.

[Knight]: Now you're misinformed.

[Knight]: You're an inactive voter that's misinformed, but you're expected to come out to the polls and vote.

[Knight]: Let's think about what's going on here, folks, because we're not the problem.

[Knight]: And we sound like we are, and we're not.

[Knight]: We aren't the problem.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: So move on a president provided that I could get a question answered.

[Knight]: Historically, historically, the administration has presented us with this $500,000 request after the rates have been established after the budget's been passed and it's been used for rate relief.

[Knight]: Is that going to be the current philosophy behind the expenditure of this plane that's in this paper this evening.

[Knight]: Yeah, I mean every year we get a bill of paper for $500,000 that asks us to offset the rates to the.

[Knight]: to the ratepayers for water and sewer through the retained earnings account is this going to be is that's this is this that same 500,000 or is this a different 500,000 or is this something that we're not going to see this year?

[Knight]: So they haven't set the rates yet.

[Knight]: I get $500,000 in rate relief if they do when they do, but we don't know what the rates are going to be.

[Knight]: I think the motion itself would make sense.

[Knight]: Section 22.

[Knight]: First time in financial reading.

[Knight]: Paper can be passed in one evening.

[Knight]: We're transferring X amount of dollars from surplus to deficit to balance the budget, I'm sure, is what he's going to say, something along those lines.

[Knight]: So certain accounts run a deficit and certain accounts have a surplus.

[Knight]: And what we're doing is the bottom line remains the same and all we're doing is evening out the accounts.

[Knight]: So that makes accounting easy, but at the end of the day, the bottom line hasn't changed, right?

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: First off, this is a good paper.

[Knight]: It's a paper that I actually filed.

[Knight]: This is a paper that I introduced a number of years ago under the Burke administration, and I'm glad to see that the administration has moved on it.

[Knight]: I'd like to have a committee of the whole paper.

[Knight]: I've seen this community do just fine in previous years without a stabilization fund and to think that if we don't establish this this immediate second and appropriate $5 million into it that the city is going to fail, I think is a little bit more of a

[Knight]: a fear-mongering approach than it is actually the reality of the situation.

[Knight]: So in looking at this, you know, the city's been able to survive for all these years without a stabilization fund.

[Knight]: I think we should sit down and we should talk about it a little bit more and define parameters around the stabilization fund.

[Knight]: I know state law dictates a lot of what we can and can't do, but I think it would be nice to codify that and to establish a process and a procedure very much like the better budget plan that's been put out to amend that charter, Madam President, the procedure and a process that makes it transparent and make sure that everybody knows what to understand and how to understand it.

[Knight]: Sounds like it's a pretty big deal, Madam President, and it's 5 million bucks.

[Knight]: We're not gonna have a meeting on it.

[Knight]: been recommended by auditors, been recommended by bond council.

[Knight]: It's necessary for us to keep our A plus rating and it's a $5 million appropriation and we're not gonna have a meeting on it.

[Knight]: You're making it sound like they're going to be able to get bond council there at the auditor there and everybody else there in 10 days notice and I don't see that happening.

[Knight]: Bond Council.

[Knight]: And ultimately, is there anything that precludes this community from bringing this paper forward between now and March?

[Knight]: while our free cash is being certified, knowing that we have more than $5 million in our free cash already.

[Knight]: What precludes us from creating this in 90 days or 60 days, but before March?

[Knight]: I'm just asking.

[Knight]: It just needs to be recertified, right?

[Knight]: We just passed like a $200 million budget, didn't we?

[Knight]: Yes, which- We can establish a stabilization fund and not fund it, and then wait for the free cash to be certified, right?

[Knight]: We could go through a legislative process and create actual legislation instead of doing this at the 11th hour and making a $5 million appropriation on it.

[Knight]: You know, I think we're putting the horse behind the car.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: It's like, if we're going to create a process, let's create the process and let's go through the legislative process and create it.

[Knight]: Let's not throw $5 million into an account and then say figure the rest of that out later.

[Knight]: It's like we're creating it and funding it in the same day.

[Knight]: Why don't we create it?

[Knight]: Does it take a super majority to create it or a super majority to withdraw from it?

[Knight]: Both.

[Knight]: I'm not sure what to say beyond that we've been on the floor for that amount of committee papers still in the paper now the paper is disposed of by being voted into committee.

[Knight]: Madam President, I'd advise against it on a matter that's as significant as enough as our charter.

[Knight]: Waving the comment.

[Knight]: Yes, no, I mean, no, no, no, no.

[Knight]: Motion to waive the reading.

[Knight]: I'm just, I'm not sure if I heard councilor Scarpelli right.

[Knight]: Is he saying that the staff of the mayor who came up here and said that she's holding people accountable?

[Knight]: is scared to come before this council and be held accountable.

[Knight]: That's what it sounds like to me Council Scarpelli is that they're scared to come before the city council and be held accountable, but the mayor comes up here and beats her chest, saying how she's holding people accountable when she's getting dragged out of here and handcuffs and making them undergo psychological evaluations.

[Knight]: So I'm a little concerned about that and I thank the council for bringing that up and that's a very good point, but I know, and I'll end with this.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: I don't think that the engineer is the bad guy in this situation.

[Knight]: I think that the engineer is the fall guy, which is a difference because we've had previous administrations in this community that have allowed private ways to be provided with maintenance and services, okay?

[Knight]: And the only thing that's different is the administration, right?

[Knight]: So this is definitely an administrative prerogative.

[Knight]: It's something that we're seeing come down from the top.

[Knight]: It's not coming from the engineer across the city, it's coming from the boss, the mayor, all right?

[Knight]: So when we talk about this resolution and we talk about the issues that Councilor Scarpelli brings up, he says that the city is not maintaining private waste, which would infer that we're maintaining public waste, and we're not doing that either.

[Knight]: But when we talk about the services that you're entitled to and receive access to as a resident on a private way, we talk about access to the public schools, access to public safety and first response, snow removal and trash removal.

[Knight]: We don't get trees trimmed.

[Knight]: We don't get sidewalks fixed.

[Knight]: We don't get streets paved.

[Knight]: What about the underground infrastructure?

[Knight]: Is that the responsibility of the taxpayer?

[Knight]: Is that the responsibility of the city?

[Knight]: Okay, so where does it stop and where does it start is a big question.

[Knight]: Now, I don't think people who live on private ways have a problem living on a private way, quite frankly, I don't think people that live on a private way would have a problem paying for some of these services that they want themselves.

[Knight]: I think part of the problem is that they can't get anybody to provide them with help when they want to initiate their rights at City Hall.

[Knight]: So if I lived on a private way and I said look at I want to put up a crash bar and I want to say resident access only.

[Knight]: Say Wildwood Road, for example, right across the street from Medford High School.

[Knight]: It's a private way.

[Knight]: Why can't they put up, just like they have on Rosina Drive in the Heights, on Murray Hill Road in the Heights, a crash bar where cars can't drive down that street because it's a private way.

[Knight]: And they can tell you when and when you can't.

[Knight]: The fire department can still provide emergency access.

[Knight]: The police department can still have emergency access.

[Knight]: The MS can still have emergency access.

[Knight]: and these residents that live on the streets that are abutting the Mystic Lakes complain year in and year out about the fact that neighborhoods being overrun and inundated by people that are parking on their private ways in front of their houses and their driveways and the like to access the Mystic Lakes.

[Knight]: But the city doesn't provide them with the information or the tools necessary to protect themselves on their private way, but won't provide them the services either.

[Knight]: It becomes very frustrating.

[Knight]: And inaction is not an answer or a response.

[Knight]: to a circumstance in the community.

[Knight]: So meetings are great, but ultimately we've had a number of meetings on this back in September and even previously, and we're still talking about it because there's been inaction.

[Knight]: And that's the difference between what makes a thriving community and what makes a failing community.

[Knight]: So when we talk about the one thing that people want when they move into a city is they wanna make sure that their tax dollars stretch a long way, they get banked for their buck and they're provided with city services.

[Knight]: We have over 30% of the streets in this community that are private ways and we're not providing those people with services.

[Knight]: Thus far, I feel as though we're failing them.

[Knight]: We're failing them because we're not providing them with any recourse information or ability to enact or enact their rights or enable themselves to protect their, their investment in their future destiny in the community.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: These are some items that have been popular fodder for discussion in our community over recent months.

[Knight]: Recently, the school department has met and they've discussed their budget priorities.

[Knight]: Looks like they're about eight or $900,000 short from where they'd like to be.

[Knight]: I've always had an issue with the school committee and their ability to manage within their budget sometimes.

[Knight]: I feel like sometimes you've got to make hard decisions, and that's what elected officials are putting these positions for.

[Knight]: And when it comes time to tightening the belt and spending within your means, sometimes our school committee does not do that.

[Knight]: And as a result, we see some wasteful spending.

[Knight]: It's been brought to my attention that some of these cost items that are

[Knight]: included in this list, Madam President, are reaching astronomical figures.

[Knight]: For example, it's my understanding that the cost for teachers covering hallway security duties is somewhere around $25,000 to $35,000 a week of ARPA money being spent for teachers to monitor the hallways up in Method High.

[Knight]: So when we're talking about

[Knight]: a school committee's professed shortfall of about $800,000.

[Knight]: Let's take a look at some of the spending that we're doing when we talk about the investigation into the NHL softball team.

[Knight]: I know we have attorney Howard Greenspan

[Knight]: as the school department's attorney who's on retainer.

[Knight]: Did KP Law conduct the investigation?

[Knight]: Why?

[Knight]: Why did KP Law conduct the investigation?

[Knight]: Was that a special contract?

[Knight]: Was that something that fell outside the scope of our contract with KP Law?

[Knight]: Is that something we're going to be assessed for?

[Knight]: How much did it cost?

[Knight]: What were the findings of the investigation?

[Knight]: Was it a worthy expenditure?

[Knight]: Should we have used internal counsel that we have on retainer or should we have gone outside?

[Knight]: Is this wasteful spending?

[Knight]: So Madam President, these are some things that I want to take a look at when we talk about the position of data manager and the position of data director.

[Knight]: From what I understand, they have the exact same duties, responsibilities and functions.

[Knight]: The only difference is the salary.

[Knight]: the incumbent that's in the position is a female who's going to make $10,000 to $15,000 less than the new appointee who's a male.

[Knight]: But their responsibilities and duties really aren't that different.

[Knight]: So I want to know what's going on.

[Knight]: Why is there such a disparity in the wages between these two positions?

[Knight]: And why is there a need for two positions with duplicate duties?

[Knight]: Also, you know,

[Knight]: Medford High has been on the news a lot.

[Knight]: It's not for winning state championships, all right?

[Knight]: It's because of violence in our school department.

[Knight]: So the school department went and they hired a consultant.

[Knight]: They spent a lot of money on a consultant to file a report, and this report makes suggestions.

[Knight]: I want to know what these suggestions are, what the cost of the report was, and whether or not these suggestions are even being implemented, or whether it was just a, let's get us out of the news, hire a consultant to come in here and do a report, and then we can wave the report in the air and say, no, we did something, but not implement any of the changes that they've asked for.

[Knight]: So when we talk about previous administration of the school department, and we talk about a gentleman like Mr. Belson, who'd come before us, and who would talk about school violence, well, Roy was one of the founders of the STARS program, right?

[Knight]: The School Threat Assessment and Response System that's been implemented statewide, okay?

[Knight]: That was in response to an issue back in the early 90s.

[Knight]: What steps has this administration taken to put in something like a STARS program that would assess violence on our school systems and establish reasonable response?

[Knight]: So these are some of the things that I have great concern about.

[Knight]: We all talk about you can't put a price tag on public safety, but apparently you can't.

[Knight]: I mean, if this is any truth to this expenditure at $33,000 a week in APA funds being assigned for teachers to monitor the halls,

[Knight]: I think that's gross negligence in terms of spending, and it's a gross negligence of the fiduciary responsibility of the stewards of our taxes.

[Knight]: So it's pretty self-explanatory.

[Knight]: When we get the answers to the questions, we'll be in a better position to figure out exactly what's going on here.

[Knight]: This council's been asking now for financial data for three years, and we haven't been receiving it forthwith.

[Knight]: So my hope was to put this on the agenda to give everybody ample notice and time to prepare it, to give it to us before our budget discussions finalize at the end of the month, Madam President.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: We'll survive without him, Madam President.

[Knight]: We'll survive without him.

[Knight]: Number one, amend table of use and- Madam President, motion to waive the reading and refer to the CD board as pursuant to Massachusetts General Election Act 41A.

[Knight]: On that point, Madam President, I'd just like to ask that the city clerk calendar this event.

[Knight]: As we know, because this is a zoning change, it's pursuant to certain rules and regulations established by state law that create timelines for us to act.

[Knight]: And if we don't act in time, then we got to start over from scratch.

[Knight]: And this is a very important matter that I think we need to keep an eye on when we're coming into summer break.

[Knight]: Sometimes these things fall off the shelf.

[Knight]: So I just ask that the city clerk keep us in line to make sure that we do our job.

[Knight]: Madam president.

[Knight]: If we could get a written explanation from the city administration as to why someone would pay us for the use of pride, because I'm not too sure what that means.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: That would be great, but it's 500 bucks.

[Knight]: I mean, total value of this paper is $850.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: I move approval on the paper, but I would like a written explanation.

[Knight]: No.

[Knight]: I mean, am I missing something here?

[Knight]: All we're doing is announcing what the early voting dates are, because, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: It seems like it's a pretty self-explanatory paper over there.

[Knight]: All it is is a public service announcement, as far as I can tell, right?

[Knight]: The paper before us has no language on it, legal or otherwise, saying it doesn't mean the City Council opt in to support early voting.

[Knight]: It doesn't tell us when the dates are going to be.

[Knight]: So from a legal standpoint, I mean, usually if there's an opt-in, there's some certain language that you need to adopt or support in order for an opt-in to happen.

[Knight]: That's not the paper that's before us this evening.

[Knight]: So we don't have to take any action.

[Knight]: There's a courtesy.

[Knight]: It's not a necessary mechanism of government for us to take a vote for this to happen, right?

[Knight]: It's going to happen no matter what.

[Knight]: We don't have to write the board just an autonomous board that's made its determination and they're presenting us their findings.

[Knight]: I'm fine with that.

[Knight]: The paper requires an election from the council.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: So my worst fear is Oh, well, I didn't get a chance to vote because early voting wasn't open on Wednesday, the 5th.

[Knight]: Well, the city council approved the schedule.

[Knight]: City Council has no authority on this whatsoever.

[Knight]: So we can recommend that they open on Saturday.

[Knight]: I don't have a problem with that.

[Knight]: But in terms of supporting the plan and not supporting the plan, we don't have to do it.

[Knight]: I don't think we should.

[Knight]: on the

[Knight]: Now historically, up until Sandy Gale became the elections manager, we never had this issue with the census and with people getting pulled from the list and everything else.

[Knight]: It's been a nightmare ever since.

[Knight]: It's created a ton of problems in this community.

[Knight]: We've had people coming up here saying the elections have been raked.

[Knight]: I remember Richard Brady Daugherty up here screaming and yelling saying that the elections raked and Zach Baer's fault because he talked to Sandy and they were colluding to remove people from the rolls and everything else.

[Knight]: It's a bad practice, you know, it didn't have that didn't happen.

[Knight]: But that was the that was the general consensus throughout the community was that, you know, Zach was running around trying to control the voting.

[Knight]: But anyway, what I'm saying is, why don't we cool it on that a little bit, relax a little bit, because it does create a situation where a lot of people get frustrated and it creates voter apathy, where they don't want to come out and vote.

[Knight]: and they don't want to go and waste their time going through this ordeal of this.

[Knight]: I know the elections are great, but they're overwhelmed when they get in there and they got one person that says, what do you mean I can't vote?

[Knight]: Well, listen, I just talked to 4,000 people that can and you can't.

[Knight]: Like, sorry, what do you want me to tell you guys?

[Knight]: Today's the biggest day of the year for me, right?

[Knight]: And they don't get the attention that they deserve.

[Knight]: And then they have to come down to city hall and go back and go back to the back.

[Knight]: They're not going to vote.

[Knight]: They're just not going to do it.

[Knight]: So I'll reiterate the fact, I don't think it's the best practice.

[Knight]: I mean, it might be what you're required to do, what you can do.

[Knight]: I think it's what you can do, not necessarily what you're required to do.

[Knight]: But I don't think that it's working in favor of promoting full involvement in elections.

[Knight]: example, like I have to fill out a census, I'm on the ballot, and I gotta fill out a census every year.

[Knight]: And I can't vote for myself if I don't.

[Knight]: This is crazy.

[Knight]: I can't sign my own nomination papers if I don't fill out the census, but I'm an elected official in the community.

[Knight]: To be an elected official, I believe I have to be a registered voter.

[Knight]: Right?

[Knight]: So I'm not a registered voter right now because I didn't fill out the census.

[Knight]: I apologize.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: And what I'm saying is that the past practice was never like this.

[Knight]: And it was always very, it was always a lot easier than what's going on now.

[Knight]: Now, if this is the way it's going to be, this is the way it's going to be, that's fine.

[Knight]: I'm just saying that I don't think it's necessarily conducive to promoting full involvement in elections.

[Knight]: How many voters are there?

[Knight]: Including the 15,000 hit the road.

[Knight]: It's like a third that you threw out, right?

[Knight]: Mm-hmm.

[Knight]: So like 33% of the registered voters are no longer, are inactive now.

[Knight]: They're inactive.

[Knight]: Because they didn't send back a census.

[Knight]: Yeah, right.

[Knight]: But I mean, ultimately, you took a third of the population from inactive.

[Knight]: Correct, as required.

[Knight]: A third of the voting population, 33%.

[Knight]: My experience with Somerville have always been they make things very difficult for anybody to do anything over there.

[Knight]: Do they turn into a pumpkin?

[Knight]: And then what happens?

[Knight]: I understand your frustration with the- I mean, you can't just throw a third of the people in the community off the voter rolls.

[Knight]: You want to say that they can still vote?

[Knight]: Listen, you made them inactive voters.

[Knight]: They're going to show up at the polls and they're going to say, no, you can't vote.

[Knight]: Go stand in the corner and fill it out in the bad boy booth.

[Knight]: Right?

[Knight]: I mean, that's what happens, right?

[Knight]: So it's hard enough to get people to want to participate.

[Knight]: And I just think that this is a failed policy.

[Knight]: It's not your policy.

[Knight]: It's just a failed policy.

[Knight]: You're saying it's to comply with the state law.

[Knight]: I think that doesn't make any sense.

[Knight]: It's crazy.

[Knight]: It's crazy if you fall off the, if you don't fill out your census form, but they not send you an excise tax bill, pretty sure they do.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: Pretty sure they do.

[Knight]: So they're going to take away your right to have a voice, but they're still going to tax you.

[Knight]: So we'll continue to- That was the past practice beginning within the last 36 months.

[Knight]: Madam President, there's a paper that I submitted to be included in the record this evening, pursuant to communications from city offices and employees, which is the section of the agenda that we're into this evening.

[Knight]: I received a correspondence today from the firefighters union.

[Knight]: And at our last meeting, I believe that I do have the right to initiate a point of personal privilege.

[Knight]: The mayor told me that I was being distruthful at the meeting the other night.

[Knight]: And this was the same meeting that the mayor said that she was very close to settling all the union contracts and that they were doing a great job and they were this close to settling all the contracts, including the fire contract.

[Knight]: And this evening, Madam President, in our mailboxes before the meeting, we received a correspondence from the fire union.

[Knight]: And what it says is this administration has been in office for three years and five months.

[Knight]: Local 1033, I'm sorry, local 1032, which is the Metro Firefighters Union, has been without a contract for 706 days.

[Knight]: The mayor spoke last week about how well negotiations were going with the fire department and that we were close to settling a contract.

[Knight]: I just want to repeat that.

[Knight]: The mayor spoke last week about how well negotiations were going with the fire department and that we were close to settling a contract.

[Knight]: That was clear, right?

[Knight]: That's what the mayor said?

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: Well, this is what the union says.

[Knight]: This could not be any further from the truth.

[Knight]: the city is proposing in their budget double digit percentage raises to their non-union employees while unions in the city go years without a contract.

[Knight]: We have new hires to this day who still do not have health insurance through the city of Medford because of administrative errors.

[Knight]: The mayor's office represented that everybody was covered and that this problem was resolved.

[Knight]: There's another thing in this letter that I'd like to point out, Madam President, and that's that in this budget that the mayor has proposed, they're cutting two more firefighter positions.

[Knight]: At the same time, the mayor is putting out press releases boasting how the city of Medford is one of the fastest growing communities in the country.

[Knight]: So we have a communication here from employees of this city.

[Knight]: I'd ask that they be included in the record, Madam President.

[Knight]: It was addressed to this council.

[Knight]: It's highlighting issues and concerns that were brought up at last week's meeting.

[Knight]: And it addresses certain things that were said, and I think that it should be included as part of the record and ask my council colleagues to support me and having this letter included as part of the record.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I think we've certainly beat this issue to death.

[Knight]: Ultimately, the matter that's before us is whether or not we want to support and extend that Iowa's permit for Oasis, all right?

[Knight]: That's the issue that's before this council.

[Knight]: The other issues are enforcement issues.

[Knight]: Those issues fall under the purview of the administration.

[Knight]: So the question that comes before us right now is, do we want to support a thriving business in South Medford?

[Knight]: All right, now, when I drive through South Medford, I see several businesses that are successful, and this is one of them.

[Knight]: I don't want to see them leave.

[Knight]: Um, I don't think that we can blame oasis for being the source of all the problems and all things wrong in yale street and harvard ave All right, I don't have a street.

[Knight]: I just don't think that that's possible.

[Knight]: All right We have the opening of a green line station that's going in over there the noise and the drama and the uh adverse effects that are going to come from that alone will triple or maybe quadruply outweigh what's going on in oasis uncomfortable support in the petition this evening

[Knight]: Ultimately, you know, the council does have the right to put restrictions on it, I wouldn't have a problem putting restrictions on it to Thursday, Friday, Saturday evenings, something like that.

[Knight]: But I don't think we need to go down this road of making a mountain out of a molehill.

[Knight]: It's not that serious of an issue.

[Knight]: Ultimately, the question is whether or not we want to allow them to stay open for 120 minutes later than they usually do, or whether or not we want to put restrictions on those 120 minutes so that it's 90 or less.

[Knight]: I mean, that's it.

[Knight]: That's all that's before us right now.

[Knight]: So, you know, I think we're complicating an issue and we're really kind of turning this into a patronization at this point.

[Knight]: But, you know, ultimately I'm comfortable voting on the paper immediately.

[Knight]: Madam President, motion to adopt the gentleman's suggestion as a restriction on the permit.

[Knight]: No.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: I didn't know my mic was off, sorry.

[Knight]: I didn't know I was unmuted, I'm sorry.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: This is what happens when we allow debate after the vote gets taken.

[Knight]: I'm Noah Gibson.

[Knight]: I'm a junior.

[Knight]: Excellent.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: And this is a resolution that I've been fortunate enough to put forward each year since my election.

[Knight]: Charlie Sheeran was a great mentor to me.

[Knight]: The first big boy job I had when I was in college was working as an intern in the senator's office and that turned into what seems to be a lifetime in politics now.

[Knight]: But I couldn't have done it without the guidance and leadership of Charlie Sheeran.

[Knight]: And Charlie represented the city of Medford with great pride and great diligence, Madam President, he served as our state senator from 1990 to 2005 when he passed as a result of battle with cancer.

[Knight]: Charlie was a US Army veteran.

[Knight]: He was a retired police officer, and he was a career public servant.

[Knight]: When we look around the city of Medford, we see some of the things that remind us of the work that Charlie did, and we look around the second Middlesex district we see some of the things that Charlie did.

[Knight]: Shannon Beach for example is named after Senator Shannon, in honor of all the work that he's done in restoring Route 16 in the Mystic Valley Parkway.

[Knight]: So when I think back to my time with Senator Shannon and what was going on in his office during the time that I worked there, I talk about things like marriage equality, we talk about health care for all, we talk about the Green Line extension, these are great things, great issues that really made a difference in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in the residents in this community's life.

[Knight]: So I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work and learn from Charlie.

[Knight]: Another item that we're going to talk about I'm sure down the line will be

[Knight]: and the roof of La Conte skating rink was fallen in, it was Senator Shannon who was able to secure the funds to be sure that La Conte skating rink was repaired, refurbished, and maintained so that we can still enjoy it to this day.

[Knight]: So Madam President, it's with a heavy heart that I offer this resolution once again, but it's something that I feel is necessary to be sure that we in this community don't forget somebody that did so much for us.

[Knight]: So I ask my council colleagues in joining me in supporting this resolution.

[Knight]: I'm just glad Madam President, to see that been so successful West Medford Square that they were able to expand and that they're not on the Alta Cuba opening schedule.

[Knight]: Seems like they've made an announcement to go down there and things are moving relatively quickly so congratulations gentlemen I'm happy to support the paper.

[Knight]: So I'm recommending that there be a delay in the executive order made by the state government supersede any local action.

[Knight]: unless the executive order supersedes the local zoning ordinance, which in my- Well, it may, and that's why I said, that's why I mentioned in part.

[Knight]: Mr. Just for explanation purposes from a historical standpoint, we have an issue like this that came up when Wendy's was looking for an outside dining facility and.

[Knight]: what some of the concerns were was after hours when it's closed and no one's in the facility, people would be using the seats in the chairs to congregate late at night after 11 o'clock or 12 o'clock at night.

[Knight]: So it was more of a nuisance value thing as opposed to becoming projectiles or what's it called, fodder for larceny.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Knight, Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: And it's amazing here we are again.

[Knight]: Now it was a baby.

[Knight]: Well, 16 months ago, we passed this council in January, January 22.

[Knight]: We passed a resolution asking that the mayor provide us very simple financial data, like Councilor Scott belly said the previous administrations, previous financial directors, but the same exact software were able to give us.

[Knight]: All we want to know is where you're spending the money on a weekly basis.

[Knight]: That's all.

[Knight]: Then we said, not even weekly, monthly.

[Knight]: Show us where you're spending the money on a monthly basis.

[Knight]: Show us what account your money's coming out of and where it's going.

[Knight]: The response we get from the chief of staff is, we don't have someone that has the time to redact that information.

[Knight]: What needs to be redacted?

[Knight]: The Transparency Administration, Madam President.

[Knight]: Remember that?

[Knight]: Community, unity, and transparency.

[Knight]: I don't see any unity.

[Knight]: I don't see any unity among the working people that work in this building, among the rank and file members of our DPW and fire department who have gone without a contract.

[Knight]: I don't see any unity with the teachers who took a vote of no confidence in this administration and the school committee.

[Knight]: I certainly don't see any transparency when, for 16 months, we've been asking for simple financial data.

[Knight]: Follow the money.

[Knight]: Where's the money going?

[Knight]: And they won't let us look.

[Knight]: They won't let us follow the money, Madam President.

[Knight]: I think it's shameful.

[Knight]: I think it's absolutely shameful.

[Knight]: It's a smoke and mirrors game.

[Knight]: So when I think back, and we're talking about the budget now, and I think back to that night, the last day of June, last year, and the mayor came up here and she all of a sudden, money was falling out of the sky all of a sudden.

[Knight]: What was this council?

[Knight]: It was $8 million deficit and then they found 4 million in the mayor's top drawer, right?

[Knight]: Then they came in here and the council had some priorities that we needed funded, like an attorney.

[Knight]: like an assistant city solicitor for the council and the mayor stood up there.

[Knight]: And you know what the mayor said, I will hire an assistant city solicitor for the council.

[Knight]: I will post the job in September.

[Knight]: That was in June.

[Knight]: We still don't have one.

[Knight]: The job hasn't been posted.

[Knight]: It's posted in February.

[Knight]: That's right.

[Knight]: And where did the mayor want to take the money to fund these positions?

[Knight]: Can anybody remember?

[Knight]: She wanted to take them out of the negotiated salaries account.

[Knight]: The negotiated salaries account, the account where the administration puts money aside to provide cost of living adjustments for those same rank and file workers that she's beating on every day.

[Knight]: We have a chief of staff that doesn't act like a liaison or a partner.

[Knight]: We have a chief of staff that acts like a defense attorney.

[Knight]: Refuse to answer questions, refuse to provide us with information, refuse to provide us with data.

[Knight]: Now, when someone stands up before me, and we talk and we cut a deal, and they make a promise to me, and they don't fulfill that promise, I call them a liar.

[Knight]: That's what I call them.

[Knight]: And after all this time that's gone by, with no assistant city solicitor, with no phase two of the zoning review, I think it's safe to say the mayor's a liar.

[Knight]: The mayor lied to this body to get what she needed, which was a budget, so that she wouldn't have to talk to us for another year.

[Knight]: Because that's the fact of the matter, right?

[Knight]: That's the writing on the wall.

[Knight]: That's the rationale.

[Knight]: If we were watching this TV show at home, that's what we'd see.

[Knight]: The mayor came in here, she promised everybody everything.

[Knight]: Sprinkles were flying from the sky.

[Knight]: Everything was great.

[Knight]: Two days later, she's down the Cape.

[Knight]: Nobody hears from anybody.

[Knight]: And now here we are, scheduling a meeting for May 19th to talk about the next budget, when we still haven't even gotten the things we were promised from the last one.

[Knight]: Typical of this administration, Madam President.

[Knight]: Typical of this administration.

[Knight]: I want a mayor that leads.

[Knight]: I want a mayor that administrates government.

[Knight]: I don't want a social media influencer for a mayor in my city.

[Knight]: And I feel like that's what we have.

[Knight]: It's always lead with a press release.

[Knight]: Go skating with the kids, go play rock, paper, scissors.

[Knight]: But you can't drive down one street in the city.

[Knight]: If you live on a private way and you call somebody to trim a tree and get a pothole fixed, good God, it's like you're asking for a miracle.

[Knight]: It's like you're asking for a miracle.

[Knight]: We've asked the DPW director about this private way issue and how we can have equity and parity among residents in this community.

[Knight]: The administration closes their ears.

[Knight]: They don't want to hear it.

[Knight]: When we say we want to take some of these public private ways off the rules and put them as public ways, because that might help us get more chapter 90 funds because the city administration only appropriates $900,000 a year

[Knight]: for road repairs, and that's money that's appropriated through our cherry sheet in Northridge City Coffers.

[Knight]: The mayor does not match one penny, not one penny in road repairs in this community.

[Knight]: So when we talk about priorities, I mean, the meeting's gonna be 24 hours long.

[Knight]: But the number one priority that I have for this council in moving forward in the budget

[Knight]: going forward is we hold the mayor accountable to her promises, to what she said she was going to give us.

[Knight]: Because if she's going to lie to us, then she's going to lie to the people we represent, too.

[Knight]: And we can no longer be a steward for the taxpayer in this community, because we're getting treated like mushrooms, getting thrown in the closet, in the dock, in the dirt, fed fertilizer in the way of press releases, Instagram posts, and Facebook posts.

[Knight]: and expected to move forward and make informed decisions on behalf of the people that put us here.

[Knight]: And then look in the mirror the next morning and say we're doing a good job.

[Knight]: We're not doing a good job, Madam President.

[Knight]: We're doing a terrible job.

[Knight]: We're doing a terrible job in this community delivering services.

[Knight]: I've never seen the city look worse.

[Knight]: I've never seen the city look worse.

[Knight]: It was a miracle today when I drove around the Winthrop Street Rotary, the Rotary which by the way, according to the contract on the Eversource project is supposed to be reconstructed, which hasn't been reconstructed and I mind you probably won't be reconstructed because it's too close to an election.

[Knight]: You got to show some results somewhere.

[Knight]: We've been holding all the results in the result bag, waiting for someone to run against us.

[Knight]: And now we're going to pour them all out and show you all the good stuff we're doing.

[Knight]: If we didn't have an opponent, if Consulate Gavreel didn't have the courage to run against his mayor.

[Knight]: Council, budget priorities.

[Knight]: My budget priority is an administrator that administers.

[Knight]: A public administrator, not a social media influencer.

[Knight]: Someone that keeps their promises.

[Knight]: That's all.

[Knight]: Not asking for much.

[Knight]: Someone that comes to work, rolls their sleeves up, and does what they say they're gonna do, Madam President.

[Knight]: Is that too much to ask for?

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: Madam President, did you say which month was it this month or just a month, month of May, month of May.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: So, Madam President, Councilor going to be a full budget.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much, and I would defer to Councilor Caraviello on this.

[Knight]: He was a co-sponsor of this resolution, as he has been in the past, but I erroneously excluded him when I sent it to the City Clerk after speaking with friends from the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association.

[Knight]: Yes, Madam President.

[Knight]: Thank you, Mr. President, former Mr. President.

[Knight]: As this resolution says, Madam President, there are hundreds, several hundred motorcycles registered in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: Thousands upon thousands of motorcycles pass through our community daily with Route 93 cutting right through the middle of our city.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, the condition of our roadways aren't great.

[Knight]: So these are things that do lead to situations of accident.

[Knight]: This is a resolution that I've been supporting now for a number of years.

[Knight]: It's fitting.

[Knight]: I first got involved with the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association when I was working for Senator Shannon, the first resolution we spoke of this evening.

[Knight]: And through his office, I became very friendly with some of the individuals there that were working for a better Massachusetts when it came to rights and when it came to protections for motorcyclists.

[Knight]: And one of the things that came out of this was motorcycle awareness period, Madam President, before us this evening.

[Knight]: This is a paper that has been supported by the Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

[Knight]: They've established the Massachusetts Motorcycle Awareness Period.

[Knight]: And as the weather changes and we see more and more people taking their motorcycles out, it's just important for us to be aware and cognizant of the fact that these

[Knight]: motor vehicles are going to be on the roadway.

[Knight]: We're not used to seeing them so much in the bad weather, but the good weather's here before us now.

[Knight]: It's a safety issue, Madam President, but it's also a sharing the road issue.

[Knight]: So many of us are concerned about putting bike lanes in and bus lanes in, but we forget a little bit about those of us that drive motorized vehicles and those on the motorcycle are the most vulnerable when they're on the roadway.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President, I would like to ask my council colleagues to support the resolution and thank you all for indulging me with such a long piece of legislation.

[Knight]: I'm going to present for me.

[Knight]: I think the council for bringing this up and as we talk about Middlesex have something comes to mind, you know, as the weather's changing.

[Knight]: And as we see the nicer weather get out we see a lot of people like to do what go get their car washed right.

[Knight]: And we've had a lot of problems with the car wash down there in Middlesex Avenue.

[Knight]: So, on top of Councilor Tseng's resolution I'd just like to amend it to ask that the city administration.

[Knight]: ensure that the police department performs directed patrols down in the area to ensure safe passage of vehicular traffic.

[Knight]: In case that there is an emergency down there, we don't want to impact emergency response times with the traffic coming out of BJ's and the car wash.

[Knight]: It's a nightmare down there.

[Knight]: And it's a pretty popular place, Madam President.

[Knight]: So it's one of those things where

[Knight]: we're a victim of a local business's success.

[Knight]: So we need to take appropriate steps to make sure that the neighborhood and the residents and the quality of life are protected in that area.

[Knight]: anything getting done in City of Oloroa the way that this administration has been running the city.

[Knight]: And I thank you for bringing some of these issues up because they're issues that have been going on for a long time.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: So ultimately what I'm hearing is this ultimately started three years ago with a request to have a tree removed.

[Knight]: actually a sidewalk.

[Knight]: And then for three years at a time, you were told you're on the list.

[Knight]: And then you finally, actually, you finally came in touch with somebody in city hall and Owen that told you the truth after three years, right?

[Knight]: Said, we're not going to do that.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: They put you on the list and they kept telling you they're going to do it for three years.

[Knight]: And they dragged you around for three years.

[Knight]: And you finally found someone that told you the truth.

[Knight]: All right, now, ultimately, an experienced public administrator, Madam President, to something like a sidewalk panel and a tree root to make a resident on the street that pays a lot of money in taxes very happy would be as an experienced public administrator, go to Eversource,

[Knight]: and leverage your power with levers ever source to do some community mitigation, because that neighborhood has been under construction for the better part of five years.

[Knight]: That's what an experienced public administrator would have done.

[Knight]: And it wouldn't have had to elevate to this point where you're wasting your time coming up here to the city council because you've been making phone calls for years and years and doing emails for years and years and not getting a good response.

[Knight]: an experienced public administrator, Madam President, would have reached out to their partners in government who are doing construction projects in the area and leverage that relationship to provide community and neighborhood mitigation.

[Knight]: Something that I've been calling for for a very long time.

[Knight]: Something that I've spoke to the DPW commissioner about at length on a number of occasions.

[Knight]: So when I hear these stories and these reoccurring themes,

[Knight]: in these issues that keep coming up and issues that we as a council have provided solutions for the administration, but the administration does not respond to us, does not give us the time of day, does not provide us with the tools, materials and equipment necessary to be successful in representing someone like Lisa.

[Knight]: It's shameful, it really is.

[Knight]: And that's the cycle that we're in right now.

[Knight]: There are revenue issues, but ultimately what I'm hearing is I'm not gonna do it because I don't have to.

[Knight]: Right, I'm not gonna do it because I don't have to.

[Knight]: Well, for 28 years.

[Knight]: someone did it, and no one made a big stink about it.

[Knight]: The FBI didn't come in here and say, you can't be paving private ways, Mike McGlynn, that's against the rules.

[Knight]: No one seemed to really mind too much when we were providing city services to the residents in the community.

[Knight]: But it's when we see such a breakdown and degradation of the level of services that we provide, and when we're scrambling and trying to figure out how we're going to make it work, because we haven't invested the time, materials, energy, and effort, and we don't have the personnel, the qualified personnel,

[Knight]: We haven't retained anybody with any institutional knowledge, and we haven't been able to track anybody.

[Knight]: You get into a dire situation like this, where the ship is sinking, and now you have to make decisions and determinations like this, where you're pitting neighbor against neighbor and street against street.

[Knight]: I'm pretty, I'm pretty sure most people don't know what a private way is and what a public way is.

[Knight]: They know it's a green sign that they can turn down and take that street to get off of Winthrop Street to get the woman street if they want to, right, Wildwood Road, for example.

[Knight]: So when I look at this and I hear these issues, I just find it very frustrating because a hands on public administrator, someone that wants to administer and manage would be able to address an issue like this.

[Knight]: So I'm sorry for your frustration.

[Knight]: I like your idea personally that you know the same level of services should be provided to any street in the city.

[Knight]: And I, you know, I understand that there are certain rules we can the city can also opt out of the subdivision control bar if we want to, you know, but ultimately right now my hands are a little strong.

[Knight]: in a couple of different aspects in a couple different ways.

[Knight]: One of them is because we don't have a partner across the hall.

[Knight]: Secondly, we don't have the financial ability to turn the street into a public way tomorrow, right so anything that takes place going to take a long period of time to happen.

[Knight]: If in fact it is going to happen and from what I'm understanding the city is not willing to invest that money I think we as a council are.

[Knight]: We as a consulate are willing to say, you know, this sidewalk panel should be picked up, this tree should be taken care of.

[Knight]: Because if the tree falls down, what's going to happen?

[Knight]: It's going to hit your house, right?

[Knight]: And you're going to have a problem.

[Knight]: If someone slips and falls in front of the house, who do they sue?

[Knight]: Do they sue the city?

[Knight]: Or do they sue you for the sidewalk panel?

[Knight]: What else you're going to see is a devaluation of your property.

[Knight]: Because you have the that's the reason for that.

[Knight]: Right, right.

[Knight]: So thank you for coming up and thank you.

[Knight]: I certainly share some of your concerns and something I'm looking forward to working on.

[Knight]: So what I'm understanding is that Councilor Beza has spoken with the facility manager.

[Knight]: The facility manager says he has control over the room.

[Knight]: We had residents in the community that had spoken with the mayor about the room, and the mayor said that the administration has nothing to do with the room.

[Knight]: I'm just trying to figure out what's going on.

[Knight]: This place is like Circus City.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: Madam president, thank you very much.

[Knight]: And, you know, as I'm reading this resolution, I'm thinking to myself that in effect, right now, we already have a moratorium on development.

[Knight]: You know, we look around at the cities that are neighboring communities and we see what they're doing.

[Knight]: And we see them passing Metro by.

[Knight]: We've seen them passing by Everett, Malden, Somerville, Cambridge, Belmont, Waltham, Revere.

[Knight]: The list goes on, the list goes on.

[Knight]: Medford is no longer in the driver's seat.

[Knight]: At one point in time, we were a community at first, and now we're a community that follows.

[Knight]: So when I sit here and I think about, you know, how we can fix the process and change where we're at, it brings me back to the old saying, if you don't know what you stand for, you can't stand for anything.

[Knight]: And, you know, we have a mayor here that runs on affordable housing.

[Knight]: A mayor that says that her number one accomplishment was the inclusionary housing ordinance that I wrote.

[Knight]: She runs on affordable housing, says that that's her number one success.

[Knight]: Yet, when the reality is, there are three affordable housing developments in this community that she fights and takes it to litigation.

[Knight]: So these are the things that I think Councilor Caraviello is talking about.

[Knight]: It's a frustration because it's, don't look at what I'm doing, just look at what I'm saying.

[Knight]: Because we don't have a leader, we don't have a public administrator or a municipal manager in the corner office.

[Knight]: We have a social media influencer.

[Knight]: That's what we have to do.

[Knight]: Let's be honest.

[Knight]: I mean, that's clear as day.

[Knight]: That's clear as day.

[Knight]: That's fact at this point.

[Knight]: That's fact at this point.

[Knight]: The city's falling apart.

[Knight]: I'm going to go play rock, paper, scissors.

[Knight]: I mean, come on.

[Knight]: Enough's enough with this stuff.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: Anytime something bad happens, there's a sign that says Maumau in front of City Hall and people are taking pictures.

[Knight]: So when I talk about the direction that this community is going in,

[Knight]: and I talk about what I think we need.

[Knight]: The first thing we need is a municipal manager that knows what they stand for and where they stand.

[Knight]: And then we need a vision for this community.

[Knight]: And I don't think we have one of those either.

[Knight]: So we can talk about all these consultants that come in and all the call-in center and this contract and this consultant that comes in to create a vision for you because you don't have one.

[Knight]: Or we can take the reins of this process.

[Knight]: Because for the last 18, 16 months, two years before that, we've been ignored.

[Knight]: We haven't been given the tools to succeed.

[Knight]: And it shows, because the city hasn't looked worse.

[Knight]: The city hasn't looked worse.

[Knight]: There's never been a partnership that's been this broken in this community in over four decades.

[Knight]: And it shows, because the community looks awful.

[Knight]: So I thank the council for taking the initiative to put a difficult topic to discuss on the agenda, but I thank him for knowing where he stands and what he stands for, because that's what this business is all about.

[Knight]: All you have is your word in this business.

[Knight]: That's the only thing that follows you around.

[Knight]: In politics, the only thing you have is your word.

[Knight]: If you're a person that keeps it, people keep you.

[Knight]: If you're a person that doesn't keep it, the people get rid of it.

[Knight]: The people aren't stupid.

[Knight]: The people know what's going on in this community.

[Knight]: And I thank the gentleman for bringing it up.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: I think it's important to point out also that this community needs at least, I'd say one and a quarter to one and a half percent of new growth annually just to sustain, just to sustain just to stay even.

[Knight]: We need one and a quarter to one and a half percent of new growth each year, just to sustain.

[Knight]: So when we talk about a project like the Boston Ab Project, it was going to bring an influx, an influx of money through taxation, through permitting, and more importantly, through the creation of jobs that pay a living wage, jobs that provide benefits for their employees, jobs that provide health insurance for their employees.

[Knight]: Jobs are not a car dealership or a Dunkin' Donuts or a nail salon or a bank, which is, Medford's the capital of, I think, because, I mean, I think, what do we have, 27 Dunkin' Donuts in the city?

[Knight]: There were 20, there were at least 20 Dunkin' Donuts in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: That's our business model.

[Knight]: That's our business model.

[Knight]: But we have a property owner that comes before this council and asks us to support his project.

[Knight]: He comes with representatives from the administration.

[Knight]: We support the project, we give him the zoning.

[Knight]: We carry him on our shoulders out of here like it's a big boom.

[Knight]: He goes before the historical commission and they blow a $400 million project up over a garage that sits in the back of button train tracks that's fallen apart and decrepit.

[Knight]: And their analysis, their analysis that they used was totally outside the scope of their authority in the ordinance.

[Knight]: The historical commission is just one of many commissions that we have in this community, but it is out of control.

[Knight]: Out of control.

[Knight]: Well, it is.

[Knight]: It comes back to smart growth and smart development.

[Knight]: We can't grow and we can't develop smartly if our boards and commissions don't share a vision with the administration.

[Knight]: And if the administration doesn't know where they stand or what they stand for, there's never going to be that shared vision.

[Knight]: And that's where we are right now.

[Knight]: That's what happens after three and a half years of no leadership.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: Madam President, this was a paper that was before us previously, and the administration had submitted it erroneously.

[Knight]: There were a number of typographical errors that we asked for clarification.

[Knight]: It's come back clarified.

[Knight]: Ms.

[Knight]: White's been waiting five years for her money.

[Knight]: I think it's time we give it to her.

[Knight]: So I move approval.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I just want to join my colleagues in expressing my condolences to the family.

[Knight]: Over the years, Stephen and I have become close friends and he's a great person.

[Knight]: He was raised by two great parents and it shows.

[Knight]: Stella's values show through and through in our son, Stephen.

[Knight]: It's been a difficult time, as Councilor Scarpelli said, for the family and I just want to join in offering my well wishes to the family throughout this difficult time.

[Knight]: If I'm hearing this correctly, I believe the gentleman just said that I'm sorry, I believe the gentleman just said this was, you know, look like it was going to be a purely residential project and then the reason they.

[Knight]: developed with some sort of commercial component was based upon the wishes of the community of the city of Medford during the planning and development process.

[Knight]: Is that correct?

[Knight]: Yeah, because I remember when when this went through, and I think that that was part of the deal was that the city was trying to promote this mixed use development and adding commercial components to residential structures.

[Knight]: So ultimately, this vacant retail space is actually a creation of our own public policy.

[Knight]: I see no reason why we should stand in the way and I'd move for approval on that.

[Knight]: I don't think this is an issue.

[Knight]: I know this is a public hearing, but this is something I certainly don't have any problem

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Knight, Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Yes, I think it is important to point out you know the term paranormal is a dated term that's included in a zoning act and the question isn't whether or not they're performing functions that are paranormal in nature it's, you know, whether or not this

[Knight]: function that they're performing where when it's best fit is underneath the zoning act right now that's what it falls under based upon the definitions that have been provided to us beforehand I certainly have no problem with the entrepreneur pursuing an opportunity to create a very successful business here in the city of Medford especially in a downtown district and that there is a market for this type of business I mean we see

[Knight]: Salem Massachusetts for example with thrives on this type of business so I mean I wish you the best of luck and you certainly have my support.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight motion to receive in place a file, Madam President.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This is a project I'm very excited about.

[Knight]: This is something that I think dates back to the Burke administration, and it's something that the director, the executive director, Director Driscoll has been keeping us very well apprised of over the years in terms of the progress that's being made in this project.

[Knight]: I just want to commend him for the work that he's done.

[Knight]: This is one of many funding sources that the Housing Authority has been able to utilize to renovate and revitalize the passes over there.

[Knight]: And this project is going to be good for our community, good for our seniors, and it's going to be good in addressing some of the affordable housing shortages that we have here in the community.

[Knight]: And for those reasons, I'll be supporting this paper this evening.

[Knight]: When we look back at the application that's before us, what comes to mind for me is the

[Knight]: multiple, five, six public meetings that we've had on this previously already to discuss what's going on, prepare us for what's going on.

[Knight]: That's the way that financial management should take place in a municipality, especially one of this size.

[Knight]: So, again, I commend Executive Director Driscoll.

[Knight]: for all those work in keeping us informed and for seeing this project through from its beginning stages to its end.

[Knight]: It's all too often that we see press releases that say what we're gonna do, but then we never see what we say we're gonna do get done.

[Knight]: And I've always known Jeff to be someone that leads by results and not by press releases.

[Knight]: And this right here is proof of the pudding, Madam President.

[Knight]: So I certainly thank the Community Preservation Committee for their favorable recommendation and I move for approval on the application statement.

[Knight]: you.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Council night as the dissenting vote.

[Knight]: I feel so.

[Knight]: It's my obligation to explain where I come from.

[Knight]: Why when voting against these amendments to, uh, these.

[Knight]: Resolutions to move to amend that city job.

[Knight]: Um from day one in my election to the City Council.

[Knight]: I've always felt that the best path to try to change was through the time tested

[Knight]: I don't support an abbreviated review.

[Knight]: And I truly questioned whether or not people in power trying to expand their own power was the best course.

[Knight]: And looking at the papers before us this evening, or the series of papers that are before us this evening, we still have the elephant in the room to deal with the fact that we have zero legal counsel at all to provide us with any support.

[Knight]: The constitution of this community is the charter.

[Knight]: And for us to move forward in haste without legal counsel

[Knight]: providing advice, consent and direction, I think is something that we need to review with great caution and handle with kids gloves.

[Knight]: So for those reasons and those reasons alone, I will be voting against this paper this evening.

[Knight]: Since my election to the city council, there's always been some small

[Knight]: movement in this community to review or amend the charter.

[Knight]: And there's been small minority groups that have moved to try to collect the signatures to do such, and they have been able to do so, which tells me that there is a lack of interest in addressing the charter in this community by the general populace.

[Knight]: And for that reason as well, I will be voting against this paper soon.

[Knight]: I thank the Councilor for the work that he's done.

[Knight]: I appreciate his initiative.

[Knight]: You know, you got to start somewhere.

[Knight]: And again, you know, it's almost what came first, the chicken or the egg.

[Knight]: You know what I'm saying?

[Knight]: We don't have the tools to address this.

[Knight]: and he's put in the paper for this, trying to give us the tools, but it's really a philosophical and theoretical discussion as to how it feels the government should work and what's best practice for good government.

[Knight]: So it's for that reason that I'll be voting against it this evening.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: I'm just thinking for, you know, this is a great school right I mean it's one of the most prestigious universities around you think these kids might not had across the street.

[Knight]: You know, but with that being said, maybe we can we can ask our friends up at Tufts University to.

[Knight]: have a class called look both ways before crossing the street.

[Knight]: But I do commend the gentleman for putting the paper forward.

[Knight]: But, you know, there has to also be some personal responsibility, I think, when it comes to pedestrian safety.

[Knight]: And, you know, I think this is one of the perfect examples thereof.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'll support the paper this evening.

[Knight]: But I don't think this is certainly a priority of the Council.

[Knight]: Madam President, on that, I just ask that any work that we do related to Riverside Avenue be coordinated with the MWRA and National Grid.

[Knight]: If we think back, we had an opportunity to resurface Riverside Avenue for a significant stretch, I believe, from Freedom Way going up towards

[Knight]: a narrow bread for lack of a better explanation.

[Knight]: And the council was looking for some additional concessions curb stones and stuff like that.

[Knight]: But ultimately, the MWRA and National Grid had a project that would have provided curb to curb resurfacing to that stretch of certain stretch of Riverside Avenue that was in significant need of disrepair for payout.

[Knight]: the city council request that the administration move forward and resurface that roadway.

[Knight]: That'll put us in a position where we'd have the five year moratorium placed on the road, and it wouldn't be able to be open.

[Knight]: So we put ourselves in a situation where we had public utilities that were willing to resurface the roadway for free.

[Knight]: And now we're doing it, we're paying for it, and we're locking it up for five years and preventing them from doing their underground infrastructure improvements.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I just ask that the city engineer be provided with this information as well as Mr. Lasky over at the MWRA.

[Knight]: So moved.

[Knight]: Ultimately, Madam President, what it was, was a paper that was going to create a CAF 19 for the human resource directors position as well as other positions.

[Knight]: But that position was included in the paper and that is a same or similar paper that has been rejected by this body and therefore is barred from introduction.

[Knight]: It was taken off the table to be disposed of that it was disposed of and then it was reintroduced less than 90 days.

[Knight]: So the council voted on it saying goodbye.

[Knight]: And then the mayor brought it back, but the mayor brought it back before the cooling off period.

[Knight]: I mean, we have rules, but we don't need them, right?

[Knight]: And we could just throw them out.

[Knight]: Ultimately, the rules are put in place is check and balance, you know, be sure that we stay honest and transparent.

[Knight]: Clarification Madam President, so ultimately the paper was introduced this evening.

[Knight]: I made a motion to have the paper ruled out of order.

[Knight]: The paper was ruled out of order and now we're still talking about it.

[Knight]: The paper's been ruled out of order.

[Knight]: It's time to move on.

[Knight]: Well, my question is this.

[Knight]: If the paper's already been ruled on and it's been ruled out of order, what are we recessing on?

[Knight]: Have you made a ruling?

[Knight]: She did.

[Knight]: The paper was out of order.

[Knight]: That's it.

[Knight]: That's it.

[Knight]: That is all.

[Knight]: Point of Parliament, we agree.

[Knight]: Madam President, the paper has already been addressed.

[Knight]: So the motion is... My motion is to... The question of the chair is whether or not the paper's out of order.

[Knight]: So the paper will need a supermajority in order to move forward.

[Knight]: Okay, just put it down a month ago.

[Knight]: She just ruled it out of order.

[Knight]: What was it the clerk puts out a report to do?

[Knight]: We don't want them to forget Madam President.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Ultimately, you know, we have two papers that are before us this evening, one paper for a loan of a sidewalks, and another paper for

[Knight]: raises for non-union employees.

[Knight]: And when I look at these papers, I say to myself, does our city need sidewalks?

[Knight]: Ultimately, that's the first question.

[Knight]: Does our city need sidewalks?

[Knight]: Absolutely, our city needs sidewalks.

[Knight]: Ultimately, this paper that's before us, I think, asks us to borrow more money than the city's been appropriating to repair streets in the community.

[Knight]: They're asking us to borrow money.

[Knight]: And, you know, I'm sitting there and I'm just thinking back months, Madam President.

[Knight]: Months, we've been asking them where they're spending it.

[Knight]: Why can't we be provided with the Warren articles?

[Knight]: We've been asking for it since our prior finance director was run out of town under discrimination suits.

[Knight]: All right, she was able to give it to us, no problem, with a push of a button.

[Knight]: So I really don't understand this.

[Knight]: You know, so when we talk about borrowing money,

[Knight]: And we talk about an administration that prides itself on transparency, but this is the same administration that refuses to provide us with the documentation that shows where they're spending their money, as requested by the council on a number of occasions now, probably totaling in the double digits.

[Knight]: It raises a red flag, Madam President.

[Knight]: It raises a red flag.

[Knight]: So when we talk about the loan,

[Knight]: I talk about financial transparency and I talk about the request that this council has made.

[Knight]: The request that this council has made for months and months and months upon end.

[Knight]: And the answer that I get when I say, where is it?

[Knight]: Where are the Warren articles?

[Knight]: Oh, we don't have the time.

[Knight]: We're too busy.

[Knight]: Well, there are two non-union personnel in this room whose salary total about a quarter of a million bucks that are here before us for a raise, but they're too busy.

[Knight]: to provide us with the documentation that we need.

[Knight]: They're too busy to give us the papers that we've asked for.

[Knight]: I mean, that's the excuse that we've been given, time in and time out.

[Knight]: So they're not able to provide us with the simple financial data that their predecessors were able to provide us with, or willing to provide us with, maybe is more accurate of a statement.

[Knight]: But yet, they're here asking for a race.

[Knight]: So when I hear the term non-union, I think depominate.

[Knight]: That's what I think when I hear the term non-union, depominate, because that's really what this is.

[Knight]: This is a race for depominates.

[Knight]: And when we look at this paper, and we examine this paper in its initial state, when it came before us, when the mayor tried to give herself a raise in this paper retroactively, without disclosure to the council, without a list of titles to the council,

[Knight]: explaining what titles were going to be elevated.

[Knight]: And this is the cost of living adjustment for non-union personnel, Madam President.

[Knight]: This has nothing to do with the number of CAFRI classifications that the administration's put forward.

[Knight]: Meanwhile, the administration's talked

[Knight]: so braggadociosly about the opportunity to have a compensation study that's been forecasted from some grant that we were awarded.

[Knight]: I don't see the compensation study, but week in and week out, I see titles that are coming before us for increases.

[Knight]: Meanwhile, the rank and file workers, DPW, our police, our fire, our clerical workers, the people that we pick up the phone every day and call and say, can you fix this pothole farming?

[Knight]: Can you do a wellness check on this family?

[Knight]: I haven't seen my neighbor in a while.

[Knight]: My father fell down, can you come help me pick him up?

[Knight]: My basement's flooded, can you come over and help pump me out?

[Knight]: Those are the people that aren't getting the raise.

[Knight]: And the people that are getting the raise are the ones that aren't gonna provide us with the information that we need.

[Knight]: I think this is backwards.

[Knight]: I think a rising tide floats all boats, Madam President.

[Knight]: But never ever will I put the management before the working people ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever.

[Knight]: And that's what the administration is asking us what to do.

[Knight]: And, you know, I certainly believe that non-union personnel in this community deserve a raise.

[Knight]: And if you look at my track record, and you go back to previous administrations, you'll see who held up.

[Knight]: a raise for non-union personnel when it wasn't equal to what union personnel were getting.

[Knight]: When the prior administration asked non-union personnel to take a zero, I held it up.

[Knight]: I wouldn't approve it.

[Knight]: And I negotiated with the administration to defer that zero.

[Knight]: So they took a zero one year and they deferred it and got a raise in the end that made up for it, Madam President.

[Knight]: And everybody was whole and everybody was happy.

[Knight]: There are ways to do this, Madam President.

[Knight]: There are ways to work with labor.

[Knight]: There are ways to work with the personnel in this building to make them happy, all right?

[Knight]: There are ways to work in partnership and in concert with this council and with the people that are in this building, all right?

[Knight]: I'd love to have a hands-on mayor versus a social media influencer.

[Knight]: I really would.

[Knight]: But at this point in this game, Madam President, where are we?

[Knight]: We're no further ahead today than we were in January or the January before that.

[Knight]: And for us to take these votes right now is going to send a message to those rank and file workers that have been fighting and struggling every day with the administration whose rights have been trampled to say, yeah, yeah, we hear you, but we really don't care.

[Knight]: We're still going to reward them.

[Knight]: And we're still going to give them their raises.

[Knight]: And you'll get yours too, don't worry about it.

[Knight]: If there's money left and she decides to appropriate it.

[Knight]: So I can't, in good faith, Madam President, take these votes this evening.

[Knight]: I want to support this paper to give the non-union personnel a raise.

[Knight]: I want to support it when the time is right.

[Knight]: The time right now is not right.

[Knight]: I want to support.

[Knight]: I want to support these sidewalks, because these are needs that our community have.

[Knight]: These are needs that our community has.

[Knight]: I want to support these papers, but I can't.

[Knight]: I can't, in good faith, look at myself in the mirror tomorrow if I take these votes and vote yes, because I'd find it to be fiscally irresponsible.

[Knight]: Fiscally irresponsible, because I've given this same goddamn speech week in and week out, asking about fiscal transparency, asking about where the money's being spent.

[Knight]: And I get this, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[Knight]: That's what I get.

[Knight]: I get nothing but lip service and mumbo jumbo, Madam President.

[Knight]: Nothing.

[Knight]: I'm comfortable waking up in the morning, knowing that I took the good vote, knowing that I stood by my principles.

[Knight]: No one that I'm not going to be walked over and pushed around.

[Knight]: Not taken advantage of, taken for granted, and not being respected.

[Knight]: Because that's what this is about at this point, Madam President.

[Knight]: The rank and file workers not being respected.

[Knight]: The council's not being respected.

[Knight]: But we're being asked to do an awful lot.

[Knight]: I don't think it's right, and I don't think it's fair.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: A couple of things.

[Knight]: First of all, the rank and file need it more.

[Knight]: The rank and file workers need it more because they make less money.

[Knight]: Right, the rank and file make less more.

[Knight]: So, these races have a bigger impact on their life than they were in the department.

[Knight]: Number two, we don't see our rank and file union workers getting reclassification requests presented to the city council.

[Knight]: We don't have the FOB reclassification plan.

[Knight]: The Friends of Brianna reclassification plan, depending on who you are and what role you're in, you might get a raise, you might not, you might get a reclassification, you might reclassify your title.

[Knight]: Number three, Madam President, these non-union personnel do have a role in the breakdown

[Knight]: in labor relations between the rank-and-file workers and the administration.

[Knight]: You can't say that the chief of staff, that the city attorney, that the HR director haven't had a direct impact on the breakdown in the relationship and the morale with our rank-and-file workers in the fire department, in the DPW, in the clerical union.

[Knight]: You can't say it, because we've seen them here expressing that.

[Knight]: What was requested from the administration some 30 plus months ago was not a dearth of information.

[Knight]: It was rather concise.

[Knight]: A copy of the Warren articles once a month that shows us where you're spending the money.

[Knight]: That's all we asked for.

[Knight]: Now, usually when there's conflict,

[Knight]: You don't have to act when there's conflict.

[Knight]: You can take a step back and wait.

[Knight]: So if your values are being conflicted, wouldn't now be the time to take a step back and not hurt anybody?

[Knight]: Sit back and wait?

[Knight]: Because that's what I'm comfortable doing this evening, Madam President.

[Knight]: I don't want to vote him down.

[Knight]: I just want him to sit right where they are.

[Knight]: And let's see if some of these issues that we're talking about work themselves out.

[Knight]: Because I'm not comfortable supporting these

[Knight]: requests that are before us this evening, based upon the current events that are going on in this community, the circumstances that arise every time we request financial transparency, the circumstances that arise every time we request basic information.

[Knight]: If we keep being the rubber stamp, we're going to get treated

[Knight]: just like that, a rubber stamp, Madam President.

[Knight]: I rest my case.

[Knight]: We've debated this thing till we're all blue in the face.

[Knight]: You know, it is what it is.

[Knight]: It's a dead horse at this point in time, Madam President.

[Knight]: But, you know, when I sat there and I looked at those workers that were standing here, the 200 workers that were standing here, and I told them I stood with them, I meant it.

[Knight]: And I'm gonna stand with them.

[Knight]: And that's where I'll stand.

[Knight]: Point of information.

[Knight]: Point of personal privilege on that, Madam President.

[Knight]: Ultimately, the people that I'm trying to support in this community are the taxpayers, the people that put us here.

[Knight]: That's who I'm trying to support because I see this lack of fiscal transparency as a problem.

[Knight]: We haven't had this with any other administration.

[Knight]: We've never had an administration run on a platform of transparency, and then shut all the lights off in City Hall.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Madam Superintendent, how does this application differ from years past and what changes were made based upon the feedback that you mentioned that you received?

[Knight]: Obviously, we haven't been able to secure this.

[Knight]: funding now for multiple years, we're getting feedback from the point the enabling authority.

[Knight]: So what changes are we making to the application to maybe enhance our chances.

[Knight]: So on that, Madam President, so the one difference, the difference is nothing other than the fact that we moved some items that were covered under the accelerated repair grant from last year over to the school grant.

[Knight]: That's what I'm understanding.

[Knight]: It's the same exact application as last year with the addition of these infrastructure items that were under the accelerated repair grant being moved over to this one.

[Knight]: Is that accurate?

[Knight]: The question they asked was, you know, how does this application differ from years past?

[Knight]: So that one item, right, okay.

[Knight]: All right, yeah, I was looking, because I had my files, I was looking, I usually have my files nice and organized, but I can't find the documents.

[Knight]: Someone must have moved them, so that's it.

[Knight]: But I was looking to see if I could look at last year's application and see if we could take a look at that as well.

[Knight]: But I didn't have it in my files yet, because my filing system's a little screwy.

[Knight]: But I'm looking at this so ultimately, this is the same application that we submitted last year with a couple of additions that application is the same application we submitted the year before.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: I'm just seeing, you know, a lot of money being spent that's not being spent in the classroom, and I'd like to take a look at that as we get prepared for the budget.

[Knight]: Madam President, ultimately, you know, it's pretty cut and dry, right?

[Knight]: It's an application we submit every year.

[Knight]: All we're doing is asking for free money, so I don't see any reason why we shouldn't support it and move for approval.

[Knight]: Yes, and looking through our responses that we received, I just like to point out, Council response to paper 23048 from my state delegation.

[Knight]: This was a request made by the city council to ask that the dot and DCR provide some routine roadwork and.

[Knight]: Representative Donato has gotten back to us, saying that both the DOT and the DCR have indicated that their repairs have been made.

[Knight]: However, if we go right to this on-ramp right here, right beside City Hall, the repairs aren't done.

[Knight]: So maybe we could just ask that the administration follow up on that request, please.

[Knight]: Motion to revert back to regular order business.

[Knight]: Madam President, this is an issue that I've discussed in the past as well and I think it's really an issue of parking capacity, you know, we issue a permit to a repair shop, but we really don't put any restrictions or confines on parking capacity based upon the size of the lot.

[Knight]: So if you drive down Mystic Gap, the first

[Knight]: two shops you'll see in probably what Volsar and Atech.

[Knight]: If you look at the parking lot at Atech, I mean, you can't fit a piece of paper between the cars in the parking lot there.

[Knight]: There must be 35 cars in this very small parking lot.

[Knight]: Now, you know, we approved the permit.

[Knight]: I have no problem with these people trying to make a buck.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: It's the American way.

[Knight]: But, you know, at the end of the day, it's also creating issues where

[Knight]: These lots appear overcrowded and unsightly.

[Knight]: Mystic Avenue, for example, is a gateway road to our community.

[Knight]: So we're going to drive from Somerville into Medford, and that gateway road is going to look like an industrial park, right?

[Knight]: The condition of the roadway is bad enough as it is, but now to have, you know, unsightly businesses that really aren't a welcoming business to the community, I think is something we need to talk about as we go into our meeting tomorrow night.

[Knight]: Also, it raises, I think,

[Knight]: issues about safety, whether or not these lots are questionably safe.

[Knight]: If you have a parking lot with 25 cars in there, how can you get a fire engine in there?

[Knight]: These repair shops, they have flammables, they have combustibles, and it puts us in a position where we may be putting our

[Knight]: first responders and our fire personnel at risk in responding to these, to cause these locations because of the overcrowding of the parking lots.

[Knight]: So these are definitely things that we need to take into place.

[Knight]: And I might just ask that this be set to fire prevention as well.

[Knight]: So that fire prevention can be provided the opportunity to pipe in.

[Knight]: It's all too often when we talk about permitting a new business, we talk about the parking and the impacts that it's gonna have on the community, but we don't really think about the impact that it's gonna have on fire safety and fire prevention as well.

[Knight]: So I just ask that this paper be sent to the fire chief.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much and I think the council for bringing this initiative up by issue up raises a couple of interesting points.

[Knight]: So, here in the city of Medford we have what's called the university accountability ordinance right as Councilor caveat noted down that provides us with a list of all the parcels were touched university students live in our community.

[Knight]: And we also have another ordinance called the clean it or lean it ordinance.

[Knight]: So I'm wondering how these two ordinances would combine and intertwine, right?

[Knight]: If we actually sent our code enforcement officer out to remove the mattresses, could we then put a clean it and lean it on either the parcel or Tufts University where it's an extension of the campus?

[Knight]: I mean, I think that it might make sense for us to try to see if that would be something we could tie to the university where we could use the clean it or lean it ordinance to see if we could get some relief in that regard.

[Knight]: Tufts is pretty good at policing its own.

[Knight]: There's no question about that.

[Knight]: And if it comes down to us using the clean and lean and ordinance to promote and produce corrective action to bad behavior, I think Tufts would be on board because one thing they don't like doing is spending money.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I think this is something that we can look at a little bit more.

[Knight]: I'd like to get an opinion from the non-existent city solicitor.

[Knight]: as to how these ordinances were intertwined and whether or not if we were going to utilize the clean, no-lead ordinance, would it be applied to the, could be applied to the university as opposed to the possible property owner?

[Knight]: I'll put that in the form of an amendment.

[Knight]: Just because the administration isn't doing their part doesn't mean that we can stop, we have to stop doing ours.

[Knight]: So I'm going to continue to ask the questions.

[Knight]: Whatever the board's comfortable with.

[Knight]: Either way, it's one of the dozen of the others.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: Whatever.

[Knight]: I mean, at this point, it doesn't matter what we say.

[Knight]: We're going to get what we're going to get, which is nothing.

[Knight]: So, you know, I'll ask the question and let the administration, when they feel like we're going to have to do something with it, and whoever they send it to is fine with me because it's not going to move anyway, I'm pretty sure.

[Knight]: Based upon my experience over the past 36 months.

[Knight]: You're asking for a legal opinion?

[Knight]: So the code enforcement officer can do that, but make a notification.

[Knight]: Actually, Madam President, what I would do is I would draw and just ask for the code enforcement officer to report back to us.

[Knight]: And then when we get that report back, we can look at it.

[Knight]: And maybe by then I can have some answers as to what's going to apply in one month.

[Knight]: That'll satisfy everybody.

[Knight]: Madam President, motion to send this back to the legal department.

[Knight]: We have here a date of accident, February 3rd, 2021.

[Knight]: Then when we read the description of the alleged claim, it says that the accident happened on or around March 8th, 2018.

[Knight]: That's a big discrepancy.

[Knight]: like to make sure if we're going to be spending money and this is a legal document, legal document that's going to be bound by law once the council approves it, that we're approving something that's accurate.

[Knight]: And it doesn't appear to me that this is an accurate description of what happened when we have two different dates of accidents on the same document, which is, again, just another reflection as to why we should probably have an in-house city solicitor, instead of a hired gun that we're using to do all of our legal services for the mayor's office, as opposed to the city of Medford and its people.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'd offer a motion to send this back to the legal department for

[Knight]: Can we just amend that to include judgments as well?

[Knight]: Settlements and judgments.

[Knight]: Madam President, if we could just ask that the city clerk reach out to our friends at the American Legion to see what impact this will have on our election day operations as well, whether or not if those pocket spots are gone, the American Legion will still be able to continue to serve as a polling location during those days because they have operational needs to meet as well.

[Knight]: So if they don't have those pocket spots, they might have to pull out of their agreement with the city to be used as a polling place.

[Knight]: So that's something that I think we need to look into because we have an election coming up very shortly.

[Knight]: Madam President, on this issue,

[Knight]: If we look at the agenda, I believe we do have some representatives from Eversource that are here.

[Knight]: And the construction schedule is going to be something we're talking about.

[Knight]: And as I'm looking at the handout that they gave us, it looks like they're going to be doing about 3,000 linear feet of milling and paving from Winthrop Street to Mystic Valley Parkway in the near future.

[Knight]: So maybe we could hold the discussion on this topic until that comes up.

[Knight]: Because it's brought under public participation, we can't make any motions.

[Knight]: But if we bring it up underneath the Eversource paper, we'll be able to make some motions and have some action on it now.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much, and Mr. so thank you for a presentation once again this month.

[Knight]: So you talked about some of the surrounding towns and I just want to get a good visual Can you explain, can you name some of the surrounding towns like Everett Malden.

[Knight]: Medford.

[Knight]: And I think Mr. Salt is important to point out the demographic differences of all these communities, right?

[Knight]: So we have, we have more than ever, Chelsea, right?

[Knight]: Then we have Newton, we have North Reading, right?

[Knight]: Then we have Waltham, which is one of our number one comps.

[Knight]: When we talk about what my community is doing, Waltham and Braintree are two that we always talk about.

[Knight]: Waltham and Braintree do we always compare ourselves to.

[Knight]: So when we look at what's going on, we're seeing that every other community can do it no matter what their demographic, right?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: No matter what their makeup or where failing.

[Knight]: Correct.

[Knight]: Can you tell me what the cost of a mediation would be?

[Knight]: So we have five agreements in the city that are going to be going to mediation legal fees that are going to be paid privately because we don't have a city solicitor 50 labor charges five wage lawsuits and then

[Knight]: And then a number of freedom of information requests that have gone unanswered.

[Knight]: So we're at the Secretary of State's fighting for that.

[Knight]: And a lot of the stuff that you request, I believe is necessary for you to have the proper information and tools to represent your membership effectively.

[Knight]: So the way I'm looking at this, Madam President, what I'm seeing here is that this has become a situation where it's a refusal to provide information because they don't want you to be a strong advocate for your membership.

[Knight]: really in some way.

[Knight]: Well, Madam President, I thank Mr. South once again for coming up here and the advocacy that he's doing for his membership.

[Knight]: It's not often, you know, I've been on the council for a number of years now, and it's not often to see this many people in the chamber.

[Knight]: week in and week out, week in and week out, right, the issue needs to be addressed.

[Knight]: I as one Councilor proposed it in the past and I still believe that this council should not approve any new positions in any reclassifications of existing positions until such time as the existing employees that we have in City Hall taken care of.

[Knight]: That means that these contracts should be settled.

[Knight]: We shouldn't be given any new, creating new positions or reclassifying existing positions until these people right here are taken care of.

[Knight]: The five groups that are going to be going to mediation reach some sort of satisfactory conclusion that we can all live with.

[Knight]: Because ultimately it's bringing the morale down in the city to the point where I wonder how these people get up every day and go to work because they're not feeling respected.

[Knight]: They're not feeling valued.

[Knight]: And that's not the values that we share.

[Knight]: So I agree with the speaker.

[Knight]: I mean, if it weren't for him coming up here every week and keeping the full court press on, I think this would be an easy walk for the administration.

[Knight]: Steve's doing his job and he's really making us aware of a lot of things that are going on behind closed doors, things that we don't get to see.

[Knight]: I know that this is the transparency administration, but it's not very transparent sometimes.

[Knight]: And I thank him for taking the time, energy and effort to come up here week in and week out.

[Knight]: I mean, the gentleman represents many, many, many, many units, not just Medford.

[Knight]: But every time there's a meeting, he's here, he gives this time to come here and do this.

[Knight]: And he's not wrong on top of it.

[Knight]: He's not wrong.

[Knight]: So again, you know, I'm of the firm belief that no new positions, no reclassifications until these contracts get taken care of.

[Knight]: We need to take care of our existing employees.

[Knight]: We need to show them that they're valued and respected.

[Knight]: If the administration isn't going to do it, then we need to do it.

[Knight]: I think the administration and KP law have been very clear that they don't represent the whole entire city they represent the mayor's office.

[Knight]: Well they seem to be working for every department but they're only representing the mayor's, the mayor's interests, because they're the mayor's private lawyer, that's who their client is what so no one's representing the taxpayer.

[Knight]: On that point though Madam President, the council passed an ordinance, probably 60 years ago, and the ordinance says there shall be a city solicitor.

[Knight]: And the legislative intent is that for my research, behind that ordinance was to control legal costs so that we don't end up in a situation like this.

[Knight]: So ultimately we have an administration that's working outside the scope of the existing ordinances.

[Knight]: And she did take an oath to say that she would, to the best of her ability, uphold the ordinances of this community when she got elected to office.

[Knight]: I'll just stop you for a second.

[Knight]: Can we just talk about Boston Ave and High Street real quick?

[Knight]: Madam President, if I may.

[Knight]: Does it really make sense for us to even debate every single position?

[Knight]: If we look at the report that the presenters have prepared for us, they tell us what the average weekday ridership is for each one of these stops.

[Knight]: And I mean, if there's less than 25 people a day, I have no problem eliminating those stops.

[Knight]: I think that, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: If we really want to get this done, we're going to sit here and we're going to go over every single one of these things.

[Knight]: And we're going to talk about the one elderly person that lives up on Winford Way that takes the bus obviously on an average 0.1 times a month, right?

[Knight]: Why don't we just look at it from a ridership standpoint and say, if the stops aren't being used effectively or efficiently, right?

[Knight]: Then just get rid of them.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: And then when I think that, yeah, there's two conversations, there's the elimination and then there's the right, right, I think you get the eliminations for the easy, easy discussion.

[Knight]: I just think, I mean, that would be my suggestion right now be anything with less than 25 per day, just get rid of.

[Knight]: Well, I certainly have no problem eliminating those.

[Knight]: Okay, anything less than 25.

[Knight]: I mean, we don't have to do anything.

[Knight]: All they're doing is giving us a presentation.

[Knight]: They'd like us to do something.

[Knight]: We don't have to do anything.

[Knight]: I mean, what I'd like to see.

[Knight]: So, I mean, what I'd like to see is that we do like a robocall like the mayor does for everything in the city when she has an opponent and says anybody that's in a bottle within what's the distance that she wants, 800 feet or something like that, that she proposed when she was on the council, anybody that's in that distance, we'll get a robocall and we'll discuss it.

[Knight]: I'll get invited to a meeting and discuss that location.

[Knight]: let the people in the neighborhood decide how it's going to affect them and the actual riders that are down there.

[Knight]: I mean, I don't think anybody behind the rails opposed to the MBTA doing accessibility

[Knight]: improvements.

[Knight]: The gentleman explained it right.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: I think he said that the PADI program is for the MBTA to provide accessible ridership.

[Knight]: The bus network redesign project is a totally different thing.

[Knight]: That's an operations thing, right?

[Knight]: So the redesigns operations, this is to improve the network's safety infrastructure for accessibility.

[Knight]: So, you know, I don't think we should get too crazy about it.

[Knight]: They're willing to invest a lot of money in our community.

[Knight]: They have engineers, they have the tools and the requirements to do it.

[Knight]: So when it comes to that stuff, you know, I really don't have an issue with it.

[Knight]: I think that, you know, the T has to comply, right?

[Knight]: It's the subject of a lawsuit.

[Knight]: So if we say no, what are you going to do?

[Knight]: Could we do bump outs?

[Knight]: I'm gonna say, can we not do bump outs?

[Knight]: That's my position on this.

[Knight]: Like every person that lives in that neighborhood's complaining about those lollipop sticks they put up there and the amount of traffic that it creates down there during rush hours.

[Knight]: It's like... It's impassable in the morning.

[Knight]: impassable the way that it's designed right now with those lollipop sticks.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: So how far is your obligation of accessibility?

[Knight]: on city roadway when it comes to this project, right?

[Knight]: So the bus pulls up, the bus stop, right?

[Knight]: You're gonna go, it looks like everything's about eight feet in each direction, right?

[Knight]: Is that about as far as you guys go?

[Knight]: Because what I'd hate to see, right, is like you guys do the beautiful corner, right?

[Knight]: And then it comes and it stops and it turns into a gravel pit all the way down the street, which is gonna be the city's problem or the city's responsibility, right?

[Knight]: Because we've seen it in other places.

[Knight]: If you look in front of Paul Revere's, they did the whole entire,

[Knight]: over a couple of years ago, then they stopped.

[Knight]: And when they stopped, it was like asphalt, potholes, tree branches all ripped up and everything else.

[Knight]: And it really didn't meet the goal of what we're really trying to do.

[Knight]: So when it comes to like the intersection improvements, like here, it looks like you go out a lot further here than you do over here.

[Knight]: It looks like you're not going too far over here, over there, over here, over there.

[Knight]: Which area, your scope of work, your work area scope, I guess, I don't know what you want to call it.

[Knight]: Okay, so 40 feet is about that.

[Knight]: I'm just talking in general, not just this particular site, but so it's 40 feet for where the bus stop is.

[Knight]: And then if it was going, that seems like you're moving all the bus stops up to the corners.

[Knight]: sidewalk repairs on the corners as well.

[Knight]: How far down on the corner are you gonna go?

[Knight]: And what's the gradient?

[Knight]: The appropriate gradient.

[Knight]: Great.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: On this location and on the Hastings lane location.

[Knight]: across the street.

[Knight]: Hastings Lane is a very difficult road to get out of.

[Knight]: I grew up across the street.

[Knight]: I grew up on Whitman Road, so I could see Hastings Lane from my house.

[Knight]: I live on Whitman Street now.

[Knight]: I drive through this intersection every day.

[Knight]: Cars cannot get out of Hastings Lane as it is.

[Knight]: The closer you move that bus to the corner, the hotter it's going to be.

[Knight]: So if you're looking at where you're putting these two buses,

[Knight]: You're moving one back closer to Woodman Street, one closer to Hastings Lane, so you're actually closing that side.

[Knight]: Other way around.

[Knight]: Other way around.

[Knight]: Am I looking at this thing upside down?

[Knight]: No, they're moving them farther away.

[Knight]: Interesting.

[Knight]: Oh, I'm sorry.

[Knight]: To the dark blue circles.

[Knight]: I'm sorry.

[Knight]: I was looking at it the other way.

[Knight]: I apologize.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: These are complicated directions.

[Knight]: I mean, yeah.

[Knight]: It's a lot.

[Knight]: Director of Transportation, done any community outreach to any of the neighborhoods about this?

[Knight]: Or has this all been done through the MBTA's public participation process?

[Knight]: My suggestion, Madam President, before we even take a position on this, that as a city, we do outreach to the residents that are going to be most affected by it.

[Knight]: We've made preliminary recommendations that you can come back to us with their responses to those preliminary recommendations in the interim.

[Knight]: We can do some outreach.

[Knight]: It seems to me like the city's done no outreach to any of the residents in the neighborhood, so this is going to factor impact.

[Knight]: Regardless of whether or not it's a third-party project or not, I think if we're using Eversource as the baseline or the example, we better do it different than we did it with Eversource.

[Knight]: You know, we've gotten a lot of pushback and a lot of calls.

[Knight]: I'm sorry.

[Knight]: The Safer School Project from a lot of us that were in there,

[Knight]: So I think if we're going to do this, Madam President, we should do our own due diligence as well.

[Knight]: We will buy in a house, we wouldn't just take what the real estate agent was telling us, we'd do our own due diligence.

[Knight]: I think that that's something that we need to do before we as a council take a position on it.

[Knight]: I certainly don't have any opposition to many of the proposals that are before us.

[Knight]: I think it's something that needs to be done.

[Knight]: Don't get me wrong, but I also don't want to be the one that says, I can't believe you put that bus in front of my house.

[Knight]: Oh, I didn't.

[Knight]: You had an opportunity to come to 100 meetings.

[Knight]: You knew about it.

[Knight]: We reached out.

[Knight]: We did our due diligence.

[Knight]: I think that's important, especially with the lack of communication that we've been receiving from the coroner office for the past three years.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: Great, thank you.

[Knight]: Because I mean, ultimately the moratorium would come into effect right for the street opening moratorium.

[Knight]: So these people wouldn't be able to get the street gets closed.

[Knight]: They're not gonna be able to open the street for five years to get gas into the house.

[Knight]: We gotta address this before this happens.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: If I could just reintroduce my motion that was made earlier in the evening during the public participation portion, that we reach out to the lead traffic engineer and to our representatives at EPSOS to see if the bike lanes that are taken with parking spots in front of those homes between Lawrence Road and High Street would be as a result of the mitigation package that was negotiated between the administration and the provider.

[Knight]: Vice President Bears.

[Knight]: You're here to the Council President as well.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I'm very thankful that Attorney Austin has finally given us a legal opinion, because every time we ask her for something, she scratches her head and says, that's council prerogative.

[Knight]: I don't know.

[Knight]: I'll look into it.

[Knight]: I'll check it out later.

[Knight]: But finally, she gave us a legal opinion.

[Knight]: It didn't answer the question that we asked, because we didn't ask her to look at the council rules.

[Knight]: We asked her to look at the city ordinances, and we asked her to look at the general laws.

[Knight]: And this opinion is very, very narrow.

[Knight]: And there's a reason it's very narrow, because it's not worth the paper it's written on.

[Knight]: All right, these ordinances that this council puts in place to ensure that there's a city solicitor put in place with the legislative intent to provide a check and balance on the administration.

[Knight]: It's a transparency issue.

[Knight]: First and foremost, a transparency issue.

[Knight]: So the mayor has the power to appoint somebody.

[Knight]: She hasn't appointed a city solicitor.

[Knight]: She's hired a private law firm.

[Knight]: She said that her private law firm, the city ordinance say there shall be a solicitor.

[Knight]: It doesn't say the mayor shall privately contract a firm.

[Knight]: It says there shall be a solicitor and the solicitor will be compensated within the compensation schedule.

[Knight]: The same schedule that she brought to us this evening to create another pet job for one of her friends.

[Knight]: So when I sit here and I look at this, Madam President, it makes my brains boil because she sat up here and she promised.

[Knight]: She made a promise to us.

[Knight]: She promised us something.

[Knight]: She cut a deal and the deal was that we'd have an assistant city solicitor.

[Knight]: So whether her word isn't worth anything or just as much as the paper that Ms.

[Knight]: Austin wrote her opinion on.

[Knight]: But it certainly doesn't carry any weight in this room.

[Knight]: When the mayor gives their word,

[Knight]: in June.

[Knight]: And here we are nine months later, and it still hasn't been carried out.

[Knight]: Seven elected fish, seven of seven of the what 14 elected officials in this community at the local level.

[Knight]: She gives seven of us her word.

[Knight]: It was a lie.

[Knight]: It was a lie.

[Knight]: It was a lie.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: It wasn't it's hot hiring people.

[Knight]: I've never met a lawyer

[Knight]: that went to law school, that had their own firm and they practiced law, that doesn't know another lawyer, that wants a part-time job making $125,000 a year with health insurance.

[Knight]: I don't know a lawyer in the world that wouldn't accept that job that's out in private practice, that's out working on their own, that's out and hung their own shingle.

[Knight]: I don't know a lawyer in the world that wouldn't do it.

[Knight]: Maybe she doesn't know any lawyers.

[Knight]: I thought she went to law school.

[Knight]: I thought she practiced law.

[Knight]: I don't understand how all of a sudden there's a shortage of lawyers in Medford, but not anywhere else.

[Knight]: If you do the math, there's one lawyer for every 1,200 people in the state of Massachusetts.

[Knight]: We have 6 million people.

[Knight]: You do the math.

[Knight]: You do the math, all right?

[Knight]: It's nonsensical for us to sit here week in and week out and go through this.

[Knight]: She's treating us the same way she's treating the workers in this community, the same way she's treating the representative from local 25, the same way she's treating the representatives from Massachusetts Teachers Association.

[Knight]: All right, she's going to keep us in the dark and she's going to try to control the narrative.

[Knight]: And that doesn't mean telling the truth.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: It doesn't mean being transparent.

[Knight]: It doesn't mean any of that.

[Knight]: So we can keep sitting here week in and week out and wasting our time, really wasting our time, because we don't have the tools to build the house.

[Knight]: We don't have the tools.

[Knight]: She promised us the tools.

[Knight]: She agreed with us.

[Knight]: She sat here for 20 years and cried.

[Knight]: Everything was awful.

[Knight]: The city was falling apart.

[Knight]: Mike McGlynn's the demon.

[Knight]: Mike McGlynn's the devil.

[Knight]: Roy Belson's hell incarnated himself.

[Knight]: I never met two hard-working public servants that weren't afraid to be held accountable.

[Knight]: They would come up here to this podium and answer the questions and give us the answers that we may not want to hear, but at least they showed up and they were present and they kept their word and they kept their promises.

[Knight]: And enough's enough with this city solicitor nonsense.

[Knight]: We don't have one, we need one, the ordinance say it's required.

[Knight]: That's it.

[Knight]: Madam Mayor, do it.

[Knight]: Who can we even go to and say, what's our alternative?

[Knight]: I'd like to speak to a lawyer to tell me what my alternative is.

[Knight]: Can I have Ms.

[Knight]: Austin's number?

[Knight]: Hey, Ms.

[Knight]: Austin, how do I get rid of you so that we can have a real city solicitor in this community?

[Knight]: I mean, come on, give me a break here.

[Knight]: Enough's enough with this nonsense.

[Knight]: It's nonsense.

[Knight]: It's nonsense.

[Knight]: That door has not been opened.

[Knight]: They said it's an open door, you can always walk in.

[Knight]: Well, you can't walk in, it's not really open.

[Knight]: You gotta call me and we gotta make an appointment.

[Knight]: But, you know, we have an open door policy, but the door's not open.

[Knight]: I don't even know what that means when she said it.

[Knight]: I got a scratch on my head going, what's going on here?

[Knight]: It's become so personal, so personal and so not about the city of Medford.

[Knight]: When it comes to the workers in this community and Steve South, when it comes to people getting taken out of here by the police, people getting followed around with GPS trackers on their vehicles, people being required to undergo psychiatric evaluations.

[Knight]: It's personal, Madam President.

[Knight]: That's not government.

[Knight]: That's not governing.

[Knight]: That's politics and it's bad politics.

[Knight]: And it translates into bad government.

[Knight]: And that's what we have here in this community now.

[Knight]: And you know why we have it?

[Knight]: Because we accept the chief administrative officer of this community.

[Knight]: We accept the fact that she came up here and lied, right?

[Knight]: Threw her teeth to us.

[Knight]: We're accepting that fact.

[Knight]: We're saying, OK, it is what it is.

[Knight]: Let's move on.

[Knight]: What are we going to do?

[Knight]: Well, let's ask her.

[Knight]: Oh, she'll just lie again, right?

[Knight]: I mean, enough's enough.

[Knight]: Enough's enough.

[Knight]: What are we going to do?

[Knight]: What's the recourse?

[Knight]: What's the game?

[Knight]: What's the end game here?

[Knight]: What's the end game?

[Knight]: She ain't going to do it.

[Knight]: We know she's not going to do it.

[Knight]: Because her track record has proven that she will not.

[Knight]: She refuses to communicate openly and transparently with this council about legal issues and financial issues.

[Knight]: I don't know what else is important to us, but we control the zoning, which is a legal issue, and we control the budget, which is a financial issue.

[Knight]: Other than that, all we are is a bunch of cheerleaders.

[Knight]: All we are is the rah-rah squad.

[Knight]: So I'm at a loss at this point in time.

[Knight]: The lack of leadership that's come out of the corner office, the chief of staff doesn't come in to give us answers.

[Knight]: When's the chief of staff have decided to give us an answer?

[Knight]: She comes down to fight with us and yell and scream at us.

[Knight]: She doesn't come down to give us answers.

[Knight]: She comes down here to control narrative, control spin and not tell the truth.

[Knight]: And we've caught them so many times lying.

[Knight]: How do they expect us to have a relationship of trust with them?

[Knight]: How?

[Knight]: How is it possible?

[Knight]: That's what I ask.

[Knight]: Again, I think back to four years ago and how much better off this city was every single day.

[Knight]: Every single, when I drive over that same pothole that's been on my street that I put through see click fix 27 times, right?

[Knight]: I think about how much better the city was four years ago.

[Knight]: And it makes me sad.

[Knight]: It makes me sad to see how terrible the city looks, lack of curb appeal, lack of commitment or investment to deliver in public service, to deliver in simple basic public services.

[Knight]: Like fixing a sidewalk, taking down a tree, fixing a pothole, striping a crosswalk.

[Knight]: Enough's enough.

[Knight]: I mean, when are we gonna wake up and realize that we're failing the people in this community?

[Knight]: Because we are.

[Knight]: Because when we go outside and we look around, it looks horrible.

[Knight]: It looks horrible.

[Knight]: We sat there and we listened to Mr. South tell us how Everett, Chelsea, Malden have passed us, how North Wedding, how Newton, how Waltham have passed us.

[Knight]: And he's not wrong.

[Knight]: And Stowe, Stowe, I know where it is.

[Knight]: There's a golf course there.

[Knight]: So at the end of the day, Madam President, we need to shed some light on some of the issues that are going on in this community.

[Knight]: And the biggest failure that we have in Medford right now is the fact that we don't have a local newspaper to report on these issues.

[Knight]: We have a communications director that gets paid $125,000 a year.

[Knight]: to create new stories and to create spin and put spin on them however they want, and to go on every single social media platform in the world and run a campaign.

[Knight]: and run a campaign, right?

[Knight]: Because that's what it's all about.

[Knight]: You know, the big hunt going on, right?

[Knight]: Looking for Easter eggs up.

[Knight]: It's spawned in a couple of weeks now, right?

[Knight]: The bunny's going to be there.

[Knight]: The bunny's going to be, how are people going to get there?

[Knight]: I'm sorry.

[Knight]: Is it a recreation bunny?

[Knight]: Yeah, the recreation bunny.

[Knight]: I'm sorry.

[Knight]: The recreated bunny.

[Knight]: So anyway, Madam President, as I've said, right, what's the end game here, we're going to keep talking about this and talking about this and talking about this, they're going to keep asking for money we're going to keep giving them.

[Knight]: They're going to keep asking for reclassifications we're going to keep giving them.

[Knight]: We got to stop, we're going to shut the water off at some point, it's at some point we got to turn the faucet off, and we got to say, come to the table and be serious with us.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, unless we do that, they're not gonna be serious with us.

[Knight]: Because every single group in this community that's organized, right?

[Knight]: I look at us as like a bargaining unit, right?

[Knight]: We're the Medford City Council bargaining unit.

[Knight]: We're getting treated worse than every other unit in the city, just about.

[Knight]: Every other one, because all those units are coming to us and asking us for leadership.

[Knight]: And asking us to say, what do we do?

[Knight]: What can we do?

[Knight]: Help.

[Knight]: And we look at them and we say, we don't have the tools to help you because the mayor led us to.

[Knight]: And that's where we are.

[Knight]: So we come down and we have two and three hour meetings and they give us a talk about what great crosswalks they're gonna paint on the NBA TA's dime.

[Knight]: None's getting done.

[Knight]: None's getting done.

[Knight]: 30% design, remember that.

[Knight]: That was 30% design.

[Knight]: All that is is an idea right now.

[Knight]: That's years from coming to fruition.

[Knight]: So Madam President, I rest with this.

[Knight]: The city ordinances say we need a city solicitor.

[Knight]: We don't have a city solicitor.

[Knight]: Why is the mayor found it okay to be a non-compliance with the ordinances of this community that are designed to be a check and balance against abuses of power?

[Knight]: That's what I want people to think about.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Caraviello.

[Knight]: Motion to approve.

[Knight]: Okay, thank you.

[Knight]: Sorry.

[Knight]: Stormwater, right?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: I just once again like to recognize Councilor Falco for his work on this paper, Madam President, he was the one that started this and, you know, it's one of those things where you start some good work and you're not necessarily around to see it finished and I just want to be sure that he knows that we're thinking of him, and this is a great success and a great piece of legislation.

[Knight]: Falco Housing Trust.

[Knight]: Madam President, I do believe about three hours ago, we started a meeting.

[Knight]: And when this meeting started, this room was filled

[Knight]: filled with workers that wrote the contract.

[Knight]: Talked about five bargaining units in the city side at least, plus police and fire, that's seven.

[Knight]: Seven bargaining units without contracts.

[Knight]: We talked about transparency, we talked about finance, we talked about morale, we talked about the way workers are treated in the city.

[Knight]: I made a pretty strong statement, Madam President, saying that I don't think there should be any more reclassifications of positions or creations of new positions until these contracts get settled, until these working people get taken care of.

[Knight]: The existing employees that are doing the work now, that are going without a contract, a collective group of people, not just an individual, five bargaining units, all represented by one person, fighting every day.

[Knight]: for groups and groups of people, just like we are, to get the same information that we're looking for, they can't attain.

[Knight]: I don't think it's right and I don't think it's fair at this point in time that we bring this paper up, Madam President.

[Knight]: I think the gentleman's doing a good job.

[Knight]: I said that when this paper came up for first reading.

[Knight]: I don't have a particular issue with the paper other than the fact of when it's presented, how it's been presented,

[Knight]: and the ongoing situation with the labor and workforce here in the community of Medford.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President, I can't support this paper this evening.

[Knight]: I'd like to, I'd like to support it in the near future, but I can't support it this evening.

[Knight]: So I'd ask that it remain on the table.

[Knight]: I know it's a contrary to the motion that's been made, but I might ask that it remain on the table until these contracts get adjusted.

[Knight]: It's not fair to these working people.

[Knight]: It's not fair for the mayor to pick and choose and pick and choose who's gonna get upgrades and who's not.

[Knight]: It's just not fair.

[Knight]: It's not right.

[Knight]: It's not collective bargaining.

[Knight]: That's not organizing.

[Knight]: That's nepotism.

[Knight]: I don't have a problem.

[Knight]: Again, I don't have a problem with the individual that holds the position.

[Knight]: I think he's doing a great job.

[Knight]: But at this point in time, I think that there are other people that are a priority.

[Knight]: And the mayor said that they don't have any money for raises.

[Knight]: And the mayor said that she has double the amount of free cash that they've ever had in the past.

[Knight]: That's probably because we spent all our alpha money, but that's a whole different story.

[Knight]: So Madam President, with that being said, I think this paper should be on the table.

[Knight]: It was used on these one offs to give the personal people raises.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: And I'm just saying, you know, when the mayor was running her staunch campaign two years ago, she was very proud of this grant that they got from the Collins Center that was gonna be a compensation and classification study that we still have never seen.

[Knight]: But the mayor has proposed how many one-off positions to get raises?

[Knight]: Well, at the same time, stonewalling labor, all right?

[Knight]: So when we're putting the individual in front of labor, I think that's wrong.

[Knight]: When we're putting the individual department head in front of the lowest paid workers,

[Knight]: in this community, I think it's wrong, you know?

[Knight]: So when we talk about, you know, the difficulty to fill jobs, I think it has less to do with compensation and more to do with the fact that when you Google Medford, you see that people gotta undergo psych evaluations, people having GPS trackers put on their car, people are getting banned from city hall, people are getting taken out in handcuffs.

[Knight]: I think that's the stuff that deters people from coming.

[Knight]: The people filing racial discrimination suits,

[Knight]: against the administration.

[Knight]: I think those are more deterrent than anything else.

[Knight]: I don't think the compensation is necessarily the biggest issue.

[Knight]: So when I look at this, I just say, I think it's backwards.

[Knight]: I'm not going to vote for it.

[Knight]: And it is what it is.

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately, we've been hearing about this grant since Dave Rodriguez was up there about the compensation study, but none of us have ever seen a copy of it.

[Knight]: But the mayor has proposed I get at least seven, at least seven position upgrades and new jobs.

[Knight]: Plus whatever she created through the Apple money that we don't even know about.

[Knight]: Just one last point.

[Knight]: So when we talk about the fact that you can't say that not approving this raise isn't good for the community.

[Knight]: How do we know that when there's only a finite pool of money that we have to elevate the workers?

[Knight]: And we're using this finite pool to elevate individuals versus collective bargaining organizations, groups that have ownership in their work.

[Knight]: It seems to me like if you talk back, you don't get a race.

[Knight]: If you're a loyal soldier, then you might get an upgrade, right?

[Knight]: That's what it looks like, right?

[Knight]: If you fight for your rights, you're gonna be going to mediation.

[Knight]: If you keep your mouth shut and you're a loyal soldier,

[Knight]: we're gonna give you an upgrade.

[Knight]: If you are the federal funds manager and you come before the council and you say, whoa, whoa, whoa, something's wrong here during the budget debates, you get fired.

[Knight]: So those are the things that I look at when I talk about fairness and the way that it's going.

[Knight]: But again, you guys know where I stand on this.

[Knight]: I've talked about it too much.

[Knight]: I rest my case.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: Point of information just on that, my buddy Biggie, I think it was Biggie Small, more money, more problems, right?

[Knight]: I don't think, more money's not gonna make any happier, all right?

[Knight]: It's just gonna make you better compensated.

[Knight]: But if the environment's hostile, right, how do you address it?

[Knight]: Oh, yeah, take more money and let me be evil to you?

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: I don't think that makes sense either.

[Knight]: Just one point of privilege.

[Knight]: I think it's also a point to point out that this isn't the race.

[Knight]: This position is going to get upgraded.

[Knight]: Then it's going to get the raises.

[Knight]: And then the question is, are these raises retroactive?

[Knight]: Or do the raises only begin when we create the position?

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Growing up in West Medford, I too had the opportunity

[Knight]: Knowing Joan Gatto for a number of years, I grew up with her daughter, Julie, and I actually was at her daughter, Julie's wedding when she married my dear close friend, David Topper.

[Knight]: And over the years, she's been a fixture in the West Medford community, a fixture at the St.

[Knight]: Raphael's Parish, and someone that's always been willing to put herself out there for the community, a volunteer, someone that puts her money where her mouth is.

[Knight]: She puts community first.

[Knight]: And when you go down to her muffin shop in West Medford, you can see that it's a place where relationships are made.

[Knight]: where communities developed, and it's really something that makes Medford a great place.

[Knight]: It's really something that helps build the fabric of our community.

[Knight]: So I thank her for all the work that she's done.

[Knight]: As Councilor Caraviello said, the chamber couldn't have picked a better selection this year, and I congratulate her.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Yes, this is a request for the administration to provide us with a dollar for dollar breakdown relative to all upper expenditures to date.

[Knight]: It's been brought to my attention that there was some concerns relative to the way that our funds are being expended.

[Knight]: When we had our previous federal funds manager in place and that's my understanding that there's some litigation that's going on relative to the separation of the prior federal funds manager in the city right now, related to some of the

[Knight]: directives that she had received and whether or not they fell within the compliance of the operative directives that were issued by the Feds.

[Knight]: So what I'm asking for is a dollar for dollar breakdown to be sure that the money is being spent in accord with the federal requirements, Madam President.

[Knight]: Ultimately, there are certain places that money can't be spent.

[Knight]: For example, it can't be spent for legal services.

[Knight]: So I'd just like to be sure that the money is being spent where it's supposed to be spent.

[Knight]: It was a lot of money.

[Knight]: We spent a lot of it.

[Knight]: It seems like the man wants to spend a lot more of it this evening.

[Knight]: So if that's the case, I want to be sure that we have a strong financial auditing and accounting of it.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: These aren't the run-of-the-mill portals.

[Knight]: These, I think Mike, if you fell into it, you'd end up in Australia.

[Knight]: These are the deepest portals I've ever seen in my life.

[Knight]: They're definitely something that could damage public safety vehicles, ambulances, police cars, fire engines, and the like.

[Knight]: We've seen tonight that we already have a request from the administration to spend some money to purchase some new public safety vehicles.

[Knight]: And I think it would be safe to say that the conditions of our roadway have an impact.

[Knight]: on the wear and tear of the vehicles.

[Knight]: These departments operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and the conditions of our roads have a direct impact on the quality of our vehicles and the longevity of their routes.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President, I ask that the administration go down there in the interest of public safety and take care of these puddles.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Yes, on Doonan Street, a washing machine, looks like a living room set, bed.

[Knight]: We're all spread out between those, say number 16 in the corner of Highland Ave.

[Knight]: So when you take a look at what's transpired, let's say around February 28th, this was reported through C-Click Fix.

[Knight]: Around March 7th, it was acknowledged by the administration.

[Knight]: And to date, as recently as two days ago, the resident has said that those materials still lie outside their home.

[Knight]: So I'm hoping the administration will get on this as promptly as possible.

[Knight]: This is an illegal dumping issue.

[Knight]: It's not something that's uncommon throughout our community, especially on roadways that abut state-owned and controlled roads, especially on properties that are French properties on the Metro Malden line as well, and that's some of the line.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'd ask that the administration take the necessary steps to address it.

[Knight]: Madam President, I just ask that on a second, a side note or a side motion that this paper be sent to a director of the Board of Health to see what impact if this paper is passed at the state level,

[Knight]: what impact it will have on our road and control ordinance here in the city of Medford, and whether or not we can take the steps that are raised in this ordinance at the local level, because that's really what we are as local officials, not state officials.

[Knight]: We all know how I feel about sending this stuff up to the state house if they're not gonna give us money, or we're not asking for money.

[Knight]: But with that being said, if we could send it to our Director of the Board of Health, so that they could review our existing ordinance to see how that complies.

[Knight]: So that's just my update on that counter night, Madam President, I was wondering why it's taken 10 months since the mayor sat up here and told us that we were going to be able to get an assistant city solicitor and continue our zoning work but I think you answered the question it's been time Alicia is involved so of course it's going to be 10 months.

[Knight]: Right, but ultimately the zoning falls under the purview of the city council.

[Knight]: All right, and this is something we requested 10 months ago, and this was part of the deal that we made we negotiated settlement of the budget.

[Knight]: So here we are now with two months left in the fiscal year, right two I'm sorry two months left in the calendar year and 10 months ago we made this deal, and we still move forward.

[Knight]: All right, so it's just another indicator.

[Knight]: that the administration is not going to cooperate with city council just another indicated the administration is not willing to provide us with the tools that we need to succeed.

[Knight]: The administration needs the hand and everything they need to control everything that's going on.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: I can't believe that we were able to get the zoning actually I can't believe it you know why because it was under the prior administration.

[Knight]: That's why we're able to get the zoning completed that we got completed because the process started under a prior administration.

[Knight]: Under this administration, we have not been given any transparency or any of the things that we have promised.

[Knight]: And it's ridiculous that Councilor Caraviello needs to bring this up now, 10 months after the budget.

[Knight]: As we sit here and we wait, we twiddle our thumbs and say, when can we get to work on the issues that really matter to this community?

[Knight]: On the issues that are gonna generate revenue, right?

[Knight]: On the issues that are gonna create jobs and on the issues that are gonna be the bridge to our future.

[Knight]: I thank the gentleman for bringing it up.

[Knight]: But to that point, right?

[Knight]: Why is it growing into something that needs to go to the RFP process, right?

[Knight]: When it's legal contract, it's legal services contract, doesn't need to go out to bid.

[Knight]: We know we want Mike Wabrowski.

[Knight]: Now we're going down this road, right?

[Knight]: We're going down this road because they're trying to grab a job out of it.

[Knight]: They're trying to create a new position out of it.

[Knight]: I mean, I made the motion Madam President, I made the motion for us to go down the coast of reclassification and not rezoning.

[Knight]: I did it and I made the motion and I believe the motion said as phase one of a two part project and that was then.

[Knight]: Right, right.

[Knight]: So what I'm saying is what the heck, what's going on with this administration.

[Knight]: What is going on in the time that they've been elected, they haven't had a full staff of senior officials.

[Knight]: And over three years, they haven't had a full complement of senior staff.

[Knight]: I'm not asking her to do it.

[Knight]: But I'm asking the assistant city solicitor that the mayor said she was gonna hire to do it.

[Knight]: And she said she was gonna do that in June.

[Knight]: And here we are in what, March now, we still wanna have the assistant city solicitor.

[Knight]: I'm not asking director Hunt to do anything.

[Knight]: If it's the first and the third, I'm good, but you know what I mean?

[Knight]: Then if we're supposed to be off the second, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: I get some childcare issues.

[Knight]: I have a young family, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: So I'm trying to do the best I can, but I can always come on Zoom.

[Knight]: So you know what I mean?

[Knight]: But Wednesday shouldn't be a problem.

[Knight]: Madam President, um, you know, I really don't think this should be about politics at all.

[Knight]: Right, it should be about the city of Medford, and what's the best course for our city, what's our city's best course.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: And ultimately, you know, Council of business right.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: I don't think this is bad politics though.

[Knight]: I think this is bad governing.

[Knight]: That's what I think I think it's bad governing I don't think it's bad politics, I think it's bad governing.

[Knight]: All right, it's not political at all.

[Knight]: It's not political at all.

[Knight]: It's bad governing.

[Knight]: It's bad governing.

[Knight]: And bad governing leads to bad outcomes.

[Knight]: And that's what we're getting.

[Knight]: So when I sit here and I think back, am I better off now living in the city of Medford than I was four years ago?

[Knight]: What do I say to myself?

[Knight]: What do I say to myself?

[Knight]: I say, we have teachers taking a vote of no confidence in the school committee and the mayor.

[Knight]: We got kids in our schools getting stabbed.

[Knight]: Every street you drive down, you can't even, you can't avoid a pothole if you wanted to.

[Knight]: We're failing in the delivery of city services.

[Knight]: We haven't had one successful construction project since Mayor Burke closed the books.

[Knight]: We're bringing out a brand new plan, a brand new plan for Medford Square that they took off the shelf when Stephanie left, blew the dust off of and said, it's mine.

[Knight]: Is that it right there?

[Knight]: Exact same proposal that was there from before, right?

[Knight]: You know, it's not bad politics, it's bad governing.

[Knight]: And bad governing leads to bad outcomes, and that's what we're stuck with right now.

[Knight]: I do believe the paper before us as to whether or not we want to have a committee of the whole, no more, no less.

[Knight]: My point here is, if anyone will share what type of communications with this.

[Knight]: This administration has been horrible to the working people in this community.

[Knight]: Absolutely horrible.

[Knight]: All right, absolutely horrible to say it's all Steve salts, making stuff up is an absolute joke.

[Knight]: An absolute joke.

[Knight]: They're putting GPS trackers on people's personal vehicles.

[Knight]: They're hiring private investigators.

[Knight]: It's absolutely they just drove their own HR director out of town.

[Knight]: Come on, continue.

[Knight]: I believe I'm a Councilor and this is a council meeting.

[Knight]: And as a Councilor, I have what they call a bully pulpit.

[Knight]: All right, I have that.

[Knight]: And that comes with the honor and privilege of being elected to represent the residents in this community.

[Knight]: I need 5,000 votes and I got them.

[Knight]: She only needs one, the mayor, and that's it.

[Knight]: All right, so the only person she reports to is the mayor.

[Knight]: But the people that I report to are the taxpayers in this community.

[Knight]: I don't get in my car and drive to my suburb.

[Knight]: Does that mean that the administration will not be giving us that report?

[Knight]: Point taken, I hope you do.

[Knight]: Madam President, if I may.

[Knight]: Tim, this is a paper that I think you're well aware I've supported in the past, I've led debates on in the past in support of it.

[Knight]: I think it's something that we need, as Councilor Caraviello said, and I too share the same concerns that he has.

[Knight]: I know the city needs it, but as someone

[Knight]: who's very concerned about the lack of fiscal transparency and financial constraint that we have in the city, about our administration's inability to provide us with simple documentation as to where they're spending their money.

[Knight]: And we've been waiting since January of 2020 to get that and still haven't received it.

[Knight]: Speaks volumes, speaks volumes.

[Knight]: Everybody says when you can't get an answer to something, you follow the money.

[Knight]: And for three years, I've been trying to follow the money.

[Knight]: and I'm getting stonewalled.

[Knight]: And I don't know why, I don't know why, but it leads me to believe that there's something strange going on.

[Knight]: The fish is rotting in Denmark or whatever they say, right?

[Knight]: Now, I think you're doing an excellent job and I think you've done a great job with that department.

[Knight]: And I think you've really moved it ahead, all right?

[Knight]: And my vote this evening has nothing to do with you, with the job you're doing or with the department you run.

[Knight]: My job really has to do with the fact that, you know, the first day,

[Knight]: of January, when we all stood behind this rail, the first thing that we did was we raised our right hand.

[Knight]: And we raised our right hand and we said that we're gonna do our best to uphold the Constitution in the United States of America, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the ordinances in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: So we sit here and we look at this paper that's before us and it's a loan order.

[Knight]: So this is a loan order, it needs five votes.

[Knight]: per state law.

[Knight]: Pursuant to city ordinances, the city shall have a city solicitor, and the city solicitor is responsible for reviewing all legal instruments, a loan owner being one.

[Knight]: We have no city solicitor.

[Knight]: So we have no city solicitor that's here that works for the people of this city.

[Knight]: We have a private law firm that's already come forward and said they work for the administration, but we have no attorney or solicitor for this community that works for the people of this community.

[Knight]: All right, and that's been stated by legal counsel that we're paying.

[Knight]: I don't know how much we're paying them,

[Knight]: Some have set up to $2.7 million.

[Knight]: KP law has been paid so far this year.

[Knight]: That's a lot of money.

[Knight]: I don't know if it's true or not.

[Knight]: I'd love to know if it is or not, because I've been asking for the paperwork to look at it, but I just can't seem to get my hands on it.

[Knight]: So ultimately, you know, we have a lack of fiscal transparency.

[Knight]: We have an administration that comes forward for job classification changes every other week to create new positions and give certain and select individuals raises.

[Knight]: All right, so when I'm sitting down and I want to look at the full financial picture of this community and what's going on,

[Knight]: And I wanna say to myself, this is where the money's going and this is where it's being spent.

[Knight]: I can't do that.

[Knight]: So it's very difficult for me to sit down and take a vote for $1.5 million of borrowing.

[Knight]: This isn't our money that we're spending.

[Knight]: This is money that we're asking somebody to give us that we're gonna have to pay back.

[Knight]: All right, so it's very concerning to me.

[Knight]: I feel like you're a sacrificial lamb sometimes when you come down here.

[Knight]: I know that you're working with one hand behind your back and I know that this stuff would be helpful.

[Knight]: But I also know that as

[Knight]: a financial stalwart for the taxpayers of this community, the people in the city deserve better.

[Knight]: So it's very difficult for me to take a vote where I'm not confident that it complies with the ordinances in our community.

[Knight]: And I'm not so certain as to what our actual fiscal picture is right now.

[Knight]: It makes it very difficult for me to make this vote.

[Knight]: And I know what's gonna happen.

[Knight]: The next time somebody calls the mayor's office and they say, I need my sidewalk fixed.

[Knight]: Well, the city council voted against the money, so you just got the way.

[Knight]: That's what it's gonna be, right?

[Knight]: Because it's not about governance, it's about politics, right?

[Knight]: We went over this already.

[Knight]: It's about politics, not governance.

[Knight]: Governance versus politics is a big difference.

[Knight]: So for those reasons, I can't support the paper this evening.

[Knight]: I'd like to see a table for 90 days and maybe we can take it back up in June.

[Knight]: Madam President, motion to suspend the rules to take the fire engine paper, please.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Can anybody tell me what titles are covered under this before us this evening?

[Knight]: It's kind of important for us to look at that.

[Knight]: Go ahead.

[Knight]: I don't know how you'd like to- I'll be honest with you, Madam President.

[Knight]: You're asking us to spend 80,000 bucks on.

[Knight]: I appreciate the financial transparency and the fiscal constraint that the administration has shown us by offering this paper with such a paperwork that supports it.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: Well, we can separate, but I have a legal question on that.

[Knight]: I don't think we can vote for our own raise.

[Knight]: I think we need to vote for a raise to go if it's for this body that we serve on.

[Knight]: I don't think we can vote for it in this term.

[Knight]: I think it has to be a term that we're not in or it's an ethics violation.

[Knight]: Oh, that's what this is photo proof of first reading and we didn't have a print out of the names on the list.

[Knight]: I'm saying this is crazy.

[Knight]: I feel like we've been kind of, they kind of tried to pull the rug underneath our feet here and stick a paper in front of our face to give the mayor a raise and never said it was for the mayor.

[Knight]: And now all of a sudden, we're finding out that the 11th hour, Madam Chief of Staff, do you have your hand raised.

[Knight]: No.

[Knight]: It's never going to get worse bad politics is not going to translate the bad governance, we're going to make sure that you guys are safe.

[Knight]: Tim.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: We absolutely stink at street sweeping.

[Knight]: We are awful at it.

[Knight]: It is something we are not good at in this city at all.

[Knight]: I'm looking at this expense and I'm seeing it total more than half of the total expenses before us.

[Knight]: I'd like to see us get 10 trucks and forget the street sweeper.

[Knight]: Quite frankly, I don't see any value in the program that we're running right now.

[Knight]: I think it can be done much better and probably cheaper privately.

[Knight]: You know, so when I look at this and streets we've been since since you've been here, since you've lived in the city street sweep has been an issue.

[Knight]: We are not good at it this twice a year thing is a waste in my opinion I don't think it does anything to help beautify the city.

[Knight]: I don't think that it really meets any objectives and goals other than

[Knight]: making people totally angry because of the notification system and the getting told I'm not getting told some streets do some streets don't.

[Knight]: It's just a haphazard application.

[Knight]: You know, you're in zone one today and we're doing the best we can with what we got without the full blown program.

[Knight]: We're just not good at it.

[Knight]: We're just not good at it.

[Knight]: Is there you know, I'm one that would never say send something out

[Knight]: unless we're replacing it with something we're doing in-house.

[Knight]: But I'm thinking the amount of money and funds that we spend on the Street Sweeper program could probably be better invested if we gave it, put it out, it could probably be cheaper.

[Knight]: And then we could do more internally, hiring more equipment and trucks and plows and stuff like that.

[Knight]: I mean, I'm looking at this and I'm saying, the thing really, it comes out twice a year, right?

[Knight]: The Street Sweeper?

[Knight]: But I live on a main drag, and I'm gonna tell you, last year it didn't come out every night.

[Knight]: The year before that, it didn't come out every night.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: Because I live on a main drag.

[Knight]: There's a schedule.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: So why can't I, so I get a pack of restrictions on my street, it's supposed to get swept, but it doesn't get swept.

[Knight]: But you know what I mean?

[Knight]: It's not a good program.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: This paper that's before us this evening is attached to a paper that we voted on previously.

[Knight]: The paper that we voted on previously requires three readings.

[Knight]: So I'd ask that in the paper that we voted on previously, we amend it.

[Knight]: So the dollar figure is not gonna be the same.

[Knight]: So I'd ask that this paper be tabled and that the administration give us an amended paper that reflects the appropriate dollar figure based upon the vote that the council took earlier, excluding the mayor's office and the city council from the cost of living adjustment that the mayor's office proposed for themselves.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Knight, Madam President, thank you very much and I think the administration putting this paper on this paper reflects a resolution that I had filed back in 2018 when I requested that the Burke administration create a stabilization fund, and I'm the basis behind that request at the time was that it was the best practice of municipal government is published by the Massachusetts, Massachusetts Municipal Association.

[Knight]: as well as GAAP.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: But what they also said was that as part of this best practice is that you should put between five and 8% of your total operating expenses into the stabilization account.

[Knight]: So right now we have a $200 million operating budget.

[Knight]: So 5% to 8% of that would be anywhere between 10 to $16 million for us to make this a sustainable account for stabilization purposes.

[Knight]: So I think this misses the mark a little bit here, Madam President, and I too also feel as though we need to have a meeting to talk about a little bit further in depth, because if we're going to go through the process of creating a stabilization account, we want to make sure that it's viable and that it meets the standards of best practices.

[Knight]: Ultimately, this is a bank account, it's a savings account is all it is.

[Knight]: And if you want to take money out of it, you're going to have to get a two thirds vote from the council to do it.

[Knight]: So I think this is a good thing, quite frankly, because I think, you know, it only takes four votes to spend the money.

[Knight]: to get it out of this account.

[Knight]: So that's something that I think is beneficial to the taxpayer in this community.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I thank the council for bringing up the motion to send this to a committee of the whole and I look forward to discussing the paper.

[Knight]: I'm excited about seeing it finally come to the floor.

[Knight]: That wasn't a motion to amend the paper to $1, was it?

[Knight]: For the administration?

[Knight]: That's the mayor's paper, so I don't know if the mayor was amending the paper to $1.

[Knight]: I misunderstood, I'm sorry.

[Knight]: Madam President, I believe we're coming off, maybe a second or third 10 year contracts with our rubbish hauler right now.

[Knight]: And I just like to request a copy of the legal opinion from the city solicitor that says that we're required to take this vote, because I believe we've taken this vote previous previous Council's taken this vote that votes dance.

[Knight]: So the city solicitor could provide us with a legal opinion and as we stated the city solicitor is required to approve all these contracts to form the city is also required to approve all legal instruments in this matter before us here is a legal instrument so I'm hoping the city solicitor can give us an opinion as to whether or not they feel as well this council has to take this vote or whether or not the previous vote the previous councils have taken still stands, because this is going to come up on other matters.

[Knight]: We have a trash contract we have a cable contract for example, which is another one that comes up in the council in the past has given the authority to the mayor to enter into these 10 year contracts it was one vote that was both stood in perpetuity until the council rescinded that authority.

[Knight]: So I just asked if we could get that legal opinion as to whether or not the council spinning his wheels there and doing something that's already done, whether or not our city solicitor is provided can provide us with a legal opinion

[Knight]: Oh, I think that there is a standing legal opinion from a prior city solicitor.

[Knight]: And we have a public records retention law, so I'm pretty sure that that opinion would stand because that was the solicitor and we don't have one now.

[Knight]: a date on it, one of the people in the text club puts a date on it, it'll, it'll happen.

[Knight]: But you know what I mean?

[Knight]: I know if I do it, I'm not going to get a date, sir.

[Knight]: I'm not going to get any information from this administration.

[Knight]: Set a precedent.

[Knight]: Anyway.

[Knight]: So every other paper that ever came would set a precedent now.

[Knight]: So every other authority that we ever gave for contracts longer than three years, they'll have to come back to us.

[Knight]: So it'll set a precedent.

[Knight]: Interesting.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: So that's the cable contract.

[Knight]: That was the parking contract.

[Knight]: That was, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: That's the trash contract.

[Knight]: So it has an effect.

[Knight]: I mean, the issue that's really before us here and the only thing that we as a body can do is authorize the mayor to enter into a contract that's in excess of 36 months or not.

[Knight]: All right, if we authorize her that power we authorize that power if we don't, we don't.

[Knight]: Ultimately, if we give her the 10 years.

[Knight]: or whatever term that we deem appropriate, the mayor is still the chief negotiator in this community.

[Knight]: So it's not like we can say, oh, we don't like this, and we don't like that, and we don't like this, take that out of the contract, and we're gonna give you the 10 years, right?

[Knight]: It's either, she's the one that negotiates the contract, she's the chief negotiator, right?

[Knight]: So when this happened with the parking contract, it turned into a nightmare.

[Knight]: And the reason it turned into a nightmare was because we're not gonna give you the approval to enter into the contract, unless you take this out, unless you put this in, unless you do this, unless you do that.

[Knight]: We took over the role of the chief negotiator, and it turned into a disaster, all right?

[Knight]: It was an absolute disaster.

[Knight]: So ultimately, the only issue that's before us is whether or not we want to allow the mayor to enter with a contract that exceeds the term of 36 months, right?

[Knight]: At this point in time, I'm not comfortable with that.

[Knight]: And I think that's really the issue, that's the only issue that's before us right now.

[Knight]: I'm not comfortable taking that vote because I don't know legally what the ramifications are, but I'm very concerned about what could happen when we give her that authority.

[Knight]: What happens if we give the authority to enter into a 10-year contract and now next thing you know, we're paying a trash fee?

[Knight]: Right now we have free trash pickup.

[Knight]: Other communities have a trash fee.

[Knight]: And we just gave her the authority to do that for 10 years.

[Knight]: Maybe the term's not going to be so favorable.

[Knight]: So those are the things we got to think about.

[Knight]: And right now in this stage in the game, I'm not too keen on thinking about them.

[Knight]: I think that the administration should put out the RFPs and let's see what comes back.

[Knight]: Because most likely what's going to come back is an RFP that's going to say, we want 10 years.

[Knight]: Can you get the vote?

[Knight]: There is nobody in this building that can give us, hello, any legal opinion in this building.

[Knight]: Nobody in this building can give us a legal opinion as to whether or not we can even do that.

[Knight]: We don't need to make it this big, long-drawn-out thing.

[Knight]: We'll table it.

[Knight]: Someone takes a motion, take it off the table.

[Knight]: It comes off the table.

[Knight]: We don't need to turn it into this big thing.

[Knight]: I mean, if they get us a legal opinion, they get us a legal opinion.

[Knight]: Not sure we're gonna get it, but... You know what I mean?

[Knight]: Yeah, I would...

[Knight]: The city one is a clearly specify that the city needs a city solicitor.

[Knight]: And they say that the city solicitor is the only person in the city.

[Knight]: who can approve an illegal instrument, that can approve a legal instrument.

[Knight]: All right, that's every contract, every collective bargaining agreement.

[Knight]: All right, anything that goes, any local option that we take and send up to the state house.

[Knight]: All of that needs to be approved by a solicitor, a city solicitor that we don't have, because she just said the position's vacant.

[Knight]: Well, our ordinance says it has to be filled.

[Knight]: And our ordinance says that that's the person who's responsible for these major duties and responsibilities in this community.

[Knight]: This position has been vacant for so long.

[Knight]: If they just filled this job,

[Knight]: We wouldn't have these fights, we wouldn't have these arguments, we wouldn't have these issues.

[Knight]: If the mayor just did what you said she was going to do in June, and hired an assistant city solicitor to the council, we wouldn't have these issues.

[Knight]: We wouldn't have them.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I'd like to echo the sentiments of my fellow Councilors, Paul Howard was a great man, I someone that I had the pleasure of getting to know at a very young age picture Mr. Howard.

[Knight]: 50 plus years old, playing full court basketball at Carr Park with, you know, 20, 25 kids between the ages of 15 and 25 years old and absolutely dominating.

[Knight]: Paul was an amazing athlete.

[Knight]: His accolades on the basketball court for Somerville High School back in the 50s and early 60s is something that I talked about very, very fondly to this day among my father and his friends.

[Knight]: And whenever Paul Howard's name come up,

[Knight]: They always speak of his work ethic and the type of gentleman that he was, just a kind man that went to work, put his head down and did the right thing.

[Knight]: He's someone that's going to be sadly missed in this community, and I'm very lucky that I had the opportunity to call him a friend.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Again, Bob Maloney Sr.

[Knight]: was a gentleman that I had the opportunity of developing a great friendship with.

[Knight]: I remember fondly the summer of 2005 after the passing of Senator Shannon and I was working on the Callahan campaign for State Senate and Bob Maloney Sr.

[Knight]: was in the office every single day making phone calls and we'd go out knocking on doors and he had such a way about him, you know, he was great.

[Knight]: He'd walk up to the door, he'd knock

[Knight]: knock on the door and he'd say, Hey, I'm Bob Maloney.

[Knight]: I'm the city councilor from down here in this neighborhood.

[Knight]: And this is the guy we're supporting for city council.

[Knight]: So we're going to, for our state Senate.

[Knight]: So we're going to put a sign on your front lawn and we're going to get you to vote for him.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: Okay, Bob, no problem.

[Knight]: And they'd walk away.

[Knight]: The guy was amazing on the street.

[Knight]: He was one of the best campaigners I've ever seen in my life.

[Knight]: And he raised

[Knight]: a great family of public servants that are following in his footsteps.

[Knight]: To Gordon, to Sean and to Bobby, my deepest condolences.

[Knight]: You're all great friends and it's very sad to lose a man of your father's stature, but he's in a better place now.

[Knight]: And I thank the Lord and I thank you guys for your friendship and for the opportunity to have stood beside your father during a period of time where we were able to have a lot of fun.

[Knight]: Motion to sever the amendments.

[Knight]: Separate.

[Knight]: Just one by one.

[Knight]: Okay, that's fine.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: First of all, I'd like to withdraw my motion to seven amendments.

[Knight]: And second Council business motion to approve the first reading.

[Knight]: After taking a how to look at the amendments that he's made I don't see any reason to seven.

[Knight]: This is something that I think we need to also thank our friend john Falco for because Council Falco was the person that kicked this off.

[Knight]: And this wouldn't have gotten as far as it had if it weren't for john's diligence and john's work on this particular issue when he served as a member of the city council.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President, I support the paper and I thank the gentleman for his amendments.

[Knight]: Don't encourage me, Councilor.

[Knight]: I'd love to speak, Madam President.

[Knight]: The paper before us is a paper where I question whether or not it's in proper form.

[Knight]: If we look at the Medford City Council rules, Rule 30 will read that every order before a bond issue shall

[Knight]: before its passage be referred to the city solicitor, who shall forthwith examine the same as to its legality and notify the council in writing of its findings.

[Knight]: The city solicitor is a position established by ordinance, Madam President.

[Knight]: Section 2-651, city solicitor.

[Knight]: There shall be a city solicitor.

[Knight]: We don't have one.

[Knight]: Section 2-654, duties to legal instruments of the city solicitor.

[Knight]: The city solicitor shall advise and cause to be drafted bonds and other legal instruments of whatever as required by the mayor or the council.

[Knight]: Again, the city solicitor did not draft this paper because we do not have one.

[Knight]: KP law is time and time again, confirm that they are not the city's attorney.

[Knight]: They are the mayor's private legal counsel.

[Knight]: Their client is the mayor, no more, no less.

[Knight]: I question as to whether or not this paper meets the legal standard of merit and would move to have it sent to the Office of the Attorney General for an independent review.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: To that point, Councilor Benson, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Can KP law serve as the assistant city solicitor?

[Knight]: Because based upon the ordinance that this council passed at some point in time, it says there shall be a city solicitor, and there shall also be an assistant.

[Knight]: And when there is no city solicitor, the assistant shall be appointed solicitor.

[Knight]: That's what the ordinance says.

[Knight]: So can the mayor unilaterally hire a law firm to work and be compensated at a rate of pay and a scale of pay far outside the compensation schedule that's established by the ordinance?

[Knight]: I don't think she can.

[Knight]: I don't think she can appoint a law firm into a position that's defined by ordinance with a salary attached to it.

[Knight]: And we have to, at some point, bring this to a head.

[Knight]: You know, six months ago, seven, eight months ago now, we sat here and we debated a budget.

[Knight]: And like you said, the mayor said, oh, no problem.

[Knight]: We're going to have assistant city solicitor for you guys.

[Knight]: We're going to post it.

[Knight]: It's going to be an in-house position.

[Knight]: We still don't have it.

[Knight]: And we still don't have it.

[Knight]: That was all smoke to get the budget passed.

[Knight]: You know, the mayor never had any intention of filling that position because if she did, it would be filled.

[Knight]: Um, you know, so that's, that's why I raised the issue.

[Knight]: I mean, we, we have no guidance whatsoever.

[Knight]: You know, we're like the clown show, you know, we sit here and we talk and we have great ideas.

[Knight]: And, you know, we want to follow through and we'd be very productive if we had the tools that were necessary to get the job done, but we don't.

[Knight]: And it's very frustrating to not have those tools, especially when we have such a talented group of people that could do such good work, you know?

[Knight]: So, you know, it's time we bring this thing to a head.

[Knight]: does the city of Medford require a city solicitor?

[Knight]: The ordinance says it does.

[Knight]: I don't know why there isn't one.

[Knight]: And if we don't have one, then there's a problem because there hasn't been one for quite a long period of time, which means that we're operating outside the ordinance, outside the defined parameters of how our government's supposed to operate.

[Knight]: You know, that's like saying there's supposed to be a secretary of state, but we're just not going to have one.

[Knight]: So that's why I raised it.

[Knight]: And to the point of the paper before us, I support the paper and its theory.

[Knight]: We need this equipment.

[Knight]: We need these jobs to be able to be performed in-house.

[Knight]: We need to get this done.

[Knight]: But we also have $700,000 of a $1.5 million appropriation that we made last year that still remains unspent.

[Knight]: You know, so in that regard, I think that, you know, we're not going to be in that bad of shape to put this off.

[Knight]: You know, we want to wait a week.

[Knight]: We're not going to get a response in a week or two weeks.

[Knight]: We're not going to get a response by March 14th.

[Knight]: You know, you know, it's going to take at least 30 days to get a legal response from the attorney general's office, you know, but, you know, it has to come to a head at some point.

[Knight]: You know, when I support the paper that's before us, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: You look at the capital plan, you know, you see these things in there.

[Knight]: So it's not something that we haven't planned for.

[Knight]: You look at the funding sources, that's a little different.

[Knight]: You know, when you look at the funding sources in the capital plan, most of it says that it's going to be general fund debt.

[Knight]: It's not going to be something that's borrowed.

[Knight]: So, you know, that's where in lies the rub.

[Knight]: But ultimately,

[Knight]: In theory, it's a good paper, but in terms of process and procedure, this is something that we need to address.

[Knight]: And I think that this is a way that we can do it.

[Knight]: We did say that during the budget hearings that we didn't like the setup.

[Knight]: And that's why we agreed to pass a budget when the mayor said that she was going to provide us with an assistant city solicitor that works in the building for the city council.

[Knight]: Yeah, it's not a big deal.

[Knight]: Motion, keep them all together, we can vote them as one package.

[Knight]: approval as amended.

[Knight]: No.

[Knight]: Madam President, we're into suspension.

[Knight]: We also have paper 23057 which is really similar subject matter, and that circumstance we had an opinion from the acting city solicitor at the time was in house in our city solicitor will give us an opinion relative to the way that these promotional advancements and salary increases should be implemented.

[Knight]: We then received an opinion from KP law and then a revised opinion from KP law.

[Knight]: again, KP Lawyers stated that they're not the city's attorney, they're the mayor's private attorney.

[Knight]: They've given us two contrary legal opinions to the standing and acting legal city solicitor at the time.

[Knight]: So, you know, we're kind of in the same circumstance with this paper that we were in the others.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: No, as previously stated, Madam President.

[Knight]: I think the gentleman's doing great work, though.

[Knight]: Don't get me wrong.

[Knight]: I prefer a motion to table till third reading on the underlying ordinance, Madam President.

[Knight]: Certainly a paper I'm going to support funding if the underlying position passes.

[Knight]: Those withdraw the motion.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes, Madam President, it's been brought to my attention that parking enforcement vehicles aren't garage in the state, even nevermind the city of Medford.

[Knight]: I've seen the vehicles driving around town with the nice fancy city of Medford sticker on it says parking enforcement on it, parking enforcement officers are in it but other vehicles.

[Knight]: are not registered in the state of Massachusetts or in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: So I believe that was a criteria in our previous contract with Republic Parking, and I see no reason why these vehicles shouldn't be both garaged and insured in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, nevermind the city of Medford.

[Knight]: That was pretty good, all in one breath, Madam President.

[Knight]: I appreciate that.

[Knight]: Well, ultimately, it's been brought to my attention that there's been some unauthorized clear-cutting of forestry between the community garden and the dog park, say, going down to the waterfront over by Homel Stadium.

[Knight]: It's caused a little bit of disruption to our ecosystem.

[Knight]: The matter has been brought to the attention of the Office of Energy and Environment.

[Knight]: Dennis McDougal has been involved in the

[Knight]: examination and restoration of the area.

[Knight]: The police department has also been contacted relative to the circumstances, but the clear-cutting persists, Madam President, so this is something that I'm hoping we can get ahead of, take a look at, maybe do some intervention, educate some people in the community about the dangers of clear-cutting forestry, especially abutting the Mystic River watershed, and maybe move forward and restore some of the damage that has been done to further beautify the area that's utilized by so many in this community.

[Knight]: That I do not know.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: So on the motion of Councilor Madam President, Madam President, I'm gonna throw the motion on the questions been asked and answered.

[Knight]: You know, it seems like everything that we were going to request they've already done.

[Knight]: Madam President's rather self explanatory, as you'll know, on ramps and off ramps to 9316 and the like are in some rough shape, and I'm hoping that the dot can come out and give it a little bit of 10 to 11 care to prevent any damage to the resident of cities vehicles.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I think it's just important to point out that these large scale nonprofits like healthcare institutions and universities also provide a great community benefit.

[Knight]: namely jobs that provide a living wage.

[Knight]: So we have to also take into consideration the economic benefits that they bring to a community.

[Knight]: You see communities that have universities located inside them and the benefits that they have economically when the recession hits.

[Knight]: So I think it's also important to point out the benefits that come along with having large-scale universities and large-scale healthcare institutions in the community that are non-profit as well.

[Knight]: Point of information, Madam President.

[Knight]: I do believe the city and Tufts University have an agreement where all new purchases of parcels outside the campus, the existing campus, would be put on the tax rolls.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I'd be remiss if we didn't recognize our colleague, Councilor Caraviello.

[Knight]: It was Councilor Caraviello's resolution under the Burke administration that got us involved in the opioid lawsuit.

[Knight]: And without his foresight and vision, we wouldn't be here today receiving these funds.

[Knight]: So I'd like to thank him for taking the opportunity to be invested in the war on recovery here in our city and the steps that he took to make sure that we received these funds.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Thank you very much on these three firefighters bring a wealth of experience to the field, and I think that other city methods a safer place by having them being elevated to these positions of leadership so I'd like to congratulate them all and wish them a very successful and safe future to them and their families.

[Knight]: I for one feels this is a good expense.

[Knight]: I mean, I mean a good, a good initiative and a good endeavor because we look at the way that city's been spending money, lack of financial transparency anytime that we can set up a revolving fund or a trust fund to be sure that that money is being spent where it's supposed to be spent I think would make sense.

[Knight]: So, by approving this we're actually providing an additional check and balance and additional control on the frivolous and wasteful spending that we're seeing that's coming out of the administration and the lack of transparency that was coming out of administration.

[Knight]: So by approving this, we're going to be creating another layer of oversight.

[Knight]: I think that's a good thing.

[Knight]: So I'd move for approval.

[Knight]: and President.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: No, thank you for sticking around to hear a couple of these resolutions that are on the agenda this evening.

[Knight]: Ultimately, the condition of our roadways in the city of deplorable.

[Knight]: I think you know what I think we all know, right, you could drive in front of Bob's food store for the past five years, and the bottle hasn't been

[Knight]: patched even, never mind a plan to fix it.

[Knight]: You'll drive around the Winthrop Street Rotary going down High Street and you'll cross over the first pedestrian crosswalk there and ever since the first Eversource project, the

[Knight]: Crosswalk has been sunken in for now eight, nine years now.

[Knight]: I know our DPW, I know our commissioner, I know our mayor drives down these roads.

[Knight]: So I know that they know the condition of these roadways is terrible, but we need to develop some sort of plan, some sort of methodology for how we're gonna attack this.

[Knight]: We have C-Click fix and we have 50 DPW members.

[Knight]: I don't see why we can't take them all one day and say, get on the roads, drive down our emergency arteries and document each pothole that's on there and then we can put a plan together.

[Knight]: on how do we can patch these emergency arteries saving ultimately these the roads that our emergency vehicles drive down or EMS vehicles drive down.

[Knight]: You know, when there's a snow emergency, these are the vehicles that we're not allowed to park on, because these streets are used for public safety purposes.

[Knight]: So I think that it's something that we need to take a look at.

[Knight]: And I'm hoping that through the leadership of your office, you'll be able to come up with a plan on how we can address that.

[Knight]: I have one.

[Knight]: Golden Ave has been a topic of discussion now for going in the better part of five years.

[Knight]: We appropriated some money to have the underground infrastructure of Golden Ave repaired and then also have the above ground infrastructure of Golden Ave repaired.

[Knight]: And I think that was supposed to take place over the summer.

[Knight]: Do you have any idea what's going on with that project?

[Knight]: One thing I want to talk about in the past I've spoken about with Tim when he was the city engineer was, you know, some sort of mitigation agreement.

[Knight]: When these public utilities come to our community and dig up our streets and that.

[Knight]: expect to leave their supplies their equipment, their stock on public ways or on public passes.

[Knight]: So that's one way I think that we can look at this right if they want to leave the ticket stuff and get it out of here.

[Knight]: So I think that that's something that if we look at strengthening those mitigation agreements, I think that might be able to be a way that we can expand that patch on the roadway to maybe go a little bit further than a foot.

[Knight]: We could post it on the website?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Okay, excellent.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: Madam President, I just think it's important to point out that every action has a reaction, right?

[Knight]: And this whole process could be avoided if the mayor would just work with the council.

[Knight]: We wouldn't have to go through the process of creating legislation to direct the mayor to be transparent if she would work with the council and be a partner to the council.

[Knight]: So, you know,

[Knight]: Imagine that we've gotten to the point where the council now has to rise to take legislative action to get the man to communicate us to communicate with us effectively when it comes down to the finances of this community.

[Knight]: I mean, I think that's where we are right now.

[Knight]: That's how far this relationship is deteriorated.

[Knight]: Now, I've been in the city my whole life.

[Knight]: You know, we've all heard the stories about what the council used to be like.

[Knight]: when there was fighting and screaming and yelling across the pit, everybody couldn't get along.

[Knight]: We get along relatively well here.

[Knight]: This is probably the first time in 40 years that the council actually walks in unison on a lot of items.

[Knight]: More often than not, we're in agreement.

[Knight]: And the one thing that we all agree on quite frequently is the lack of financial transparency in this community.

[Knight]: So I just think it's important to point out that the reason why the council has taken these steps

[Knight]: is because the council isn't being provided with the tools or the opportunity to be successful in their job.

[Knight]: So we need to pass ordinances.

[Knight]: We need to make laws telling the mayor to communicate with us.

[Knight]: Think about that.

[Knight]: How outrageous that is.

[Knight]: That's where we've, that's what we've come to.

[Knight]: And that's where the relationship has deteriorated to.

[Knight]: That's the level of respect that the coroner's office gives this body that's been elected by the residents of this community.

[Knight]: So I thank Councilor Bears for taking a proactive approach.

[Knight]: Can I just repeat that I missed that but you said it's going to put off the use of body one police cameras.

[Knight]: You're welcome to.

[Knight]: The way I look at this matter.

[Knight]: No, I would not.

[Knight]: Because right now I think that what we have in front of us is an 11 page ordinance with 12 amendments, right?

[Knight]: This is craziness.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: This isn't even something that's really important to the operation of our local government, in my opinion.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: We spent a lot of time, energy and effort working on something when I think we could have really been working on something else that matters to more people in this community.

[Knight]: I understand that there's a group of people that care about this.

[Knight]: I'm not really one of them.

[Knight]: I don't think that this is something that's vital to the future of the city of Medford.

[Knight]: Quite frankly, I think that it does things that can kind of hamstrung our ability to move forward and to promote a vision that adopts technology.

[Knight]: When we sit down, when we first started talking about this ordinance, chat GPT wasn't a thing.

[Knight]: And now look what it is, right?

[Knight]: So in a very short period of time, technology has changed.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, when we codify something in an ordinance, the government process is designed to move slow.

[Knight]: And by codifying this in ordinance, I think what it's going to do is hamstring us in our ability to adapt the technology.

[Knight]: So it's really not something that I want to support this evening.

[Knight]: You know, I think when we're looking at the direction that we're going in here in the community, you know,

[Knight]: We're working on a lot of things, but the results that the people want to see that I talk to are in the streets.

[Knight]: They're on the ground, they're on the sidewalks, they're in the delivery of services.

[Knight]: So while I can appreciate the work that's gone into this, it's not gonna be able to support this evening.

[Knight]: And I asked my council colleagues to really think long and hard about an 11 page ordinance with 12 amendments on the floor, and whether or not that's a good transparent public process for us to take hold of and move on.

[Knight]: I understand that the gentleman put a lot of work into it, as well as the lady, my colleague said I did an excellent job on this ordinance, don't get me wrong.

[Knight]: It's just something that I have problems with,

[Knight]: theoretically.

[Knight]: So for those reasons, I will be supporting the paper this evening.

[Knight]: Madam Mayor, I think we all know where we stand on this.

[Knight]: Why don't we just take a vote?

[Knight]: I'm looking at this.

[Knight]: I have a question as to how it would work relative to the students in the dormitories

[Knight]: You know, so students in the dorm, they say you gotta go, school's over.

[Knight]: Yeah, I don't wanna go, I wanna stay.

[Knight]: I wanna stay for the summer.

[Knight]: We gotta give you notice, you gotta take it through the eviction process.

[Knight]: I mean, I'm not sure, I'm trying to figure out how that would apply.

[Knight]: To the university.

[Knight]: Or off campus housing in the university for that matter, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: I just don't know who to place a burden on the university.

[Knight]: I mean ultimately they house thousands of kids up there, right?

[Knight]: Right, but what it does do is it creates a punitive situation for where if the property owner fails to provide the certain notice, they're going to be fined $300 a day.

[Knight]: So if we have a property on a Tufts University that has 900 kids in housing, and they fail to comply,

[Knight]: 900 times 300 times 300 times every day at the fine.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: They're one of our bodies in the community.

[Knight]: We don't want to put an administrative burden on them.

[Knight]: It's going to be punitive.

[Knight]: I support the paper.

[Knight]: I just, I think the fines excessive really is what it is.

[Knight]: I mean, if it was 25 bucks or something like that, yeah, fine.

[Knight]: 300 bucks for not sending somebody a notice about what their rights are when they get evicted.

[Knight]: When, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: We have all heard the term caveat emptied by everywhere, right?

[Knight]: You also have to be able to have some accountability personally and know what your rights are as well, right?

[Knight]: It's not government's job to hold everybody's hand all the time, right?

[Knight]: Some people have to have some certain personal accountability, right?

[Knight]: So if you run into a situation where you're gonna be evicted, right?

[Knight]: You might wanna say, hey, what are my rights?

[Knight]: Cause I'm being evicted.

[Knight]: and have some personal accountability as well.

[Knight]: I just think that the $300 fine is very excessive, especially because it's for every day that passes, it's another $300, and it constitutes another violation.

[Knight]: If we brought that down to, you know, 25 bucks or 50 bucks, I would have a problem.

[Knight]: That discretion part is what makes me curious, especially after listening to what Mr. Harris had to say a few minutes ago.

[Knight]: What's good for the goose should be good for the gander.

[Knight]: It shouldn't be at discretion.

[Knight]: If it's violation, it's a violation.

[Knight]: If it's not, it's not, right?

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately what we're doing is putting language in here to say that the board of health director can haphazardly policy if they see fit, right?

[Knight]: And fine up to $300, right?

[Knight]: I don't think that's what we're looking to do.

[Knight]: I don't think that's what the goal objective is.

[Knight]: So ultimately, we're saying the Board of Health Director may at their discretion do this, right?

[Knight]: So ultimately, we're talking about issues of equity.

[Knight]: We're talking about government not being trusted.

[Knight]: We're talking about putting controls in on government.

[Knight]: But then we're going to give somebody the authority to act haphazard and apply policy unevenly.

[Knight]: Just, Madam President, if it's about transparency, right, and it's about making sure that people are aware of something, then why are we attaching a punitive measure to it, right?

[Knight]: Why are we attaching a fine at the end of it?

[Knight]: if it's about transparency and it's about making sure that people have knowledge, right?

[Knight]: I mean, this is always an excuse when it comes up to something, this is some reason why the people aren't competent enough to pursue what it is they need to pursue.

[Knight]: There's always a reason we're trying to pass something.

[Knight]: What about the person that doesn't have internet?

[Knight]: Yeah, that one person, like, come on, it's 2023, the internet is everywhere.

[Knight]: They're giving phones away.

[Knight]: You walk into the store, they're giving you a phone for free.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: Come on.

[Knight]: Everybody has access to the internet.

[Knight]: If not, there's plenty of places to access the internet, number one, number two.

[Knight]: You know, I don't think that we give the general populace enough credit sometimes.

[Knight]: All right, we don't give the general populace enough credit sometimes.

[Knight]: But with that being said, I'd motion to strike the fine from $300 to $50, and then I'll move for approval.

[Knight]: Well, I'm going to, I mean, I'm making the motion to make it 50 bucks.

[Knight]: And then if it passes, I'll move for approval.

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately what we're doing is we're asking the landlord to give a piece of paper that the city puts together to the tenant.

[Knight]: We're gonna charge them 300 bucks if they don't do that.

[Knight]: That's a little much.

[Knight]: That's a little crazy, but I support the, I appreciate the council's second on the motion.

[Knight]: One more moment of motion to exempt Tufts University.

[Knight]: Motion to accept Tufts University on campus housing University.

[Knight]: Under B-5, I guess it would be.

[Knight]: 4933-B-5, new section.

[Knight]: Madam President, I offer a motion this evening as I look out in the audience and I see a number of our friends from organized labor that are here this evening.

[Knight]: Normally they have been able to provide us with updates throughout the course of this past term.

[Knight]: as to the status of the contract negotiations and the status of labor relations here in the community.

[Knight]: And they've always very patient.

[Knight]: They usually wait till the end of the meeting, sometimes three and four hours after the opportunity to speak before this body.

[Knight]: So I thought it'd be a nice gesture to allow them to speak first this evening.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: So thank you for being here.

[Knight]: And once again, providing us with such a detailed outline as to the status of the negotiations for the

[Knight]: 200 plus families that you represent here in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: Um, recently it was brought to my attention that there's a certain issue with new hires and their ability to access health insurance.

[Knight]: Um, you know, it's, I have a little bit of a background in the union as well.

[Knight]: And it's my understanding that, uh, here in the city of Medford, the municipal employee is required to offer health insurance to their employees.

[Knight]: She used to have to fill out this affidavit and submit it to mayor Burke in order to get her group health insurance that she was receiving from the city when she was a city council.

[Knight]: and she had to file an affidavit that said I work 22 hours a week and that made her eligible for the health insurance that she received through the city.

[Knight]: So I was looking at this and I'm not understanding why exactly a new hire now in this community that would come in that's working 37 and a half hours a week wouldn't be afforded the same group health insurance benefits that every other employee here in the community is being offered.

[Knight]: Is there an understanding as to what's going on with the application of this benefit?

[Knight]: haven't worked in insurance and haven't some experience in insurance it seems to me like the open enrollment period especially for employees in the GIC is usually what sometime around June or July is it?

[Knight]: About then, yes.

[Knight]: So what what they're saying is that if an employee that started now in January wouldn't be able to access health insurance while being a city employee for up to 11 months

[Knight]: Thank you, Mr. Seltz.

[Knight]: I'm sorry.

[Knight]: You know, what I see, Mr. Seltz, to be honest with you, is a trend.

[Knight]: It's a pattern, right?

[Knight]: And I think it has less and less to do with good government here in the community.

[Knight]: It has less and less to do with doing what's right for the workers in this community.

[Knight]: And there's more to do with a vendetta, right?

[Knight]: Someone that's vindictive, someone that's upset because you're speaking out, someone that's upset because you're expressing the concerns that your membership has and doing your job.

[Knight]: And it might be putting some

[Knight]: some rust on the can of the administration.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: So the way I look at this is I see a lot of it is retaliatory.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: I see no reason for this.

[Knight]: I don't understand why the cost of living adjustment for one group would be more so than the cost of living adjustment for another group when the cost of living is really a reflection on inflation and how far you can stretch it all.

[Knight]: And ultimately, we want to keep, you know, the rank and file employees in this community working.

[Knight]: They're a hard working group.

[Knight]: You know, I've had the opportunity to know many of these people for a very long time.

[Knight]: And, you know, when

[Knight]: You pick up the phone and you call, they always answer, they always deliver, they're always there.

[Knight]: And like Councilor Scarpelli said, your group prides itself on showing up for work every day and doing its job, regardless of what the climate is here on City Hall, regardless of what's going on between the administration and the union, they come to work every day and they do their job.

[Knight]: And that should be reflected in this wage package as well.

[Knight]: I'm very grateful for the work that your employees do, that your members do, and that these employees do.

[Knight]: I thank you again for coming up here and sharing with us your experience.

[Knight]: And pursuant to a city charter, if I'm not mistaken, the mayor is the chief negotiator for the community, right?

[Knight]: That's my understanding.

[Knight]: The mayor is the chief negotiator, so ultimately we have five bargaining units with unsettled contracts and the chief negotiator refusing to meet with these five unions and instead sending an underling.

[Knight]: It's paid for outside the scope of city employment.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Michael Callahan was a dear friend of mine, someone who

[Knight]: represented the city of Medford and its people with great pride and dignity.

[Knight]: He was a Vietnam War veteran, the founder of the Medford Consumer Advisory Commission and past commissioner.

[Knight]: He was the aide to the late Senator John Bullock, an aide to the late Senator Dennis McKenna, the former assistant commissioner of racing and chief steward for the National Association of Government Employees, just to name a few roles that he helped, Madam President.

[Knight]: Michael Callahan was also

[Knight]: elected our governor's Councilor, and he served with dignity representing the people of this community for over a decade.

[Knight]: Michael passed away on the last day of his term in office.

[Knight]: He was never able to

[Knight]: reap the benefits of his pension reward.

[Knight]: But he was someone who has some fame here in the city of Medford for saving Wrights Pond.

[Knight]: And if you go up to Wrights Pond now, you will see a memorial honoring Michael Callahan that Mayor McGlynn put in to recognize the work that he did.

[Knight]: back in the late 80s when Medford was undergoing quite a development boom and the condos were being built around the city.

[Knight]: There was a proposal to turn Wrights Pond into residential housing and Michael Callahan was the catalyst in organizing the neighborhood against this proposal and saving Wrights Pond and keeping it as the beautiful recreation destination that it is today.

[Knight]: And

[Knight]: with his vision and foresight, Wrights Pond is now probably one of the city's number one assets.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'd like to take a moment to honor my friend.

[Knight]: This is something that I've put on every year since Michael's passing.

[Knight]: He's someone that really cared about the city.

[Knight]: We talk about having blue and white debates.

[Knight]: We talk about people that step up to the plate and really put their money where their mouth is.

[Knight]: And Mike Callahan was that guy.

[Knight]: When he ran for State Senate back in 2005, his logo was, he helps people.

[Knight]: And there was no more truthful saying than that.

[Knight]: My county, I woke up every day to help people.

[Knight]: And he took great pride in it.

[Knight]: And he always said to me, you could measure your wealth in many ways.

[Knight]: You could measure it monetarily, or you could measure your wealth in the number of lives that you touch.

[Knight]: And Michael is just a great individual who touched many lives.

[Knight]: And he was the wealthiest man.

[Knight]: It's not so often that someone gets to reach the great age of 80 years old, an octogenarian, I believe they're called, Madam President, but John Grenard is someone who is very familiar to all of us who are involved in public life here in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: John was a former member of the Medford School Committee, a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

[Knight]: John served as the special sheriff

[Knight]: to Middlesex County under Sheriff DePaola.

[Knight]: He has a very, very, very prestigious record

[Knight]: of public service here in this community.

[Knight]: One of the most brilliant men I've ever met in my life when it comes to political analysis and the ability to look at an election.

[Knight]: Also a great volunteer of his time, service, energy to many neighborhood and community groups here in the city, most notably the Medford Elks, for example, and the American Legion Post 45, where he'd perform countless hours of pro bono legal work for them and making sure that their assets were protected.

[Knight]: John's been a great friend to me.

[Knight]: He's someone who I admire greatly and I'm glad to see that he had the opportunity to celebrate his 80th birthday surrounded by his friends and family.

[Knight]: And I want to take an opportunity just to extend a happy birthday to him and to let him know that he means a lot to the city of Medford still.

[Knight]: And I ask my council colleagues to join me in this celebration.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: When I first got out of college, I had the opportunity to work underneath Senate President Thomas Birmingham in the Massachusetts State Senate.

[Knight]: And he was certainly a brilliant man, a great leader, former candidate for governor as well.

[Knight]: And I had a great opportunity to work on his gubernatorial campaign where I got to spend a significant amount of time with him and I learned about what a great person he was.

[Knight]: raised in the community of Chelsea, representing Revere Charlestown and Chelsea.

[Knight]: Thomas Birmingham was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate after defeating, I believe, Reggie Volk.

[Knight]: And he served in the State Senate admirably, rising to the rank of Senate President.

[Knight]: Most notably, he is remembered for the Education Reform Act of 1992.

[Knight]: And the Educational Reform Act of 1992 established the standardized testing, standardized measurements of public schools so that we'd be able to identify and compare apples to apples data between school districts.

[Knight]: It also enacted what's known as the School Building Assistance Program.

[Knight]: And the School Building Assistance Program was something that we here in the city of Metric were able to utilize 23 years ago for the construction of other schools in this community.

[Knight]: So when you talk about Thomas Birmingham, you talk about a gentleman who was surrounded by great help

[Knight]: And when you talk about some of the great help that he was surrounded by, you have to mention on real world.

[Knight]: Who serves here on our community development board, we have to.

[Knight]: I'm sorry, CBA now, yes, yes, multiple hats.

[Knight]: We talk about James Francis Xavier Walsh from High Street who worked under the Birmingham campaign and worked under Tom in his office.

[Knight]: He was a great mentor and cultivator of great talent and a great individual that really cared about his community in this state and he accomplished a great deal.

[Knight]: It would be sad to miss, so I ask my council colleagues to join me in honoring him and extending deepest condolences to Selma and the family.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: And Councilor Capello, thanks for putting this item on the agenda.

[Knight]: I've known Tom for probably 15 years.

[Knight]: His nephews, Matt and Joe, I know very well as well.

[Knight]: And this is the first time I ever heard that story.

[Knight]: about the Friday nights.

[Knight]: It's amazing.

[Knight]: Um, Tom is a great person, a great friend and like Councilor Caraviello said, he was a gentleman, a true gentleman, someone that, um, was bigger than life, but, uh, very quiet, very quiet gentleman, uh, someone that when he spoke, uh, it was with a purpose and, uh, it was usually, uh, to give you the right piece of advice to say the right thing.

[Knight]: It'll be sadly missed.

[Knight]: And I thank the council for putting this resolution.

[Knight]: I'd like to ask that the records be laid on the table, Madam President.

[Knight]: By way of history, normally what the consul would do is we'd put a restriction on the special permit or a condition on the special permit that would say that the special permit is attached to the business entity and not the address on the permit.

[Knight]: So that if that business entity moved on, the permit would move on with the business entity and die.

[Knight]: It would have to go back through the application process again.

[Knight]: That's just explain what I think Councilor Scarpelli was getting at history.

[Knight]: That's the way we've normally done it.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Um, ultimately, I think it's safe to say right that this isn't a project that any of this behind the rail were crazy about from the start, right?

[Knight]: Um, that's why we went to court.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: Um, our recourse is very limited legally.

[Knight]: You know, that's why the judge remanded the case back to us.

[Knight]: Um, ultimately, what we're being asked to do is approve a storage tank, a flammable gas, flammable liquid storage tank, right?

[Knight]: And

[Knight]: It's a by right, it's a by right application.

[Knight]: It just requires a special permit.

[Knight]: Virtually every city board that had this application before we received it, signed off on it in one way, shape or form.

[Knight]: So our request was very limited from the staff.

[Knight]: So when we look at this, the only body here in the community that said no was the city council.

[Knight]: Every other body negotiated some sort of condition or restriction or compromise solution.

[Knight]: And the council dug its heels and it said no.

[Knight]: And we lost.

[Knight]: Okay, so now we're in the position where, although it's not necessarily a project that many of us were crazy about, it's the project that by right can be there and it's the project that by right we're going to get, in my opinion, after we take this vote this evening.

[Knight]: I think that BJ's has come up and they've, you know,

[Knight]: done a mea culpa on some of the bad neighbor issues.

[Knight]: They've certainly been very forthright in their willingness to add additional conditions and restrictions and requirements that we're looking for to make us a little bit happier with the proposed use and the impacts and effects that it's going to have on the neighborhood.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I think that the process has been a long and arduous one, and I'm glad that at the end of the day, we can come to some sort of agreement that protects both parties' interests.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President, I support the paper this evening, and I hope we can move for a vote, for a favorable vote in short order.

[Knight]: Is it safe to say, sir, that based upon the amount of questions that you have relative to the project, that you'd be opposed to this project at this point in time?

[Knight]: Based upon the amount of questions that you're asking this evening surrounding the project and how it's going to work, it seems like you're opposed to the project at this point in time.

[Knight]: Ultimately, the way this works is because of

[Knight]: the zoning in the area where the gas station is going to be located.

[Knight]: They have the right to do this by right.

[Knight]: All they're doing is coming to us for a special permit so that we can put conditions on it to protect the neighborhood.

[Knight]: And I think we've accomplished that.

[Knight]: But ultimately, we went to court on this.

[Knight]: We said we don't want the gas station.

[Knight]: We lost.

[Knight]: That's why they sent it back to us.

[Knight]: So now here we are today.

[Knight]: What are we going to do?

[Knight]: We're going to go and say, sorry, judge, we don't want to negotiate anymore.

[Knight]: And then they send it back to the judge.

[Knight]: The judge says, OK, Medford, you lose.

[Knight]: And then all the restrictions go out the window.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: Because that's the alternative at this point.

[Knight]: I think this brings us right back to the beginning, right?

[Knight]: That's why we voted no the first time.

[Knight]: That's why we got sued.

[Knight]: Because we said BJ should be better neighbors.

[Knight]: And that brought us to where we are today with all these conditions and restrictions that we have on the permit.

[Knight]: So, I mean, what we did was we did exactly what you're asking, what you asked us to do.

[Knight]: We just did it a long time ago and we lost in court.

[Knight]: Anyone else who was just to that point, and I thank the gentleman for putting the words in my mouth.

[Knight]: But ultimately, why would I legal counsel agree to bring it back?

[Knight]: If we had such a strong case?

[Knight]: All right, why?

[Knight]: makes no sense to me, obviously, because we weren't negotiating from position of power.

[Knight]: And now we had the opportunity to negotiate a stronger agreement than we had.

[Knight]: We were going in.

[Knight]: Madam President, I do think it's important to point out that Attorney Austin said that

[Knight]: The labor practices of Starbucks is not a significant or appropriate reason for the denial of the special permit and the conditions to the extent that I was.

[Knight]: I for one feel as though Starbucks is not a very good employer.

[Knight]: I feel as though they've gone a little bit too far in their efforts to impede with labor organizing in their corporation.

[Knight]: I think it's shameful.

[Knight]: However, based upon the slap that we just got relative to BJ's after a year long of legal haranguing, I do feel as though it would be the city's best interest financially to approve the document that's before us.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: I think it's important to point out this doesn't just apply to municipal buildings as well as private residences.

[Knight]: Right, this would be all just municipal construction, it's all new construction.

[Knight]: I don't, but you know.

[Knight]: Just point of information, Madam President.

[Knight]: I also don't think it's a good idea for the city of Medford to start getting into the transportation business now.

[Knight]: We can't even forget shopping pencils in City Hall.

[Knight]: We're gonna start freaking running buses all over the city.

[Knight]: I mean, let's be honest here.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: We got a parking department that we just opened up in a year, and it's been nothing but a nightmare.

[Knight]: If we take over a transit department, who the hell knows what's gonna happen.

[Knight]: Councilmember bears brings up a good point and it really never was a practice is something that I experienced previously.

[Knight]: where when you don't fill out the census, you get removed from the voter rolls, and it's created some significant level of confusion across the community.

[Knight]: In my historic involvement in the city, up until we hired an election coordinator, we really never removed anybody from the rolls if they didn't participate in the census.

[Knight]: So you get into a situation where someone gets removed from the voter rolls for not filling out the census, now they become an uninformed voter, because now they're not on the voter rolls, so they don't get mail.

[Knight]: They don't get mail, right?

[Knight]: So they get mail from no candidate.

[Knight]: So they become an uninformed voter.

[Knight]: So now you have an uninformed voter.

[Knight]: That's me, for example, I haven't missed an election since I was 18 years old.

[Knight]: I didn't fill up the census this year.

[Knight]: I went to go last year.

[Knight]: I went to go vote and I wasn't allowed to vote.

[Knight]: I was on the ballot.

[Knight]: My name was on the ballot, but I wasn't allowed to vote.

[Knight]: It's a bad practice.

[Knight]: You know why?

[Knight]: Because that person that goes into the voter booth to vote and they get told that they can't or that they're not on the list or that they're inactive is going to turn around and walk out the door and there's a chance they might not come back.

[Knight]: So now we have someone that's become an uninformed voter because they're not getting any mail from the candidates because they're not showing up on the voter rolls.

[Knight]: And then when they go to vote, it's actually an impediment for them to cast in their ballot.

[Knight]: So I think the practice needs to be looked at.

[Knight]: And again, it was never an issue up until we created this election coordinators position.

[Knight]: And now we have an election manager.

[Knight]: But I think it's a practice that needs to be looked at.

[Knight]: It's a policy that needs to be reviewed because, you know, everybody talks about wanting to drive more people out to the polls.

[Knight]: How do we get more people out to the polls?

[Knight]: We don't have election day anymore.

[Knight]: We get like election month for cry-eye, right?

[Knight]: You can mail it in.

[Knight]: You can come in from, you know, pretty soon we're going to be able to vote through our television or do it on the internet, right?

[Knight]: and it's going to be able to be something you can vote for whoever you want, whatever you want for this month, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: So, you know, the way that we're expanding access to voting, it doesn't make sense to me to take people off the rolls for not filling out the census.

[Knight]: You know, I think that there's a better practice or a better way that we can look at it, especially if you look at the vote history of an individual.

[Knight]: I mean, you're going to see someone that voted in 15 municipal elections in a row or 20 elections in a row and you're taking them off the rolls, but you know, they lived there, they paid the tax bill.

[Knight]: You know, it's just something that I find very confusing when you can't, you know,

[Knight]: the way the system set up, you can't register to vote in two communities.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: You're going to get caught because so I don't know.

[Knight]: It's just, I don't think it's a great practice that's conducive to promoting participation in elections.

[Knight]: I'm still blaming you for kicking everybody off the road four years ago.

[Knight]: I know why.

[Knight]: It's because we complain that we call them up here so many times.

[Knight]: So the administration said, you're making us look bad.

[Knight]: Could you put something down and see how long it's going to last just to get the noise to go away?

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: That's why.

[Knight]: Thank you, you know on the appointment of President Tom I recall when we went through this process.

[Knight]: I believe, I think, Rick and I were the only two that were on the council at the time, yeah man McGlynn was the mayor, and what man McGlynn did was he had a huge fundraiser.

[Knight]: And at this fundraiser, they raised a ton of money.

[Knight]: for private donors to create a maintenance and upkeep fund that would maintain the upkeep of the fountain.

[Knight]: Then the fountain COVID came the phone has been shut off for at least three years right at least three years.

[Knight]: Yes, at least three years, but there's a dedicated account here in City Hall and Councilor Caraviello is on point with this we need to find out what balance is left in that account because

[Knight]: based upon the financial spending habits that I'm seeing with this administration, the lack of financial and fiscal transparency and responsibility.

[Knight]: I'm thinking to myself that we're in a very significant fiscal crisis here in this community, because they're not sharing any financial documents with us.

[Knight]: They're not showing us the Warren articles where the money is getting spent.

[Knight]: They're not providing us with the quarterly updates that we're asking for and what the status of our financial picture is here in the community.

[Knight]: So it's leading me to believe that these accounts that are sitting around for a little bit of time that had a dedicated and committed purpose that people have forgotten about are going to be getting graded soon.

[Knight]: So I'd like to see that.

[Knight]: Is there an email address, maybe a general email address, a customer service email address, or something like that?

[Knight]: You sound like that Nigerian Prince I get the emails from today.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Thank you to the team from BJS for being here this evening.

[Knight]: This has been quite a long dance for all of us, I think.

[Knight]: And at the end of the day, looking at what's before us here and the proposals that have been made and the concessions that have been made, the mitigation efforts that have been made, can you just give me

[Knight]: the ballpark cost as to how much all these extras for mitigation are going to cost PJs at this point?

[Knight]: I just think it's important to show that you're making an investment.

[Knight]: When you think about DJs, this is your first store, your landmark store.

[Knight]: We talked about the history of the issues that we've had there, but ultimately you're a large employer here in this community as well.

[Knight]: You know, I think you bring a lot of good to the community.

[Knight]: And, you know, these quality of life issues are going to come with any big business that's located in an area that abuts a residential neighborhood.

[Knight]: But it's important, I think, to point out the fact that you put money where your mouth is when you're investing in the neighborhood and investing in the community through the proposal that you made for us this evening.

[Knight]: One thing I do have concern about would be an application for extended hours for operation of the gas station.

[Knight]: Um, that's something that I don't think the neighbors would particularly care for.

[Knight]: Um, that's something that I think that, you know, we'd have to address, you know, going going forward.

[Knight]: If you came forward with that application, I don't want to end up in a situation that we're in right now.

[Knight]: Yeah, so we're not looking to have anything right because I just don't want to see us doing this again where you know the neighbors don't want it.

[Knight]: We get to this long Toronto Priya fight about you know what's going to happen for a couple hours.

[Knight]: Excellent.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: I appreciate you guys taking the time.

[Knight]: Also, Madam President, if I may, by way of the rules, isn't there a seven-day waiting period, six-day waiting period to allow for comments from individuals that may not have participated in the public hearing but wanted to exercise their opinion in writing?

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I also think it's very important to point out what exactly

[Knight]: It is that we're being asked to vote on.

[Knight]: Ultimately, we're being asked to vote on a permit for an underground storage tank.

[Knight]: That's a special permit that's allowed by right.

[Knight]: All right, it's allowed by right, but requires a special permit for use.

[Knight]: So when we talk about this proposal and the fact that it's been vetted and revetted, you know, both locally and legally, ultimately this matter wasn't remanded back to the city council for a public hearing because our rationale was on strong legal footing.

[Knight]: And I think the applicant also recognizes that the history

[Knight]: between the city, the neighborhood, and the applicant's business hasn't been great.

[Knight]: But they've put a foot forward and made an effort both, I'd say, financially and physically to improve some of the quality of life issues in our community.

[Knight]: And I think that's a positive sign.

[Knight]: And I think that's a step in the right direction because ultimately,

[Knight]: If we look backwards at everything that's gone wrong, then we're never going to be able to make progress.

[Knight]: And I think it's pretty clear that when we did that during the initial public hearing, it wasn't the rational basis for a denial or the paper wouldn't have been sent back to us for this proceeding this evening.

[Knight]: I'd certainly like to hear additional feedback from the neighborhood, from the residents during the six day waiting period before I make a commitment as to which way I'm going to vote.

[Knight]: But I do want to recognize the efforts that the applicant has put forward in trying to rebuild this relationship and also investing in our community and addressing some of the things that are important to us that will mitigate and offset some of the impacts of the gas station should this underground storage permit be authorized.

[Knight]: It's practice anyway, I believe, right?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: By rule rather, so yes, I would not make a motion to waive it.

[Knight]: well-publicized labor dispute with its employee organization.

[Knight]: And the reason that this paper was tabled was because we wanted to allow Starbucks the opportunity to right the wrongs that have been going on with their anti-union campaign.

[Knight]: So it's my understanding that this anti-union campaign still prevails.

[Knight]: And I'm certainly not opposed to giving this ample consideration, but I'm not going to give a consideration

[Knight]: at a point in time where the workers feel as though they're being mistreated, and they feel as though their ability to organize is being impeded.

[Knight]: So with that being said, this is certainly something that I have an open mind to, but right now I don't feel as though the temperature is right for this council to make a vote on this.

[Knight]: So I'd ask the applicant to withdraw or refile when the labor situation gets resolved.

[Knight]: I do think it's also very important to point out that the City of Medford has maintenance and upkeep agreements with the DCI for a number of DCI-owned and controlled properties, Sleepy Hollow being one of those locations.

[Knight]: So it might be in our best interest to also take a look internally through our DPW commissioner to see if in fact this area is an area that has a maintenance and upkeep agreement with the DCR, because it might actually be the city's responsibility, not the DCR's to maintain this area due to the agreement that they had to do, I think back under the Romney administration.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Ultimately, I don't think this is something that should be explored any further.

[Knight]: It's pretty simple, all right?

[Knight]: Either we want NIPS in our community or we don't, okay?

[Knight]: We have no problem banning leaf blowers, but we can't ban NIPS.

[Knight]: I mean, come on, let's be serious here.

[Knight]: Not yet, not yet, but if I was a betting man- And we never will.

[Knight]: If I was a betting man, I'd say a few years down the line, it's just gonna come into effect.

[Knight]: But anyway, the delayed implementation, they call it, I think, is what happens.

[Knight]: Effective four years from now, they'll be banned.

[Knight]: If I was a betting man, I'd say that's what's gonna happen.

[Knight]: But I don't understand why we can't ban nips.

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately, if we want them in our community, we don't.

[Knight]: And the argument that was made by the gentleman that owned the liquor store that

[Knight]: People with drinking problems use NIPS to regulate their consumption is, quite frankly, probably in contradiction and contrast to every single public health advisory that you could ever read when it comes down to somebody who's dealing with addiction.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: So that argument, I don't think holds any water in this community.

[Knight]: This is something that's been laying around, just like many things that have been laying around when we send it across the hall to the administration.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: So the conversation should have been started a long time ago.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: We jumped out of this conversation already.

[Knight]: We asked for feedback.

[Knight]: We asked to get a response from the administration.

[Knight]: We got nothing.

[Knight]: Once again.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: Once again, so we can either go down this road again, right.

[Knight]: Or we can say that we're going to take affirmative steps and do it.

[Knight]: Um, you know, I, for one think that they should just be banned in the community.

[Knight]: Um, I'm not crazy about the 5 cent nickel, you know, return the bottle redemption on them.

[Knight]: Um, because it's still going to leave us with the same problem that they're going to be everywhere.

[Knight]: And then we're going to rely on somebody who wants to make a nickel to go around and pick them up.

[Knight]: It's not going to be the city that's picking them up.

[Knight]: We're still going to have the same problem.

[Knight]: We're just going to try to create a revenue source to somebody who has the wherewithal and the work ethic to want to go around and pick them up and turn them in.

[Knight]: I don't think that's the way that we should be handling this.

[Knight]: I think that this is something that should be just blanket banned.

[Knight]: I mean, it's a one ounce plastic bottle.

[Knight]: It's a single use bottle.

[Knight]: We'd be in single use bags.

[Knight]: We're not going to be in a single use bottle.

[Knight]: I think it would make sense, but I will support the motion this evening, but this is something that I think should have been done already.

[Knight]: Madam President, I said this before, I see this as nothing more than

[Knight]: campaign tactic by the administration.

[Knight]: These are papers that we do not have to vote on.

[Knight]: These are papers that are financial in nature.

[Knight]: We still have not gotten the Warren articles.

[Knight]: All right, we still haven't gotten them.

[Knight]: But three weeks in a row now we've gotten papers saying this is how we're going to spend your APA money.

[Knight]: All right, so something's wrong.

[Knight]: All right, something smells rotten in Denmark.

[Knight]: I don't know what it is, but something smells rotten.

[Knight]: It's just not adding up, Madam President.

[Knight]: It's just not adding up.

[Knight]: I don't understand why.

[Knight]: Where they're spending the money is such a secret, but then every week we can have somebody from the administration come and tell us where they're going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, which this council has no oversight authority on.

[Knight]: I really think it's nothing more than an effort to campaign from the rail because the mayor has an opponent.

[Knight]: Look at all the good stuff I'm doing now.

[Knight]: Look at all the good stuff I'm doing now.

[Knight]: For three years, I wouldn't talk to you.

[Knight]: But now, the kitchen's getting a little warm.

[Knight]: I want to come out and show my face.

[Knight]: So quite frankly, I think it's an exercise in futility, number one.

[Knight]: Number two, only a Councilor can put forward a measure that goes on the agenda, right?

[Knight]: Every rule of resolution, every order of resolution has to be sponsored by a member of the council.

[Knight]: So this is three weeks in a row the mayor's put money papers on.

[Knight]: We've asked her for a financial plan.

[Knight]: We've asked her to show us what's going on with the money, right?

[Knight]: And we haven't seen that.

[Knight]: And now we're getting fed piecemeal week after week, right?

[Knight]: Because if you think back to the beginning of this fiscal year, how many supplemental appropriations have we been asked to make so far?

[Knight]: How many jobs we've been asked to create?

[Knight]: None of it fits into the financial plan.

[Knight]: None of it fits into the capital plan.

[Knight]: But because we're being fed piecemeal,

[Knight]: And because we're not being provided with the documentation that we've requested now going on in an inordinate amount of time, years, we're unable to make informed decisions.

[Knight]: So then we all sit up here looking like a bunch of goobers, right?

[Knight]: Going back and forth, not being able to make a decision because we all wanna do the right thing and we can't because we're not given the tools in the toolbox.

[Knight]: So last June, when we sat here and the mayor said that we'd have an assistant city solicitor and the assistant city solicitor will be at our meeting and they should be sitting right here right now, but the job hasn't even been posted yet.

[Knight]: Who's the sucker?

[Knight]: We are, once again, right?

[Knight]: We look like the big dummies in the room.

[Knight]: We look like the big dummies in the room.

[Knight]: Enough's enough.

[Knight]: Enough's enough with this administration and the spending and the lack of fiscal transparency.

[Knight]: All right, it's not fair to us, it's not fair to the taxpayers.

[Knight]: Okay, we're hired to do a job.

[Knight]: The mayor sat here right next to me for a decade and she said, our number one job is to be fiscal watchdogs.

[Knight]: And then she ran on a platform of unity, community, and transparency.

[Knight]: I haven't seen any community.

[Knight]: I haven't seen any unity with this body, especially.

[Knight]: And I haven't seen any transparency when it comes to the finances in this community.

[Knight]: So we're out.

[Knight]: What's going on?

[Knight]: What is going on with that financial picture?

[Knight]: If you look on the agenda, Madam President, you'll see a paper.

[Knight]: And it was a spending moratorium until the mayor complies.

[Knight]: And we talked about it.

[Knight]: And we said, let's give the mayor a chance.

[Knight]: Let's give the mayor an opportunity to come around.

[Knight]: the sacrificial lamb, Mr. Dickinson up here a couple of weeks ago.

[Knight]: And he said, I don't even know what you're talking about.

[Knight]: Warren articles.

[Knight]: What do you mean?

[Knight]: Warren articles.

[Knight]: I don't even know what you're talking about.

[Knight]: The administration, we've been talking about this now for three years.

[Knight]: The administration has never even said it to the finance director.

[Knight]: The left hand does not know what the right is doing.

[Knight]: And we can't keep spending money.

[Knight]: If the left hand doesn't know what the right is doing, because this body right here certainly doesn't know what's going on because we haven't been provided the information that we need.

[Knight]: So this is just another perfect example of spending for the purpose of press releases.

[Knight]: So, you know, when I look at these papers that come before the body, I look at the issues that are facing this community.

[Knight]: Councilor Tseng said it best.

[Knight]: government by social media.

[Knight]: That's what this is Medford talk.

[Knight]: There's lots of tech talks about Medford.

[Knight]: So now that's how we're going to make our decisions.

[Knight]: That's not how government works.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: That's not how government works.

[Knight]: Facebook, Facebook, TikTok, social media, not real life, fake life, not real life, not real life.

[Knight]: So, you know, I, I'm looking at this madam president and I'm scratching my head and I'm saying that's another half a million bucks that the city administration spent.

[Knight]: I have no problem with the project.

[Knight]: It's a great project.

[Knight]: I've known about this project for well over a year because the executive director at the housing authority came to us over a year ago.

[Knight]: And he told us this is what they're doing.

[Knight]: And he said he was going to ask for the funds.

[Knight]: But we knew about it, not because of the actions of the administration, because the act is the Director of the Housing Authority, the person who's looking for the money, all right?

[Knight]: And we still, again, have no idea what the financial picture is in this community.

[Knight]: When are we gonna get the information, the financial information that we've requested now going on about about a 24 months?

[Knight]: This is ridiculous.

[Knight]: This is nothing more than an end around than a lack of transparency.

[Knight]: They're hiding something.

[Knight]: Follow the money.

[Knight]: Everybody says follow the money.

[Knight]: We can't follow the money because they're not showing us where it's going, which leads me to believe that they're hiding something.

[Knight]: No, I'd like to know why we still haven't received one copy of one Warren article since January of 2020.

[Knight]: 2020 2021 now 2021.

[Knight]: We have not received one copy of one more article.

[Knight]: You sat here before this body and put a budget presentation on.

[Knight]: And we made it pretty darn clear that we want this document.

[Knight]: This council has passed countless resolutions saying we want this document, yet your offices failed to provide it time and time again.

[Knight]: Now, Bob, I know you're new to the city.

[Knight]: And, you know,

[Knight]: At some point, you got to say I'm not blaming you, but now I am blaming you because you're sat here before us in June.

[Knight]: When we asked for this document, we still haven't received it.

[Knight]: The council's taken numerous votes.

[Knight]: The mayor's office has said, refer it to the finance director in a response to this body, but we still haven't received it.

[Knight]: Why?

[Knight]: I'm sorry.

[Knight]: We've been asking for this document for a year and a half and he goes, what are you asking for now?

[Knight]: I mean, is this- I understand the frustration.

[Knight]: No, this isn't even about frustration.

[Knight]: It's about a waste of my goddamn time.

[Knight]: All right, that's what this is.

[Knight]: All right, it's a waste.

[Knight]: It's a waste of all of our time to come up here and be pranced around like dog and pony.

[Knight]: Director Dickinson.

[Knight]: To be pranced around like doggies.

[Knight]: They're not passed by this body.

[Knight]: What are we looking for?

[Knight]: I want to know how much money K.P.

[Knight]: Lawrence received in the past year, for example.

[Knight]: So I can take a look at the Warren articles and I can say, oh, geez, we have a budget in the law department that says they're going to spend 200,000.

[Knight]: But I'm looking here in the last six months, we spent $1.7 million at KP Law.

[Knight]: Why?

[Knight]: And I can get ahead of some of these issues so that come the budget in probably, we'll get away, maybe June 30th.

[Knight]: When we get to June 30th for July 1st vote, I might be able to have a little bit of understanding as to why we're in the situation we're in.

[Knight]: All right, that's okay.

[Knight]: Has the law department ever called you and said, the city council has asked us to draft

[Knight]: No, the law department's never called me.

[Knight]: So the law department hasn't called you, the chief of staff hasn't called you, the mayor's office hasn't called you.

[Knight]: But this council's taking at least a dozen affirmative votes to get this information.

[Knight]: I feel bad that they said you already had to fall on your sword and be a sacrificial lamb.

[Knight]: of this account.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: It might also be helpful to go talk to the city clerk and say, hey, can I see a copy of the council tracking sheet?

[Knight]: It says finance director, because there's probably literally 40 requests that we're looking for out of your office over the course of the last year.

[Knight]: I'm just curious if a rank and file employee, say in the Medford DPW for a year and a half, failed to provide you with information that you requested, what would happen to them?

[Knight]: First of all, I'd like to thank Councilor Scarpelli and Councilor Caraviello for being outspoken in their efforts to raise awareness as to what's going on in our schools.

[Knight]: Neither one of these gentlemen were required to appear for the school committee meeting last night.

[Knight]: They did so as concerned parents, grandparents, and public servants here in the city.

[Knight]: And when I listen to what they say, and I listen to what people on the street say, and when I listen to what my kids say, and I listen to what my wife has to say about these public schools as an educator at 25 years in a neighboring school district, it doesn't make me feel good.

[Knight]: I feel as though we're failing our students.

[Knight]: We're failing the most vulnerable members of our population, our children.

[Knight]: Councilor Scarpelli made a good point.

[Knight]: He said, it's the one year anniversary.

[Knight]: I said, one year anniversary?

[Knight]: Are you talking about one year anniversary or what?

[Knight]: One year anniversary.

[Knight]: It's December, Christmas hasn't happened yet.

[Knight]: I go, one year anniversary or what?

[Knight]: He goes, no, you don't remember the two walkouts that happened last year?

[Knight]: The two walkouts at Medford High School that happened last year?

[Knight]: because of escalating violence in our public schools, when hundreds of children, hundreds of our students, our kids, our neighbors' children, our families got up out of their seats and they walked out of the school because they said, we can't take it anymore.

[Knight]: And I think we all know what happens when kids become afraid to go to school.

[Knight]: We've all seen the documentaries on how gangs are formed.

[Knight]: We've all heard the stories about kids that get bullied in school and then decide to bring weapons because they've had enough and shoot up schools.

[Knight]: Why do we feel as though we're impervious to the same situation or the same circumstances?

[Knight]: Because we're not, we're not.

[Knight]: So we're in a place where kids are afraid to go to school.

[Knight]: And we're also in a place where we see embarrassing news story after embarrassing news story after embarrassing news story in the headlines with the word mentioned.

[Knight]: And that's a shame because the city is better than that.

[Knight]: The city is better than that.

[Knight]: And we could all sit here and we can say, this isn't right.

[Knight]: And this isn't wrong.

[Knight]: but the data doesn't lie.

[Knight]: The numbers don't lie.

[Knight]: So let's talk about the numbers a little bit.

[Knight]: Let's talk about the numbers.

[Knight]: 42% proficiency in math, 50% proficiency in reading, 240th in the state college readiness index, 181st in graduation rate and 184th overall.

[Knight]: Our kids deserve better.

[Knight]: Our kids deserve better than what they get.

[Knight]: They don't deserve to go to school afraid.

[Knight]: They deserve to go to school with leaders that are willing to step up and accept the challenge.

[Knight]: Now, when this incident first happened, I got an email and the email spoke volumes in terms of the culture that's going on with this administration.

[Knight]: And I have to take a look at it and just mention it because

[Knight]: I think it really speaks volumes.

[Knight]: This is a confidential and urgent update relative to the circumstances at Medford High School from Dr. Marice Edouard-Vincent.

[Knight]: Our MHS is currently in a stay in place due to a medical emergency.

[Knight]: A student was stabbed in the restroom and transported to MGH.

[Knight]: Four students have been identified.

[Knight]: The police are here working with us.

[Knight]: We're working on an official communication.

[Knight]: What's that mean?

[Knight]: We're working on an official communication.

[Knight]: You shouldn't have to work on facts.

[Knight]: You shouldn't have to work on truth.

[Knight]: You shouldn't have to work on anything other than telling the people what happened and what you're gonna do to prevent it from happening again.

[Knight]: Here we are 60 days ago, two short months ago, two short months ago, a girl was assaulted, terribly assaulted, captured on video, broadcast all across the local news stations.

[Knight]: This poor girl has to go to school every day, shake it in her boots.

[Knight]: If it weren't for the strength of her parents, if it weren't for the strength of her parents coming up here week after week, day after day, fighting to raise awareness about these issues,

[Knight]: It would have gone away.

[Knight]: And then 60 days later, we would have been talking about this gentleman that got assaulted and stabbed.

[Knight]: And then it would have gone away.

[Knight]: And then 60 days later, something else would happen.

[Knight]: And we'd bring it up again, and we'd start talking about it.

[Knight]: Let's get serious about it.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: It's been a year.

[Knight]: It's been a year since the students in that school told us they've had enough.

[Knight]: It's been a year since they all got up out of their desks and had the courage to walk out.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: This is sickening.

[Knight]: This is sickening.

[Knight]: And nothing anybody can say when they come up to this podium, all right, is gonna change the way I feel about it.

[Knight]: The way it's been handled is horrible, horrible.

[Knight]: These aren't isolated incidents.

[Knight]: A year ago, one year ago, the whole school said we've had enough and they walked out.

[Knight]: This is not an isolated incident.

[Knight]: And the longer we keep approaching this situation as an isolated incident, the more isolated incidents are going to occur.

[Knight]: And then when the budget comes around, we're going to hear the school department cry poor mouth.

[Knight]: Well, everybody wants to go to Minuteman, and everybody wants to go to the charter school.

[Knight]: Well, yeah, no kidding.

[Knight]: Why wouldn't they?

[Knight]: You can pay with peace of mind and financially send them to a school where you feel as though they're going to be safe and you're going to receive what you deserve.

[Knight]: Or you can take the risks and send them to Medford High.

[Knight]: And that's what parents are going to say to themselves.

[Knight]: They're going to say, is it worth it to me to spend this money to not have to put up with stuff like this?

[Knight]: And parents are going to say yes, because I'm a parent that's thinking about it.

[Knight]: I hate to say it.

[Knight]: Because I went to the Hervey School.

[Knight]: I went to the Brooks School.

[Knight]: I went to the Hopps School.

[Knight]: I went to Medford High School.

[Knight]: I played sports for Bud Kelly.

[Knight]: I learned about what it's like to have blue and white in my veins.

[Knight]: I learned about what it's like to be responsible, to want to be someone that gives back to his community.

[Knight]: And that's why I chose to seek public office.

[Knight]: And when I sit here,

[Knight]: and I watch some of my colleagues in government hide under their desk, it infuriates me.

[Knight]: It's okay to say no sometimes, you know, and it's okay to say yes, but what you have to do is say something.

[Knight]: You can't stand for anything if you don't know where you stand and what you stand for.

[Knight]: Madam President, if I may.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: You know, there's no such thing as a utopian society.

[Knight]: And I don't think in this instance that throwing money at an issue, and quite frankly,

[Knight]: given the decision makers who aren't allocating funds properly in the first place, more money to spend.

[Knight]: I don't think this is going to do anything for those children that need to go to school tomorrow.

[Knight]: It might help in the long run, but it's not going to do anything for those children that need to go to school tomorrow.

[Knight]: As of right now,

[Knight]: The committee needs to live within its means because there is no funding request from the mayor before us.

[Knight]: So we can jump up and down and say, we want more money.

[Knight]: We want more money.

[Knight]: We do that every week about every issue.

[Knight]: But ultimately right now, the administration hasn't put the paper before this body, which tells me the administration isn't taking it seriously, which would again, move me to the position to say, you have to live within your means and reallocate your funds then to address this issue.

[Knight]: So what's the plan and what are you going to do?

[Knight]: And why are our kids going back to school tomorrow if you don't have a plan and you don't know what you're gonna do?

[Knight]: Quite frankly, I think the school should have been shut down until after Christmas vacation.

[Knight]: Blanket, sorry, high school's closed until after Christmas vacation.

[Knight]: In the interest of safety, in the interest of us showing this community that we're serious about the issues that are before us.

[Knight]: Because a year has gone by and we haven't showed that.

[Knight]: So, you know,

[Knight]: Certainly someone that recognizes that there's a need for resources, but I also think that there is room for reallocation of existing funds, existing policies, and existing practices that will improve the safety in our schools.

[Knight]: Reversing some of the policy decisions that were made over the last year is a good start.

[Knight]: But again, there's no such thing as a utopian society and there's never going to be enough.

[Knight]: How much is enough?

[Knight]: There's never going to be enough.

[Knight]: There's never, we're never going to reach a point where we say, Oh, we're cool.

[Knight]: This is good.

[Knight]: This is enough money for us to do whatever we need to do.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: That doesn't happen.

[Knight]: That doesn't happen.

[Knight]: Nobody says, I want to make less money next year than I made this year.

[Knight]: That's just not the way it works.

[Knight]: So, you know, we can keep throwing money at issues or we can say, where are you allocating this money?

[Knight]: And is this a good plan?

[Knight]: Because throwing money at issues doesn't do anything.

[Knight]: It's not going to fix the problem if we're not spending it in the right place.

[Knight]: And it's clear that the money we've already provided isn't being spent in the right place.

[Knight]: So maybe it comes down to a reallocation plan.

[Knight]: And then what can we do to supplement that reallocation plan, but let them live with the existing means that they have?

[Knight]: Because quite frankly, it seems like every time something comes up, they just, anything in this community, quite frankly, anytime anything comes up, it's, we don't have any money.

[Knight]: We don't have any money to do it.

[Knight]: We don't have any money to do it.

[Knight]: All right, well, if you don't have any money to do it and it needs to get done, then what's the next thing you got to do?

[Knight]: You got to reallocate.

[Knight]: You got to change your game plan up a little bit there, folks.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: It's like Belichick at halftime, you know, change the game plan, win the game.

[Knight]: We're not changing the game plan at halftime.

[Knight]: We're not taking a real strong self-assessment as to where we stand and then making adjustments to improve our position.

[Knight]: My understanding that the student was relatively new student in the school transfer student.

[Knight]: That's my understanding.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: And do you feel as though this might be related to a bullying incident or something like that, an underlying bullying incident?

[Knight]: What was the basis of the argument, the series of events or event that gave cause to arise to such an action?

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Could the student that stabbed the other student actually be let back into school?

[Knight]: Not according to the law.

[Knight]: Is it the intention of the school administration to expel that student?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: I'm asking if the kid's getting expelled.

[Knight]: So they weren't there in a security capacity?

[Knight]: And I mean, I understand that, you know, violence happens in schools.

[Knight]: Most high schools aren't on the news every day.

[Knight]: as this as is on the news every day surrounding communities on the news every day.

[Knight]: All right, and don't make this about the Medford City Council gets passionate about issues.

[Knight]: So it's our fault that kids get stabbed in high school because that's nonsense.

[Knight]: All right, because we don't make the policies up there.

[Knight]: All right, the school committee does they're the ones that set the policies.

[Knight]: Why is it 12 kids hanging on the bathroom?

[Knight]: I'm not trying to hold you accountable for the words you just said.

[Knight]: I have the floor.

[Knight]: You don't have a point of information because you're not a Councilor.

[Knight]: I'm finished, Madam President, because this is like ridiculous.

[Knight]: This is ridiculous.

[Knight]: So what's the plan going forward tomorrow when these kids go back to school, how are they going to be safer than they were yesterday?

[Knight]: Let's answer that question.

[Knight]: because that's really what the people care about.

[Knight]: And I don't know.

[Knight]: And to all those people listening, when you go to the school committee, remember that.

[Knight]: but I just have a question.

[Knight]: How many of those administrators and other individuals that were deployed in the hallways that trained in safety training, trained in how to keep somebody safe?

[Knight]: Everybody's interrupting each other, so maybe you should stop that.

[Knight]: I'm a little bit less concerned about the counseling of the traumatized bodies and I'm a little bit more concerned about how we're going to keep bodies safe

[Knight]: on that, right?

[Knight]: These events are happening over and over again.

[Knight]: Two major events in the last 60 days.

[Knight]: nothing more than what she's spending her Apple money on.

[Knight]: We don't have any say whatsoever.

[Knight]: So I don't understand why we need to entertain these presentations.

[Knight]: I mean, all it is is a dog and pony show.

[Knight]: I really think it's nothing more than campaigning.

[Knight]: It's really campaigning.

[Knight]: It has nothing to do with what's going on in the city.

[Knight]: There's nothing to do with what's going on with his body.

[Knight]: It's campaigning.

[Knight]: So I don't think that that should be allowed.

[Knight]: I think that if the mayor is going to offer a paper that the paper should be related to issues that require council action by law.

[Knight]: We don't want to do anything without doing anything because we want you guys to make sure that if we do it, you're not going to say anything bad if we make a mistake, right?

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately they want verification and validation of the decisions that they make it, but we don't have to take a vote on it.

[Knight]: I mean, come on, be a leader, make decisions.

[Knight]: Present.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: No, I'd like to know why we still haven't received one copy of one Warren article since January of 2020, 2021 now, 2021.

[Knight]: We have not received one copy of one Warren article.

[Knight]: You sat here before this body and put a budget presentation on and we made it pretty darn clear

[Knight]: that we want this document.

[Knight]: This council has passed countless resolutions saying we want this document, yet your office has failed to provide it time and time again.

[Knight]: Now, Bob, I know you're new to the city and, you know, at some point you got to say, I'm not blaming you, but now I am blaming you because you sat here before us in June when we asked for this document, we still haven't received it.

[Knight]: The council has taken numerous votes.

[Knight]: The mayor's office has said, refer it to the finance director in a response to this body.

[Knight]: but we still haven't received it.

[Knight]: Why?

[Knight]: I mean, is this a for real story right now?

[Knight]: I mean, literally.

[Knight]: After a year and a half of waiting for this document.

[Knight]: I'm sorry.

[Knight]: We've been asking for this document for a year and a half and he goes, what are you asking for now?

[Knight]: I mean, is this-

[Knight]: No, this isn't even about frustration.

[Knight]: It's about a waste of my goddamn time.

[Knight]: All right, that's what this is.

[Knight]: All right, it's a waste.

[Knight]: It's a waste of all of our time to come up here and be pranced around like dog and pony.

[Knight]: To be pranced around like dog and pony.

[Knight]: They're not passed by this body.

[Knight]: We've never voted on a Warren article in the last decade.

[Knight]: I want to know how much money KP Law has received in the past year, for example.

[Knight]: So I can take a look at the Warren articles and I can say, oh, geez, we have a budget in the law department that says they're going to spend $200,000.

[Knight]: But I'm looking here, in the last six months, we've spent $1.7 million at KP Law.

[Knight]: Why?

[Knight]: And I can get ahead of some of these issues so that come the budget in probably, well, we'll get it, what, maybe June 30th.

[Knight]: When we get to June 30th for, you know,

[Knight]: July 1st vote, I might be able to have a little bit of understanding as to why we're in the situation we're in.

[Knight]: 2020. We're going to start there. You know what I mean?

[Knight]: We've been asking for it.

[Knight]: We've been asking for it for four years, but you know, in three years.

[Knight]: And I'm sorry to take my frustration out on you, but there's a mayor in this, there's a mayor in this building, right?

[Knight]: And we send these papers to her and they just sit there and they don't move.

[Knight]: They just sit on the desk.

[Knight]: All right, so I show up here and I try to do my job as hard as I can.

[Knight]: I try, I really do, but I can't do it if I don't have the tools.

[Knight]: I can't build a house with a saw.

[Knight]: Has the mayor's office ever called you and said, this is what they're looking for?

[Knight]: Has the chief of staff ever called you and said, this is what they're looking for?

[Knight]: Has the law department ever called you and said, the city council has asked us to draft an ordinance

[Knight]: This is what they're looking for.

[Knight]: So the law department hasn't called you, the chief of staff hasn't called you, and the mayor's office hasn't called you.

[Knight]: But this council's taking at least a dozen affirmative votes to get this information.

[Knight]: But then tonight, we have a paper before us to create another new job and give somebody else another raise.

[Knight]: I mean, come on.

[Knight]: I feel bad that they sent you out here to fall on your sword to be a sacrificial lamb.

[Knight]: out of this account.

[Knight]: It might also be helpful to go talk to the city clerk and say, hey, can I see a copy of the council tracking sheet?

[Knight]: It says finance director, because there's probably literally 40 requests that we're looking for out of your office over the course of the last year.

[Knight]: I'm just curious if a rank and file employee say in the Medford DPW for a year and a half failed to provide you with information that you requested, what would happen to them?

[Knight]: I'm not sure I understand what you're saying.

[Knight]: even when it's clear.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: First of all, I'd like to thank Councilor Scarpelli and Councilor Caraviello for being outspoken in their efforts to raise awareness as to what's going on in our schools.

[Knight]: Neither one of these gentlemen were required to appear for the school committee meeting last night.

[Knight]: They did so as concerned parents, grandparents, and public servants here in the city.

[Knight]: And when I listen to what they say, and I listen to what people on the street say, and when I listen to what my kids say, and I listen to what my wife has to say about these public schools as an educator at 25 years in a neighboring school district, it doesn't make me feel good.

[Knight]: It doesn't make me feel good at all.

[Knight]: I feel as though we're failing our students.

[Knight]: We're feeling the most vulnerable members of our population, our children.

[Knight]: Councilor Scarpelli made a good point.

[Knight]: He said, it's the one-year anniversary.

[Knight]: I said, one-year anniversary?

[Knight]: Are you talking one-year anniversary or what?

[Knight]: One-year anniversary.

[Knight]: It's December.

[Knight]: Christmas hasn't happened yet.

[Knight]: I go, one-year anniversary or what?

[Knight]: He goes, no, you don't remember the two walkouts that happened last year?

[Knight]: The two walkouts at Medford High School that happened last year?

[Knight]: because of escalating violence in our public schools, when hundreds of children, hundreds of our students, our kids, our neighbors' children, our families got up out of their seats and they walked out of the school because they said, we can't take it anymore.

[Knight]: We've had enough.

[Knight]: Here we are exactly one year later.

[Knight]: I don't think we're in a better place.

[Knight]: I think we're in a worse place.

[Knight]: I think we're in a worse place.

[Knight]: We're in a place where parents are shut out, don't have the opportunity to speak.

[Knight]: We're in a place where our kids are afraid to go to school.

[Knight]: And I think we all know what happens when kids become afraid to go to school.

[Knight]: We've all seen the documentaries on how gangs are formed.

[Knight]: We've all heard the stories about kids that get bullied in school and then decide to bring weapons because they've had enough and shoot up schools.

[Knight]: We've all seen this, it's happened in neighboring states.

[Knight]: Why do we feel as though we're impervious to the same situation or the same circumstances?

[Knight]: Because we're not, we're not.

[Knight]: So we're in a place where kids are afraid to go to school.

[Knight]: And we're also in a place where we see embarrassing news story after embarrassing news story after embarrassing news story in the headlines with the word mentioned.

[Knight]: And that's a shame because the city is better than that.

[Knight]: The city is better than that.

[Knight]: And our kids deserve better than what they're getting.

[Knight]: There's no accountability that shows it shows in this culture that's permeating our school system is transcending into the classroom.

[Knight]: And we can all sit here and we can say, this isn't right.

[Knight]: And this isn't wrong.

[Knight]: but the data doesn't lie.

[Knight]: The numbers don't lie.

[Knight]: So let's talk about the numbers a little bit.

[Knight]: Let's talk about the numbers.

[Knight]: 42% proficiency in math, 50% proficiency in reading, 240th in the state college readiness index, 181st in graduation rate, and 184th overall.

[Knight]: Our kids deserve better.

[Knight]: Our kids deserve better than what they're getting.

[Knight]: They don't deserve to go to school afraid.

[Knight]: They deserve to go to school with leaders that are willing to step up and accept the challenge.

[Knight]: Now, when this incident first happened, I got an email and the email spoke volumes in terms of the culture that's going on with this administration.

[Knight]: And I have to take a look at it and just mention it because I think it really speaks volumes.

[Knight]: If I can find it and remember how to work this thing.

[Knight]: This is a confidential and urgent update relative to the circumstances at Medford High School from Dr. Marice Edouard-Vincent.

[Knight]: MHS is currently in a stay-in-place due to a medical emergency.

[Knight]: A student was stabbed in the restroom and transported to MGH.

[Knight]: Four students have been identified.

[Knight]: The police are here working with us.

[Knight]: We're working on an official communication.

[Knight]: What's that mean?

[Knight]: We're working on an official communication.

[Knight]: You shouldn't have to work on facts.

[Knight]: You shouldn't have to work on truth.

[Knight]: You shouldn't have to work on anything other than telling the people what happened and what you're going to do to prevent it from happening again.

[Knight]: Here we are 60 days ago, two short months ago.

[Knight]: Two short months ago, a girl was assaulted.

[Knight]: terribly assaulted, captured on video, broadcast all across the local news stations.

[Knight]: This poor girl has to go to school every day, shaking in her boots.

[Knight]: If it weren't for the strength of her parents, if it weren't for the strength of her parents coming up here week after week, day after day, fighting to raise awareness about these issues, it would have gone away.

[Knight]: And then 60 days later, we would have been talking about this gentleman that got assaulted and stabbed, and then it would have gone away.

[Knight]: And then 60 days later, something else would happen and we'd bring it up again and we'd start talking about it.

[Knight]: Let's get serious about it.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: It's been a year.

[Knight]: It's been a year since the students in that school told us they've had enough.

[Knight]: It's been a year since they all got up out of their desks and had the courage to walk out.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: They had more courage than the adults in the building.

[Knight]: And now they have to have more courage than the adults in the building to go to school.

[Knight]: because they're scared for their safety.

[Knight]: This is sickening.

[Knight]: This is sickening.

[Knight]: And nothing anybody can say when they come up to this podium, all right, is gonna change the way I feel about it.

[Knight]: The way it's been handled is horrible.

[Knight]: Horrible.

[Knight]: These aren't isolated incidents.

[Knight]: A year ago, one year ago, the whole school said we've had enough and they walked out.

[Knight]: This is not an isolated incident.

[Knight]: And the longer we keep approaching this situation as an isolated incident,

[Knight]: The more isolated incidents are going to occur.

[Knight]: And then when the budget comes around, we're going to hear the school department cry poor mouth.

[Knight]: Well, everybody wants to go to Minuteman and everybody wants to go to the charter school.

[Knight]: Well, yeah, no kidding.

[Knight]: Why wouldn't they?

[Knight]: You're going to sign your kid up for karate when they're five years old just to go to Medford High.

[Knight]: You can pay one way or you can pay the other.

[Knight]: You can pay with peace of mind and financially send them to a school

[Knight]: where you feel as though they're going to be safe and you're going to receive what you deserve.

[Knight]: Or you can take the risks and send them to Medford High.

[Knight]: And that's what parents are going to say to themselves.

[Knight]: They're going to say, is it worth it to me to spend this money to not have to put up with stuff like this?

[Knight]: And parents are going to say yes, because I'm a parent that's thinking about it.

[Knight]: I'm losing faith in the Medford public school system.

[Knight]: And I hate to say it.

[Knight]: I hate to say it.

[Knight]: Because I went to the Hervey School.

[Knight]: I went to the Brooks School.

[Knight]: I went to the Hopps School.

[Knight]: I went to Medford High School.

[Knight]: I played sports for Bud Kelly.

[Knight]: I learned about what it's like to have blue and white in my veins.

[Knight]: I learned about what it's like to be responsible, to want to be someone that gives back to his community.

[Knight]: And that's why I chose to seek public office.

[Knight]: And when I sit here and I watch some of my colleagues in government hide under their desk, it infuriates me.

[Knight]: It's okay to say no sometimes, you know, and it's okay to say yes, but what you have to do is say something.

[Knight]: You can't stand for anything if you don't know where you stand and what you stand for.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: Madam President, if I may.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: You know, there's no such thing as a utopian society.

[Knight]: And I don't think in this instance that throwing money at an issue and quite frankly,

[Knight]: given the decision makers who aren't allocating funds properly in the first place, more money to spend.

[Knight]: I don't think this is going to do anything for those children that need to go to school tomorrow.

[Knight]: It might help in the long run, but it's not going to do anything for those children that need to go to school tomorrow.

[Knight]: What this is about is reallocation.

[Knight]: As of right now,

[Knight]: The committee needs to live within its means because there is no funding request from the mayor before us.

[Knight]: So we can jump up and down and say, we want more money, we want more money.

[Knight]: We do that every week about every issue.

[Knight]: But ultimately right now, the administration hasn't put the paper before this body, which tells me the administration isn't taking it seriously, which would again, move me to the position to say, you have to live within your means and reallocate your funds then to address this issue.

[Knight]: So what's the plan and what are you going to do?

[Knight]: And why are our kids going back to school tomorrow if you don't have a plan and you don't know what you're gonna do?

[Knight]: Quite frankly, I think the school should have been shut down until after Christmas vacation.

[Knight]: Blanket, sorry, high school's closed until after Christmas vacation.

[Knight]: In the interest of safety, in the interest of us showing this community that we're serious about the issues that are before us.

[Knight]: Because a year has gone by and we haven't showed that.

[Knight]: So, you know, I'm certainly someone that recognizes that there's a need for resources, but I also think that there is room for reallocation of existing funds, existing policies, and existing practices that will improve the safety in our schools.

[Knight]: Reversing some of the policy decisions that were made over the last year is a good start.

[Knight]: But again, there's no such thing as a utopian society and there's never going to be enough.

[Knight]: How much is enough?

[Knight]: There's never going to be enough.

[Knight]: There's never, we're never going to reach a point where you say, Oh, we're cool.

[Knight]: This is good.

[Knight]: This is enough money for us to do whatever we need to do.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: That doesn't happen.

[Knight]: That doesn't happen.

[Knight]: Nobody says, I want to make less money next year than I made this year.

[Knight]: That's just not the way it works.

[Knight]: So, you know, we can keep throwing money at issues or we can say, where are you allocating this money?

[Knight]: And is this a good plan?

[Knight]: Because throwing money at issues doesn't do anything.

[Knight]: It's not going to fix the problem if we're not spending it in the right place.

[Knight]: And it's clear that the money we've already provided isn't being spent in the right place.

[Knight]: So maybe it comes down to a reallocation plan.

[Knight]: And then what can we do to supplement that reallocation plan, but let them live with the existing means that they have?

[Knight]: Because quite frankly, it seems like every time something comes up to just anything in this community, quite frankly, anytime anything comes up, it's we don't have any money.

[Knight]: We don't have any money to do it.

[Knight]: We don't have any money to do it.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: Well, if you don't have any money to do it, it needs to get done.

[Knight]: Then what's the next thing you got to do?

[Knight]: You got to reallocate.

[Knight]: You're going to change your game plan up a little bit there, folks.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: Bella check at halftime, you know, change the game plan, win the game.

[Knight]: We're not changing the game plan at halftime.

[Knight]: We're not taking a real strong self-assessment as to where we stand and then making adjustments to improve our position.

[Knight]: My understanding that the student was relatively new student in the school transfer student.

[Knight]: That's my understanding.

[Knight]: And do you feel as though this might be related to a bullying incident or something like that, an underlying bullying incident?

[Knight]: What was the basis of the argument, the series of events or event that gave cause to arise to such an action?

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Could the student that stabbed the other student actually be let back into school?

[Knight]: Not according to the law.

[Knight]: Is it the intention of the school administration to expel that student?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: I'm asking if the kid's getting expelled.

[Knight]: Was there a drug overdose?

[Knight]: Is that what the drug overdose?

[Knight]: And you did say that the police and the fire department were there today?

[Knight]: What kind of support?

[Knight]: So they weren't there in a security capacity?

[Knight]: And I mean, I understand that, you know, violence happens in schools.

[Knight]: Most high schools on the news every day, though, ours is. Ours is on the news every day, surrounding communities on the news every day.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: And don't make this about the Medford City Council gets passionate about issues.

[Knight]: So it's our fault that kids get stabbed in high school, because that's nonsense.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: Because we don't make the policies up there.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: The school committee does.

[Knight]: They're the ones that set the policies.

[Knight]: They're the ones that are responsible.

[Knight]: Why are the 12 kids hanging out in the bathroom?

[Knight]: I'm not trying to hold you accountable for the words you just said.

[Knight]: And I have the floor.

[Knight]: You don't have a point of information because you're not a Councilor.

[Knight]: I'm finished, Madam President, because this is like ridiculous.

[Knight]: This is ridiculous.

[Knight]: So what's the plan going forward tomorrow when these kids go back to school?

[Knight]: How are they going to be safer than they were yesterday?

[Knight]: Let's answer that question, because that's really what the people care about.

[Knight]: And to all those people listening, when you go to the school committee, remember that.

[Knight]: But I just have a question.

[Knight]: How many of those administrators and other individuals that were deployed in the hallways that trained in safety training, trained in how to keep somebody safe?

[Knight]: I don't know.

[Knight]: You keep piping in too, because I'm trying to figure that out.

[Knight]: Everybody's interrupting each other, so maybe you should stop that.

[Knight]: I'm a little bit less concerned about the counseling of the traumatized bodies.

[Knight]: And I'm a little bit more concerned about how we're going to keep bodies safe from getting stabbed and beat up and fought and stuff like that.

[Knight]: So obviously we've got a systemic problem there, right?

[Knight]: These events are happening over and over again.

[Knight]: We've had two major events in the last 60 days.

[Knight]: It's not isolated.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Nothing more than what she's spending her apple money on.

[Knight]: We don't have any say whatsoever.

[Knight]: So I don't understand why we need to entertain these presentations.

[Knight]: I mean, all it is is a dog and pony show.

[Knight]: I really think it's nothing more than campaigning.

[Knight]: It's really campaigning.

[Knight]: It has nothing to do with what's going on in the city.

[Knight]: There's nothing to do with what's going on with his body.

[Knight]: It's campaigning.

[Knight]: So I don't think that that should be allowed.

[Knight]: I think that if the mayor is going to offer a paper that the paper should be related to issues that require council action by law.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: So, so Madam President, what that really is, is that's a,

[Knight]: We don't want to do anything without doing anything because we want you guys to make sure that if we do it, you're not going to say anything bad if we make a mistake, right?

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately they want verification and validation of the decisions that they make it, but we don't have to take a vote on it.

[Knight]: I mean, come on, be a leader, make decisions.

[Knight]: I motion to adopt the lowest residential tax amendment present.

[Knight]: Just for clarity, seek to amend it to adopt a minimum residential factor of 91.43.

[Knight]: The motion is not to adopt a residential exemption.

[Knight]: nine times that I've taken this vote.

[Knight]: Ultimately, when we adopt a residential tax exemption, all we're doing is we're still taxing the same amount of money.

[Knight]: All we're doing is shifting who are asking to give us that money.

[Knight]: And based upon the analysis of our city assessor, the city assessor has shown that the break-even point would make more people actually pay more in taxes than those that would receive a break.

[Knight]: So it didn't make sense mathematically for us to do this.

[Knight]: there'd be more people in the community that were seeing their tax bills actually increase, not decrease, based upon the assessment that was performed by our assessor.

[Knight]: Just one thing I'd like to point out, Madam President.

[Knight]: In looking at the presentation that Ms.

[Knight]: Bordeaux put on back in August of this year, she did note that at a 20% owner-occupied exemption, the break-even point would be any home valued at $707,000 would be the break-even.

[Knight]: And the only value over that would be receiving an incremental tax increase.

[Knight]: It looks like for every 90,000 dollars, it goes up about 200 bucks.

[Knight]: Then the next 90,000, it goes up about 400 bucks.

[Knight]: The next 90,000, it goes up about 800 bucks.

[Knight]: The next 90,000, it goes up about 1600 bucks.

[Knight]: The next 90,000.

[Knight]: It goes up up there to 200 bucks.

[Knight]: So if you look at a property let's say like 23 pushing street down here in the city of Medfield which is assessed at $803,000 right now that home actually wouldn't even meet the requirements for the break even point that home would actually pay more in taxes than we pay without the exemption.

[Knight]: It's just going to move to not adopt a small commercial exemption.

[Knight]: Motion to not adopt.

[Knight]: I'm tired of hearing from Eversource.

[Knight]: I want this done.

[Knight]: I just want it to be over.

[Knight]: Literally, Eversource came in this community my first term in office.

[Knight]: This is my fifth term.

[Knight]: It's nine years.

[Knight]: It just needs to be over.

[Knight]: It just needs to be over.

[Knight]: These people need relief in this neighborhood.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: So just to recap, currently,

[Knight]: The project that the work is not complete by the contractor right the city has not accepted the roadway correct.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: The applicant ever source is required to have.

[Knight]: a field engineer, a city field engineer.

[Knight]: Can we get that information published on the Eversource pipeline website that we have here at the city, the page?

[Knight]: I know, but can we get that information on there?

[Knight]: So instead of people calling us, we can say, call the field engineer.

[Knight]: He'll tell you exactly what's going on tomorrow.

[Knight]: You don't want those calls either and you don't need it.

[Knight]: Everyone, you're working on other stuff.

[Knight]: We got a field engineer they're paying for.

[Knight]: Why are you going to take the calls?

[Knight]: That's what he's here for.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: Lastly, when is it exactly with the drop dead project completion date?

[Knight]: I'm sorry.

[Knight]: I mean, I'm going through my files here.

[Knight]: I have April 30th, 2015, 19th, 2015, October 20th, 2015.

[Knight]: It's 2023.

[Knight]: It will be relatively soon, relatively soon it will be, you know, so this is something that needs to come to an end.

[Knight]: And it needs to be done before school opens again because every year.

[Knight]: all summer long, it's nice and quiet.

[Knight]: And then come the second, the third week in August, we decided we want to rip up every street in the city.

[Knight]: I mean, this year we did it at the Brooke school, right?

[Knight]: Literally the first day of school, let's start a construction project around four streets that surround the school.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: We need to plan better.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: So we, we, we can't put this neighborhood through any more undue strain and stress.

[Knight]: Now I know there's a ton of benefits that come with this through the MOU.

[Knight]: Um, I've exercised as much patience as I possibly can on this.

[Knight]: Um, and I appreciate, um, all that you're going to try to do to get out of our city so that you can move on to the next eight miles of, uh, pipeline that you have to do somewhere else.

[Knight]: I'm sure.

[Knight]: Um, but with that being said, um, I'd like to see that, um, contact information published on the city website.

[Knight]: And, um, I'd like to get a commitment from Eversource.

[Knight]: This is going to be done before the opening of school.

[Knight]: If I'd like to see a commitment that this is going to be completed before school reopens in September.

[Knight]: And if we can't get that commitment that I'd like to see monthly written updates, relative to the progress of the construction.

[Knight]: I'm here in my hand I have a card from a gentleman from Watkins strategies his name was Sean so tell him he was the senior public affairs specialist for Watkins strategy.

[Knight]: Back when this job, he probably retired by now, it's been so long, but back when this job started, Sean would send us weekly updates and monthly updates saying, this is what to expect, this is what's going on.

[Knight]: We also got updates like that with the Craddock Bridge project.

[Knight]: And they'd say, the project is 73% complete.

[Knight]: We've done this, this, and this, this week, next week we're doing this, this, and this.

[Knight]: So then we don't have to call, we don't have to do this, right?

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: I think there's something else that we have to consider here.

[Knight]: There are many pros and cons that come with living in a neighborhood that has a pocket

[Knight]: or living in a home that abuts a park.

[Knight]: One of the largest cons is that a small, minor change at that particular location can have major quality of life issues for the people who live in those homes.

[Knight]: Look at, for example, place that park on a Saturday morning in the summer.

[Knight]: Try finding a parking spot.

[Knight]: Good luck, good luck.

[Knight]: Driveways blocked every hour on the hour, can't get out of your driveway ever.

[Knight]: So when you think about the mechanism that this administration loves to use to gather data, it usually consists of sitting behind a computer in an ivory tower, right?

[Knight]: If you're gonna make a change, get out of city hall, get into the neighborhoods and talk to some people.

[Knight]: All right, enough's enough.

[Knight]: Because ultimately, if I get a survey about off-leash hours about a dog in the park, you know what I'm gonna do?

[Knight]: I don't care about dogs.

[Knight]: I'm gonna take it and I'm gonna throw it in the trash and I'm not gonna respond, because I don't care about dogs.

[Knight]: The only people that are gonna respond are the people that do.

[Knight]: So you're gonna get a skewed data set right from the start.

[Knight]: Right from the start.

[Knight]: Here's a voluntary survey that we're posting on social media.

[Knight]: Okay, so you have to have social media.

[Knight]: You have to follow the city administration.

[Knight]: for you to even have access to participate in this data collection tool.

[Knight]: Well, that's not going to give us fair representation of the actual thoughts of the people in this community.

[Knight]: The data set's flawed right from the start.

[Knight]: All this is, is a way to say, I have some support to do something that I want to do because someone asked me to do it.

[Knight]: All right, it's not a good way to create public policy.

[Knight]: Get out of the office, go talk to some people.

[Knight]: Have a community meeting, have a neighborhood meeting.

[Knight]: What park are you gonna do it at?

[Knight]: If you're gonna do it at this park, I'm sure you must have a neighborhood meeting.

[Knight]: I'm sure you must have called all the abutters.

[Knight]: I mean, I remember when I sat here and the mayor sat there and we had to change all the notifications on any time anybody filed for a variance, just filed for a variance for 500 feet from the location in a circumference.

[Knight]: But the mayor is going to change what goes on in these parks, which she, by the way, has zero authority to do, pursue it to two city ordinances and the parks and private policy.

[Knight]: But that goes down a whole other path because, you know, if you don't know how government works, how are we going to get things done?

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I appreciate Councilor Scarpelli for bringing this issue up, but ultimately these surveys don't work.

[Knight]: They're not representative of our community.

[Knight]: And I've just outlined the reasons why.

[Knight]: So how about we stop with the surveys and stop with, you know, these half-assed approaches that operate in the government.

[Knight]: I mean, cause that's really what it is.

[Knight]: That's really what it is.

[Knight]: And pardon my French, but you know, I rest my case.

[Knight]: It's upon the data that you just mentioned to us.

[Knight]: It sounds like 66% of the respondents, the dog owners, which is, and you said none would respond, sir.

[Knight]: And on that note, Councilor Tseng, I mean, you have me about one inch away from filing an amendment for this paper to bring back Frosty.

[Knight]: So thanks for bringing that up.

[Knight]: Madam President, one of the benefits of working remotely is that I have the opportunity to see the Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit commercial 600 times a day.

[Knight]: And that would lead me to believe, if I'm seeing it that much, many of our veterans who are elderly in nature are seeing it as well.

[Knight]: And as we are all aware, whenever something like this comes up,

[Knight]: The scam calls usually come along with them.

[Knight]: So I was hoping that a veteran service director could set up a hotline for individuals to access that may be looking for information relative to the Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit, in an interest to protect them from scamming, phishing, spamming, phishing, and the like.

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately,

[Knight]: It's something we see out there every day.

[Knight]: You know, the social attacks are more and more common.

[Knight]: And I think it's important for us to take the steps necessary to provide our residents with the protections and safeguards that we can't, especially when something like this is being brought up.

[Knight]: Ultimately, it's a lawsuit that addresses

[Knight]: Parkinson's disease, cancer, and various other diseases that come along with the exposure to various contaminants, which would also lead one to believe that some of these individuals may not be in the best of health, which would make them even more vulnerable.

[Knight]: So I'd ask that this correspondence be forwarded to the veteran service director with the support of my colleagues.

[Knight]: I'd just like to amend the paper matter present to ask that that be published on the Vetted Services website.

[Knight]: Madam President, ultimately, our parking department is destined to fail if we keep operating the way we are currently operating.

[Knight]: We need to do something a little bit different.

[Knight]: Outreach, we're all outraged about the outreach from Eversource, but our parking department goes and throws up meters all over the place without talking to anybody in the neighborhood.

[Knight]: It doesn't make sense to me, right?

[Knight]: What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

[Knight]: We should be holding our own employees to the same standards that we're holding those private contracts that are coming into the city to do business as well.

[Knight]: I just had the opportunity to have a correspondence with the foreman.

[Knight]: of the parking department and I asked him to meet with an individual who's working right across the street.

[Knight]: As a matter of fact, at 99 Riverside Ave, they're doing some construction work to the affordable housing units there.

[Knight]: And I asked the foreman to meet with the superintendent of the construction job for the simple purpose of understanding what the parking rules and regulations are in the region and where he could park his trucks.

[Knight]: I sent that email to the foreman.

[Knight]: The foreman never responded.

[Knight]: I got an email from the director, CC'd with the mayor, with Nina, with the DPW director and the city engineer.

[Knight]: All right, this department's never gonna work.

[Knight]: It's never gonna work if the foreman can't pick up the phone and talk to somebody on the street.

[Knight]: All right, that's what those offices are for, the foot patrol offices, right?

[Knight]: They're down there, the parking enforcement offices.

[Knight]: They're supposed to communicate with the individuals that are in this community.

[Knight]: So ultimately, I think that there is a very significant lack of communication coming out of that office.

[Knight]: There's a significant lack of understanding among many of the residents in the neighborhood, what's expected of them.

[Knight]: And there's a haphazard application of the enforcement policy that keeps people a little bit concerned about the way things are going.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I support the resolution wholeheartedly and thank my colleagues for joining me in supporting it.

[Knight]: Ultimately, what I'm asking for is information relative to violence.

[Knight]: high school.

[Knight]: There have been a number of reports, a number of concerns.

[Knight]: I've been contacted by a number of parents relative to this very issue.

[Knight]: And I'd like to get a look at what data we're collecting up there to see if there are any trends or any type of

[Knight]: circumstances going on that we need to know about.

[Knight]: Ultimately, just like most other things in this community, we're left in the dark until brave parents and brave voices come up and fill us in on what's going on.

[Knight]: And I think that it's time that we take a look at this long and hard.

[Knight]: So I've asked for the last two years.

[Knight]: I understand that this data is going to be very interesting because the last two years have been very interesting relative to the population and the public schools.

[Knight]: But I'd like to see what we have there and

[Knight]: I ask my council colleagues to support this measure.

[Knight]: Second.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: It's been a longstanding practice that an employee

[Knight]: for the city of Medford who's injured in the line of work and receiving workers' compensation benefits would be entitled to utilize sick vacation time or other earned leave time to make themselves whole.

[Knight]: An employee injured in the line of work would be compensated by the city, the self-insurer, at a rate of 60% of their pay.

[Knight]: So if an employee gets hurt at work and they're receiving comp benefits at 60% of their pay, they're not receiving 40% of their pay.

[Knight]: And most times that 40% goes to pay for small things that aren't important to families, like health insurance and stuff like that.

[Knight]: But recently the city administration implemented a policy after some, I believe, 70 years on the books of allowing workers in this community to utilize their sick leave when on workers' compensation.

[Knight]: The city administration said, no, you can't anymore.

[Knight]: And I'm not sure why they would make such

[Knight]: policy of why they would take such steps to hurt families and put families in a bad financial situation on top of what's going on already with the injury that a worker suffers.

[Knight]: So when looking at this, I've also seen that this allowance of the utilization of sick time for injured workers, collecting workers' compensation benefits is not applied even handedly.

[Knight]: It's applied haphazardly.

[Knight]: If this person, maybe you get it.

[Knight]: If you're that person, maybe you don't.

[Knight]: Yeah, we're not doing that anymore.

[Knight]: No, tomorrow we are, today we're not.

[Knight]: So quite frankly, if there were three people in the same department that got hurt, they might all get three different answers.

[Knight]: And I don't think that that really works in the interest of humanitarianism, equality.

[Knight]: or within the purpose of the Workers' Compensation Statute, or within the purpose of the utilization of John Sickly.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'm asking for an ordinance to be drafted.

[Knight]: This is something that's happening, it's real, it's happening right now to workers here in the city.

[Knight]: And it needs to be addressed in short order.

[Knight]: And if KP Law doesn't write it, I won't.

[Knight]: But it needs to be done, and it needs to be done soon, because we need to protect these people.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: Sick time is earned time.

[Knight]: It's their time.

[Knight]: They earn it.

[Knight]: It's to be utilized when they're suffering an injury or an illness.

[Knight]: And the administration is using their discretion to say, well, you're collecting workers' compensation benefits for an injury that you suffered in the line of business.

[Knight]: We're not going to let you be made whole.

[Knight]: We're not going to let you utilize your earned time so that you can pay for your health benefits, for your wife and your children.

[Knight]: It's sick, it's sick.

[Knight]: And from what I understand, whatever your union affiliation is, has a little bit of what to do with who's going to be the one that gets approved and who doesn't.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: And quite frankly, that's opening the city up.

[Knight]: That's opening the city up to a number of liabilities.

[Knight]: A number of liabilities.

[Knight]: It's workers' compensation retaliation.

[Knight]: It's discrimination against a disabled individual.

[Knight]: That's my council college to support the resolution.

[Knight]: And Councilor Scarpelli, an explanation, right?

[Knight]: So you get 60% of your wages replaced through the workers' compensation system.

[Knight]: Then they utilize their accrued sick time to make up the other 40%.

[Knight]: We all do.

[Knight]: So that they're made whole.

[Knight]: But what happens in this circumstance is because they're not allowed to utilize that other 40%, they have to take that 40% from the 60%.

[Knight]: So, because that's the only income they have, right?

[Knight]: So now you're seeing a worker who's injured in the line of duty, who's not able to utilize their sick or vacation life, who's being compensated at 60% of their pay, but has a 40% liability that they have to pay back the city to keep the health insurance going.

[Knight]: So in essence, if I got hurt on the job, I'd be getting paid 20% when I have accrued sick time in the bank that I could use to keep me whole and to keep my bills paid and to keep my family protected with health insurance.

[Knight]: And I know it's not, you know, it's complicated.

[Knight]: It's not the sexiest thing in the world, but I just happen to understand workers' comp, because that's what they do for a living.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Everybody watched the news.

[Knight]: Metro made the news again last night, huh?

[Knight]: Metro was on TV again.

[Knight]: And once again, it was not to celebrate our community success.

[Knight]: Once again, it was not to celebrate our community success.

[Knight]: Let's think about it, the school renaming, the Diane Guarino disaster, violence at our public schools, but now a vote of no confidence by our teachers against the city administration and the school committee that passed overwhelmingly at a rate greater than 90%.

[Knight]: After listening to all the drama,

[Knight]: community outrage, the fear, and the concerns.

[Knight]: One underlying theme that I keep hearing over and over again, no matter what the crisis is, is that people have no forum to voice their concerns, to voice their opinions, and to voice their criticisms of the school committee and the school administration.

[Knight]: This council has made multiple requests for this to be addressed voluntarily, and nothing has happened, nothing has changed.

[Knight]: Individuals go up to meetings that wanna speak and they're boxed out.

[Knight]: These are the same public schools that she attended.

[Knight]: and that she has to go through these lengths to publicize the situation to the extent that she has to get justice for her daughter.

[Knight]: I said it last week, and I'll say it again.

[Knight]: I think it's shameful the way that this situation is being handled.

[Knight]: And I think it's shameful the way that those other situations that I mentioned are being handled.

[Knight]: And I think it's time that we do something about it.

[Knight]: When those people come up to this podium and they talk to us and they ask us for the opportunity to voice their concerns and their criticisms, we all tell them we're gonna stand with them.

[Knight]: We all tell them we're gonna do more.

[Knight]: She told us that we all have a role in this.

[Knight]: And she's absolutely right.

[Knight]: And this paper tonight is my first attempt at hoping to make this right, to address some of the inaction that this body and that the lower house, we'll call it, that the lower house has had as well.

[Knight]: Being the city council, we have the opportunity to make ordinances.

[Knight]: We have the opportunity to make ordinances that provide directives.

[Knight]: And I think that underneath and based upon the circumstances that are surrounding us over the past several months, it's incumbent upon us to act.

[Knight]: I know it's not in a perfect form.

[Knight]: I know it's not in a final form.

[Knight]: I know it's something that's going to need to be addressed and need to be discussed.

[Knight]: But it's something that has teeth.

[Knight]: It's something that has teeth.

[Knight]: It's something that has requirements.

[Knight]: to Nicole, to Rob, to Mrs. Guarino, to those that felt they didn't have an opportunity to speak during the school renaming, to the 400 teachers that stormed City Hall yesterday that feel as though no one's listening.

[Knight]: Someone's listening.

[Knight]: Someone's listening.

[Knight]: We want to help.

[Knight]: I want to help.

[Knight]: I want to make it right.

[Knight]: I said that last week, and I'll say it again.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President, I rest my case.

[Knight]: Madam President, I must just say, if I can just interject, please.

[Knight]: If I can just interject for just a moment, please.

[Knight]: The issue isn't violence.

[Knight]: in the schools.

[Knight]: That's just one component of many of the crises that have occurred over the last two and a half, three years.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: The issue is the body's total lack of an open forum or a vehicle to it for any individual in this community to address their elected school body or the superintendent of schools.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: The point

[Knight]: I want to point to the purpose of the proposal.

[Knight]: The purpose of the proposal is to improve communication with our stakeholders and establish a vehicle to increase their participation in the development of policies and procedures governing our schools.

[Knight]: That's what the purpose of this is.

[Knight]: So when my colleague puts a B paper forward, I don't feel as though that really falls within the spirit of the paper.

[Knight]: And the reason I say that is because just a couple of minutes ago, the gentleman made an amendment to Councilor Scarpelli's paper for KP law.

[Knight]: And he asked that our finance director, Bob Dickinson, supply us with copies of the Warren articles.

[Knight]: Now these copies of the Warren articles are something that we've been asking for now for, can anybody tell me?

[Knight]: Probably the better part of three years that we still don't receive them, three years, Warren articles are where we spend our money.

[Knight]: We don't get that.

[Knight]: We've been asking for it by way of ordinance, by way of council action multiple times and we don't get it.

[Knight]: So right now we don't even know what the financial picture of this community is.

[Knight]: This council's debated papers and entertained papers concerning a moratorium on spending until such time as the administration provides us with an accurate financial picture of what's going on in this community.

[Knight]: The administration has not done that.

[Knight]: So it will be irresponsible for this body for us to say, hey, spend more money, even though we don't know if we even have any.

[Knight]: I know you guys don't want to do me a cuppa because you were silent on the call the other night.

[Knight]: And I appreciate that you get for doing that, for having the courage to come up and speak on a call like this.

[Knight]: I really do.

[Knight]: I appreciate it.

[Knight]: I really do.

[Knight]: I think you guys, it's great that you have the courage to do it now.

[Knight]: But here's the thing, all right?

[Knight]: The paper isn't about this one issue, all right?

[Knight]: The paper's about the way the body handles the public and the way the body handles the public when issues of crisis or catastrophe occur in this community.

[Knight]: All right, now, last I checked, there was no lawyer in city hall.

[Knight]: We got a lot of legal opinions flying around this room right now, but there's no lawyer in city hall last I checked.

[Knight]: We talked about that a little while ago too.

[Knight]: So maybe the paper won't pass this muster, maybe it will.

[Knight]: Why don't we send it to them and say, do something.

[Knight]: Tell us why you won't comply.

[Knight]: Why don't you wanna do this?

[Knight]: Why don't you wanna listen to the people that put you here?

[Knight]: Why don't you wanna earn your paycheck?

[Knight]: Or you can challenge it, or you can just comply.

[Knight]: If you can challenge it, you can comply.

[Knight]: Why don't you just adopt a policy that says, all we're asking for here is three hours a month, three hours a month to earn your paycheck.

[Knight]: That's not too much, I don't think, to ask.

[Knight]: I don't think that's too much to ask.

[Knight]: Send it to them.

[Knight]: Let them say, no, we're not going to do it.

[Knight]: Then they can tell us why they don't want to hear from the people.

[Knight]: Let them say to us, Oh, well, you know, yeah, whatever.

[Knight]: I don't really care that's not that important to me, I don't really want to listen to what you have to say or they could they could just clearly say, because we don't have to.

[Knight]: But then we'll know where we stand.

[Knight]: Then we'll know where was, then we'll know where we stand.

[Knight]: I read for people, not for prestige, not for any other reason.

[Knight]: Point of information.

[Knight]: With the same hold true between

[Knight]: other legislative bodies and various levels of government.

[Knight]: Move rule.

[Knight]: Who's going to give us the legal opinion?

[Knight]: The mayor's private attorney?

[Knight]: I mean, all she wants to do is prevent this from coming out.

[Knight]: As I noted in my presentation with the paper, I did say the paper needs work.

[Knight]: I did make a motion to move approval with the understanding that the paper probably doesn't have the support and it's going to die.

[Knight]: I would be willing to withdraw my motion to move approval and have the paper referred to committee of the whole.

[Knight]: For us to meet within the next 30 days to discuss some real legitimate.

[Knight]: Options and opportunities for us to pursue certainly, you know.

[Knight]: The councils have recent issues and concerns and a lot of them surround.

[Knight]: legal basis and whether or not we're able to take such action.

[Knight]: I certainly feel that we're in a position to do certain aspects of what we asked for.

[Knight]: Maybe forfeiting their pay isn't something that we can do, but maybe wiping it out of the budget the next year is something we can do.

[Knight]: So there's different things that we can put in place and different protocols we can put in place.

[Knight]: So I'd be happy to sit down and further discuss language or put together a small working group of members of council to do that.

[Knight]: in the interest of time, because ultimately, you know, Ms.

[Knight]: Branley is right.

[Knight]: What's the proposal?

[Knight]: Where are we going with this?

[Knight]: You know, if we're going to vote on it, it's going to die, and then we can't bring anything back for 90 days.

[Knight]: It's a simple matter.

[Knight]: We're better off keeping it in the committee and trying to work on something and getting it out there instead of with a paper vote that's going to fail and then be parliamentarily precluded from being brought back for 90 days.

[Knight]: Thank you, Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Although I don't know Mrs. Giordano personally, I do know her son, Paul.

[Knight]: He's a gentleman and a scholar.

[Knight]: He was a great police officer here in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: More importantly, he's a great person.

[Knight]: If he's anything of a reflection of his mother, then God willing, she must be a great person as well.

[Knight]: Thank Councilor Garavaglia for bringing this matter up.

[Knight]: He seems always to be very well in tune and plugged in with the neighborhoods in this community.

[Knight]: And this is just the perfect example of that.

[Knight]: I move approval.

[Knight]: I'm understanding you're working in a part-time capacity here in this community, right?

[Knight]: And that you've moved on, you've left Medford and you're working in another neighboring community at this point in time as well.

[Knight]: I don't want you to feel like you have, because you haven't.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: It's through no doing of your own.

[Knight]: If it weren't for you being here this evening, we probably wouldn't even have this paper before us.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: Um, so thank you for being willing.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: Be willing to continue to carry the torch.

[Knight]: All right, we've had a revolving door personnel issues that I'm going on in city hall.

[Knight]: You've seen it.

[Knight]: And ultimately, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: If you weren't good enough to come forward and to be here and to be willing to do this, you and Ted, I don't know where we'd be.

[Knight]: All right, I really don't know where we'd be.

[Knight]: So thank you for being willing to do that.

[Knight]: I, as one member of this body, am comfortable doing what we always do.

[Knight]: It hasn't hurt us in the past.

[Knight]: I'm just more comfortable taking a tax vote in person.

[Knight]: I understand what we're doing here tonight.

[Knight]: We've done it, and I've done it 10 times before, and I'd be happy to do it 10 times again.

[Knight]: So with that being said, even if we table it this evening and bring it back up next week, I, as one member of the council, wouldn't have any questions for you.

[Knight]: I think you did a good job with the presentation, and it's really pro forma at this point.

[Knight]: We do this setting of the tax rate every year,

[Knight]: And the setting of this tax rate really supports the budget that had just been passed.

[Knight]: You know, so all we're doing is really funding the measures that we've, we're setting the tax rate to fund the measures that we've approved.

[Knight]: So, you know, I think that, you know, six one half a dozen or the other, but in terms of the job you've done here and the position that you think you put us in, you haven't put us in any position at all.

[Knight]: And I wish you the best in pursuing better opportunities for yourself and your family.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Thank you for coming to the rescue once again.

[Knight]: Move the question.

[Knight]: Madam President, the only reason that I brought the motion forward was because I noticed that we had an inordinate number of people on the call.

[Knight]: And after looking at what was left on the agenda, I don't think that they were too concerned about fiber optics funding from our APA program.

[Knight]: So that's why I just wanted to make sure that in the interest of time, that these people have taken time away from their family to be here, that they had the opportunity to be heard.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: Um, first of all, um

[Knight]: I've known Nicole and Rob for quite a bit of time now, and I'm very proud to call them my friends.

[Knight]: And I'm very proud of Nicole for taking the action that she's taken and standing up and fighting for her family and not letting this get pushed under the rug.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: Um, it takes a lot for someone who's been so invested in this community for so many years to get up and to do what she's doing.

[Knight]: And I know that the last thing that she wants to be in the last thing she wants her family to be is the center of attention surrounded by such negative energy.

[Knight]: Um, so, you know, Nicole, thank you.

[Knight]: And through you to, to Rob and your daughter, um, for putting up the fight.

[Knight]: Um, because if you weren't going to talk about it, it was going to go away and you're not letting it go away and you shouldn't, um, ultimately, you know,

[Knight]: There's been a systemic failure.

[Knight]: The systems failed you and it's not right.

[Knight]: And it's not an isolated incident.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: We hear the stories every day.

[Knight]: Um, the same mayor that chases down room is putting GPS trackers on, on city employees cars is the same mayor that's trying to control the narrative on this, but this administration should be doing is reaching out to this family.

[Knight]: to see what they can do to protect the family, not reaching out to the newspapers to see how they can control a narrative.

[Knight]: I think it's shameful.

[Knight]: I think it's absolutely shameful.

[Knight]: When I sit back and I think to just a few years ago, when I mentioned it previously, we had a city councilor standing in the auditorium at Medford high school, screaming and yelling like a lunatic at the superintendent over a gun magazine that was found in a little theater after a private rental.

[Knight]: I'm still waiting for that former city councilor who's now a mayor to have this conversation with her superintendent.

[Knight]: Cause I don't think it's happened.

[Knight]: I haven't seen it.

[Knight]: There are safety issues in our schools.

[Knight]: There's no question about it.

[Knight]: This is not an isolated incident.

[Knight]: What happened to Nicole's daughter wasn't just kids being kids that got into a disagreement that ended up in a fistfight.

[Knight]: It was a criminal attack, an organized criminal attack.

[Knight]: And it's, it's, it's sickening.

[Knight]: It's sad.

[Knight]: It's sad to see that this woman can't get answers, that she can't send her daughter to school to receive an education and have the peace of mind that her child's going to be safe.

[Knight]: Imagine sending your kid off every day, a nervous wreck.

[Knight]: It's bad enough out there in the world, not having to worry about things like this.

[Knight]: And imagine sending your kid off to school every single day being a nervous wreck, wondering if today's going to be the day that you get another phone call.

[Knight]: You know, consultants, consultants, consultants, meetings, consultants.

[Knight]: We have a pretty well-paid administrative staff over in the school department.

[Knight]: We have people that are making salaries over $200,000, but we need consultants.

[Knight]: The focus should be on the student.

[Knight]: The focus should be on the victim.

[Knight]: Quite frankly, I think Mr. Greenspan should be involved in this.

[Knight]: I think immediately after this occurred, Mr. Greenspan should have reached out to the family.

[Knight]: He is the attorney for the school department.

[Knight]: I don't understand why Mr. Greenspan hasn't sat down with the family yet.

[Knight]: The superintendent should have been over at the house, visiting the family.

[Knight]: They should have been at the hospital to make sure that she was okay.

[Knight]: Those are the things that happen in the community where our leaders are vested.

[Knight]: Imagine being a parent and after this happens, you pick up the phone and you call the superintendent's office and they tell you that she's on vacation.

[Knight]: Talk to me in a week.

[Knight]: Are you kidding me?

[Knight]: Are you kidding me?

[Knight]: It's craziness.

[Knight]: It's absolute craziness.

[Knight]: Nicole, I stand with you.

[Knight]: And I stand with the other families who have gone through this very same situation.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, I have kids in the public school system too, and it hasn't been a pretty ride.

[Knight]: You know, my third grader has quite a bit of trouble at school.

[Knight]: Seventh graders in the playground at the Brooks School.

[Knight]: The seventh graders have no business at the playground in the Brooks School.

[Knight]: Why are they there?

[Knight]: You know, what steps are we taking to make sure that our schools are safe?

[Knight]: And why isn't the mayor acting

[Knight]: with the same outrage that she acted with previously when a far less severe incident happened, when nobody got hurt.

[Knight]: These are the questions that I ask myself every day.

[Knight]: These are leadership issues.

[Knight]: I'll walk through the fire with you.

[Knight]: I will.

[Knight]: I think this is terrible.

[Knight]: And I think that there are some resources out there and there are some ideas for us to pursue.

[Knight]: Like George said, you shouldn't be considering out-of-district placement.

[Knight]: You shouldn't have to be forced

[Knight]: to spend money to send your daughter to another school because you're not feeling safe.

[Knight]: But maybe the city should do it.

[Knight]: Maybe the city should send her to the charter school.

[Knight]: Maybe the city should get her in there then.

[Knight]: Maybe the city should take some affirmative steps to be sure that your tax dollars are being well spent and that your family is being protected.

[Knight]: The number one role in government is to make sure that our community is safe.

[Knight]: And we're failing it.

[Knight]: And we're failing our most vulnerable citizens, our students.

[Knight]: So for that, I'm sorry.

[Knight]: And I look at this as a reflection of the failure of government.

[Knight]: not just the administration, not just the school department of government as a whole.

[Knight]: And as Nicole said at the beginning, very astutely, we all have a partner.

[Knight]: I wanna make it right.

[Knight]: I was just wondering if the dog and pony show was over now or if we're good to go.

[Knight]: I'm afraid of the classification.

[Knight]: He didn't give him a step.

[Knight]: So he's getting like a $20 a week raise.

[Knight]: No, because he's going up from a $20 to a $21.

[Knight]: So it's probably like a $300 a week, $400 a week.

[Knight]: The difference between what was budgeted for this fiscal year and the upgrade.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: OK.

[Knight]: Can the chief of staff explain to us when exactly we are gonna receive any of this financial information that we requested in January of 2020 at the first meeting of this Medford City Council?

[Knight]: And I believe if we look at the agenda here, the 33rd, we're now at the 33rd regular meeting at the first meeting, we requested quarterly financial updates.

[Knight]: And we also requested that we receive monthly copies of the Warren articles with 33 meetings in.

[Knight]: We've never ever once received any of it.

[Knight]: But yet, week after week, we are asked to make votes on financial appropriations, on spending, on upgrades, on items that really revolve around finances in this community.

[Knight]: And I don't think it's fair to us that you're gonna keep us here in the dark and make us beg for information that we've been asking for for the better part of a year now, 33 regular meetings.

[Knight]: It's not fair to us.

[Knight]: It's not fair to us to put us in a position where you're not going to give us the information and the tools necessary to make good decisions.

[Knight]: So here we are again, treated like mushrooms, right?

[Knight]: Put them in the closet, shut the lights off, throw one on them and see what grows.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: Cause that's what it is.

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately at the end of the day, that's what's happening here.

[Knight]: You know, week in and week out, it's the same reiteration.

[Knight]: We haven't asked for much.

[Knight]: We've said the same thing.

[Knight]: Give us a lawyer.

[Knight]: We had to fight for that for nine months.

[Knight]: Still don't have one.

[Knight]: 10 months we've been asking for just simple, basic financial information so that we could make good financial decisions.

[Knight]: We still don't have that.

[Knight]: So I'm at a loss.

[Knight]: The city's falling apart.

[Knight]: The city's falling apart.

[Knight]: Our schools aren't safe.

[Knight]: We don't know what the financial picture is.

[Knight]: We have a finance director who told us right now that he can't give us an update because the reconciliations are off and the information that I give you is probably gonna be wrong.

[Knight]: But we're being asked to spend week in and week out.

[Knight]: week in and week out.

[Knight]: I'll say it again.

[Knight]: The city's falling apart.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: We don't know what our financial picture is.

[Knight]: And our schools aren't safe.

[Knight]: What more is there?

[Knight]: What more is there?

[Knight]: A strong financial background, a strong, stable, local finance department, you know, strong public education system.

[Knight]: We're failing in both aspects.

[Knight]: At least I feel as though we are, because I'm not receiving any information to the contrary.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: So point, it's first quarter for this fiscal year, all right?

[Knight]: But what about the fiscal year that just passed?

[Knight]: The one that we've been asking for for that fiscal year too, all right?

[Knight]: So you want to talk about the first quarter of this fiscal year?

[Knight]: That's all well and good, but we've been asking for this for four, four, four quarters now, three from the previous fiscal year and one from this fiscal year.

[Knight]: It appears that we're the only people in the world that can't hire 100 people that want to work $100,000 a year jobs.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: It's crazy, huh?

[Knight]: Imagine that.

[Knight]: Manhattan, Mass, the only city in the world that can't hire people into jobs that get paid $100,000 a year.

[Knight]: You know, we had a finance director.

[Knight]: We had a very capable finance director.

[Knight]: He ran out of town, right?

[Knight]: Ran out of the town to do discriminatory actions.

[Knight]: We had one.

[Knight]: We had a finance director.

[Knight]: We weren't in this situation.

[Knight]: We created this situation that we're in.

[Knight]: The administration's actions caused a reaction.

[Knight]: That's why we're in this situation.

[Knight]: It's not because of a lack of interest or the inability to hire.

[Knight]: We had somebody in the job, but we ran out of town.

[Knight]: And then for 10 months, because we ran that person out of town, this city was left with its pants down.

[Knight]: And the taxpayers in this community are the ones that are suffering.

[Knight]: So we can sit up here and we can make all the excuses in the world and talk about, well, this happens over here and this happens over there.

[Knight]: Or we can be leaders.

[Knight]: We can be leaders and we can say, hey, listen, this is the problems that are at hand.

[Knight]: Let's tackle them and let's fix them.

[Knight]: Let's not make excuses for them and they go cut ribbons every time something goes wrong.

[Knight]: that served in an acting capacity, and again, was also kept in the dock, well, hundreds of thousands of dollars were funneled to KP Law to perform the legal services, KP Law being the mayor's private legal counsel, not the city's counsel, not legal counsel that works in the interest of the taxpayer, but legal counsel that works under contract for the mayor, not for the residents of this community.

[Knight]: So when we had a city solicitor that sat in the city solicitor's office, which is now vacant, we have nobody in there except for an office administrator,

[Knight]: No lawyers, no lawyers at all in City Hall.

[Knight]: No lawyer in City Hall, none.

[Knight]: KP Law on speed dial, probably $800 to $500, $800 an hour.

[Knight]: And we're calling them on speed dial.

[Knight]: We have an office right there, vacant, with two positions that probably total close to $200,000.

[Knight]: So, well, we can look over in the city of Somerville and say, well, they're doing such great things.

[Knight]: I mean, look at Pothouse Circle, for example, that doesn't make it get vertical.

[Knight]: I don't know what does, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: But I'd like to compare ourselves again, to be leaders and to be people are the first, not followers.

[Knight]: So I really don't care what they're doing next door.

[Knight]: I care what we're doing here and I know we can do a better job here.

[Knight]: Yes, Madam President.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: I mean, through you to the family.

[Knight]: I just want to offer my sincere condolences as well.

[Knight]: Mr. Matarazzo was a friend, a friend.

[Knight]: My father's known each other for a long time through the membership.

[Knight]: Um, I had the pleasure to meet him on a number of occasions.

[Knight]: Janice and Frank have been good friends for a long time, and I'm very sad they heard that loss.

[Knight]: So I just want to join Councilor Caraviello in expressing my condolences personally.

[Knight]: Madam President, I find that in the subsequent committee reports.

[Knight]: In order, I move approval.

[Knight]: If we could just take that list and send it to the parking office as well, so that they don't put streets to permit parking I think that might be helpful for them as well.

[Knight]: I just more of a suggestion I know the chief of staffs on the call.

[Knight]: Madam President, apparently this paper that was before us tonight, November 15th, 2022,

[Knight]: with an expected hire date for the person in the position of tonight, November 15th, 2022.

[Knight]: This position must obviously not fall under this nationwide municipal hiring crisis, obviously, right?

[Knight]: I mean, geez, we talked about all these positions that couldn't be filled, but here we are, we have a paper that was given to us at our last meeting, and they expect it to be filled today.

[Knight]: This is amazing to me.

[Knight]: You know why it's amazing to me?

[Knight]: Because it's not fair and it's not equitable.

[Knight]: Because when we had a presentation last week,

[Knight]: it became very clear to me that this job was spoken for.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: This isn't a job that's being posted.

[Knight]: This isn't a job where we're going out and recruiting talent.

[Knight]: This is a job where we're creating a job on the inside to take care of somebody.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: Let's be clear.

[Knight]: I mean, let's really see what's going on here.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: Let's look at the history of personnel and employment in this community, in labor relations in this community over the last three years.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: If you're a friend of the mayor, we're going to create a job for you and give you a raise.

[Knight]: If you're not, if you're not, we're going to investigate you.

[Knight]: We're going to fire you.

[Knight]: We're going to have you taken out in handcuffs.

[Knight]: We're going to make you submit to psychological evaluations.

[Knight]: And if you're part of organized labor, forget about it.

[Knight]: Forget about it.

[Knight]: The way that you get treated if you're part of organized labor in this community is like dog meat, chopped liver.

[Knight]: All right, how dare you be part of an organization that stands up for itself and fights for equity and rights in the workplace?

[Knight]: What I look at this as, what I see this as, is it's an end around.

[Knight]: All right, they want to give somebody a raise, but they can't do it under the confines of the existing cap position.

[Knight]: Right, they want to take care of one of their own, and they want to increase somebody's wealth.

[Knight]: All right, we have how many workers that have come up before us fighting, fighting for a fair and equitable cost of living adjustment?

[Knight]: That's far less.

[Knight]: in the race that comes with these reclassification papers.

[Knight]: So week in and week out, we get select papers to give select individuals select raises that well exceed the mayor's 2.5% target, resistance point.

[Knight]: Well exceed that.

[Knight]: And it's good for those people.

[Knight]: But when it comes to the rank and file working people that carry the city on their back, it's not good enough for them.

[Knight]: So we want to talk about equity.

[Knight]: which I know is a big, big topic among some of us in this council.

[Knight]: We want to talk about fairness.

[Knight]: Let's look at that.

[Knight]: Let's look at equity and fairness.

[Knight]: Let's look at the morale in this building.

[Knight]: What message are we sending these workers?

[Knight]: We are creating positions and giving people raises, left and right.

[Knight]: We have organized labor coming up here, week in and week out, week in and week out, asking for our support, asking for our help.

[Knight]: I cannot support this paper this evening.

[Knight]: I don't like the idea of making an appropriation before we create the classification.

[Knight]: I can't support this paper this evening.

[Knight]: I don't think it's fair, I don't think it's equitable, and I don't think it falls in line with the values that this council has.

[Knight]: We talk the talk, let's walk the walk.

[Knight]: Let's stand with these working people.

[Knight]: Let's stand with organized labor, and let's say, no, enough's enough.

[Knight]: We're not playing favorites.

[Knight]: A rising tide is going to float all ships, not just the ones that go along to get along.

[Knight]: Madam President, just to clear the record, I just want to make sure that she's aware I was the counsel to section 21 that all right, I'm not afraid to say that I did it.

[Knight]: And I did it.

[Knight]: And I did it on behalf of.

[Knight]: the fiscal responsibility that I have here in this community, all right?

[Knight]: So when we sit here and we look at what's going on, and we look at the narrative, and we look at the actual realities, all right?

[Knight]: Enough with the lies, the spin, you know, the puppeting.

[Knight]: It's not getting sold anymore.

[Knight]: It's over.

[Knight]: I mean, it's over.

[Knight]: We're not buying it anymore.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: That's just the fact of the matter, all right?

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: It's just the fact of the matter.

[Knight]: We're not buying the story anymore, because the narrative never lines up with the fact patterns.

[Knight]: The narrative never lines up with the fact that.

[Knight]: You know, so we could sit here all week and we could say, well, that's not true.

[Knight]: That's not true.

[Knight]: The man came up here and she said someone said that there was a rumor that someone was doing this.

[Knight]: So she spent 60 grand on a private investigator instead of calling the employee in saying, hey, there's a rumor.

[Knight]: Rick, do you mind?

[Knight]: I yield my time.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: So, at the end of the day, let's be clear.

[Knight]: I mean, this is coming from the person who, when we had four members of the DPW report that they've been exposed to COVID, she drove to their house and said, they better not be lying and they better come to work at Snowplow.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: So, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

[Knight]: Quite frankly, there's a haphazard application of policy.

[Knight]: A haphazard application of policy.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: What's good for the goose is not good for the gander.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: It depends on who you are.

[Knight]: The campaign starts in January.

[Knight]: Announcements accolades remembrances reports and suspend the rules to take a permit applications if we can do that, please.

[Knight]: So just as I understand it, with the approval of this rental location, what's going to happen is we're going to move some water pipes from the street to the sidewalk.

[Knight]: We're going to get a brand new sidewalk.

[Knight]: The city is going to go in, replace all the underground infrastructure, and then they're going to resurface the street curb to curb.

[Knight]: I just like to point out, this is an existing business in the community already.

[Knight]: All right, they have about 50-60 employees here in this community that contribute to the circular flow of our local economy.

[Knight]: The proposed use, in my opinion, is less detrimental than the current use.

[Knight]: I don't think that it really makes a big difference in terms of the impact.

[Knight]: in traffic or safety in the area.

[Knight]: And that's supported through the statements of our chief of police and our chief of fire in the application.

[Knight]: So when I look at this proposal that's before us, I see a business here that exists in our community, that's looking to expand in our community and invest in our community.

[Knight]: And I think we should make it easy for them, not hard.

[Knight]: So I will support this paper in the statement.

[Knight]: Could one argue that this is a ride share program and ride shares are designed to take cars off the street and therefore they have an environmental impact that's positive.

[Knight]: We have a statement from the chief of police saying that there is no anticipated traffic impact.

[Knight]: Is failure to react within the 90 day window considered a constructive acceptance of the application?

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: It was just whether or not failure to act within the specified timeframe under state law would constitute a constructive acceptance of the application.

[Knight]: So it'd be like a yes vote, or if it would be that they'd have to sue us to do something, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: I just wanna have the things that go to committee and then never come out, and then have us put in a position where it's acceptance by inaction versus taking a vote.

[Knight]: Our city is an absolute human resource nightmare.

[Knight]: That's been clear, it's been well documented across many, many news media outlets, social media, and the like, right?

[Knight]: I think we can all agree, human resources is a problem here in the city.

[Knight]: And financially, financially this administration practices absolutely zero fiscal constraint.

[Knight]: All right, zero fiscal constraint.

[Knight]: For literal years, literal years, not weeks, not months, literal years, this council has been begging for quarterly reports from our auditor outlining the financial health and well-being of this community.

[Knight]: The city council, which is responsible for the appropriation of funds, right?

[Knight]: The Harry Truman function of government, the buck stops here, right?

[Knight]: We've been asking for these documents for literal years.

[Knight]: Meetings about the financial health and well-being of the city, and we can't get that.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: We've been asking for copies of the monthly Warren articles, which are documents that show where our money's being spent.

[Knight]: We can't get that.

[Knight]: I get a response in my email today from our city auditor, our CFO, our finance director.

[Knight]: Due to our current staffing levels and the backlog of conciliations, our reports would be based on unaudited and possibly incomplete data.

[Knight]: Every effort is being made to bring this data up to date.

[Knight]: This office cannot say that these desired reports would be accurate to any degree expected.

[Knight]: Let's spend more money though.

[Knight]: Let's go spend more money, create more jobs.

[Knight]: A job, by the way, that it sounds like the position's already spoken for.

[Knight]: With a report from our CFO that pretty much says, I'd love to give you an update on the financial well-being of this community, but if I did it, it's garbage in, garbage out.

[Knight]: It's not gonna be based on accurate information.

[Knight]: The buck has to stop somewhere.

[Knight]: I'm not saying this isn't a position that's a good position.

[Knight]: I'm not saying it's a position that's warranted.

[Knight]: I don't think it's as important as an assistant city solicitor to the Metro City Council.

[Knight]: I don't think it's as important as a city assessor.

[Knight]: I don't think it's as important as assistant city assessor.

[Knight]: You know, we can only put cones up on every intersection around the city so many times, people are gonna run out of things to do.

[Knight]: All right, so ultimately, I find this to be fiscally irresponsible.

[Knight]: I mean, how can we as a body sit here and take vote after vote, multiple votes?

[Knight]: I'm not talking one vote or two votes or three votes.

[Knight]: We've taken dozens of votes on this.

[Knight]: We've asked the city solicitor to come up with an ordinance mandating the administration to provide us with this information because they refuse to do it.

[Knight]: But here we are being asked again to create a new job, to spend more money.

[Knight]: I want us to all think back to that night.

[Knight]: In late June, when we sat here, and the mayor was taking money out of the public utilities account to keep the lights on, to move money around, to provide this council with the demands that we made.

[Knight]: And that was the only way we could do it, because there's no more money.

[Knight]: I can't support this paper this evening.

[Knight]: I'm going to invoke rule 20 from our city council rules, and this is a finance paper that's going to be laid on the table for one week's time, regardless of what happens tonight, because we have the right to do that as a Councilor.

[Knight]: I was the first time I've seen this appropriation request on the council floor.

[Knight]: And as such, I'm going to vote my rights under Rule 20.

[Knight]: It's old Rule 20.

[Knight]: I don't know what new rule is, but we leave them around.

[Knight]: We never got copies of the rules after we approved them.

[Knight]: I'll have them posted up on the website, I don't think.

[Knight]: Oh, it is Rule 20.

[Knight]: It's definitely Rule 20.

[Knight]: Madam President, motion to waive the remainder of the reading and move for approval of the paper.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Steve was a dear friend of mine.

[Knight]: One of the first people to ever come up and volunteer to work on my first campaign.

[Knight]: back in 2013 and I met him through politics going back 20 years and he was always a gentleman that I held in high regard and someone who over that period of time I was able to develop a great friendship with.

[Knight]: I just want to express my deep sincere condolences to the family, to Christine especially, on this sudden and tragic loss.

[Knight]: Steve was a lot of things to a lot of people here in Medford and the Medford Housing Authority is evident

[Knight]: by the number of residents that attended his memorial service.

[Knight]: And he was a lot more than that, the people that he called family and friends.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Medford is not better off today than it was yesterday with the loss of someone like Steve Gattaro.

[Knight]: And if we could all be a little bit more like Steve Gattaro, I think Medford is moving in the right direction.

[Knight]: So thank you very much.

[Knight]: So on the motion of Councilor carb yellow, we could just dedicate tonight's meeting on Steve's memory, Madam President, based upon as he has a service to our community.

[Knight]: Can you bring up the chief of police's support of this measure or not?

[Knight]: We're in a situation here in this community that's bordering on what I'd find to be a financial crisis.

[Knight]: You know, when we talk about spending, we talk about the sharing of information, and more importantly, we talk about that letter that we received from the administration, October 25th at 1.40 p.m., which was today at 1.40 after several months of making requests.

[Knight]: I think it's very troubling and scary that, you know,

[Knight]: The city has a backlog of reconciliation reports.

[Knight]: They haven't been audited.

[Knight]: They're utilizing incomplete data.

[Knight]: And they cannot say that they have accurately designed reports for financial reporting here in our community.

[Knight]: And that's coming right from our CFO.

[Knight]: That's troubling.

[Knight]: That's very troubling, right?

[Knight]: So the administration is spending and spending and spending, but I see no efforts being made to right the ship, especially with this body.

[Knight]: And this body has extended multiple olive branches for a period of 36 months, trying to get to the bottom of this stuff and be a partner and we're not being brought to the table.

[Knight]: Um, so, you know, as I stated a couple of weeks ago, when we talk about the financial health in this community, let's be real about it.

[Knight]: Um, we had no treasurer collector from,

[Knight]: January of 2020 to October 2020.

[Knight]: We've had no budget director from July of 2020 to date.

[Knight]: We've had no CFO from September of 2021 to March of 22.

[Knight]: We've had

[Knight]: no federal fund manager from 321 to 222.

[Knight]: And we've had no assessor from 522 to the present.

[Knight]: So when we sit down and we talk about our financial health in this community, we don't even have a finance team in place.

[Knight]: We haven't had a finance team in place, but we're still being asked to spend.

[Knight]: And when we ask for the information that we need to make informed decisions, we're not being provided it.

[Knight]: which leads me to believe that they have something to hide.

[Knight]: Councilor Caraviello has asked at least 30 times, how much money are we spending on outside legal counsel?

[Knight]: The administration spent something ridiculous like $65,000 to follow around an employee and put GPS on his car to get a report that comes back absolutely unfounded.

[Knight]: And the investigation starts off, I heard a rumor about a guy.

[Knight]: I mean, that's what we're doing now.

[Knight]: We're spending $80,000 in taxpayer money to chase down rumors.

[Knight]: Come on, let's get real.

[Knight]: So when I look at the circumstances in this community and what's going on, we need to stop the bleeding somehow.

[Knight]: And I think that this is the best way to do it.

[Knight]: So I'd ask that we put a spending moratorium on until such time as we get our quarterly report from our financial director.

[Knight]: We get brought up to speed as to what's really going on in that finance office.

[Knight]: The numbers don't add up.

[Knight]: If the numbers don't add up, we can't just keep on spending and spending and spending.

[Knight]: making assumptions off of inaccurate data and inaccurate estimations, how are we ever going to put the city in a position to succeed?

[Knight]: You know, we have no tax assessors.

[Knight]: We have nobody to levy taxes in this community.

[Knight]: We finally have a treasurer collective out this whole time.

[Knight]: But for the first 10 months of the administration, we didn't.

[Knight]: We had some of those working part-time.

[Knight]: Rumor has it the calls were getting wired to a house.

[Knight]: They weren't even coming in the office.

[Knight]: We have people that are getting paid now outside the budget in acting positions that are also working in other communities.

[Knight]: All right, their vested interest and their loyalties don't lie here in the city of Medford any longer.

[Knight]: All right, they're being paid for the city to comply with statute, not for any other reason.

[Knight]: All right, so we need to do something.

[Knight]: And this is my next best solution that I could come up with based upon the plethora of resolutions that we filed, the number of questions that we've asked, the number of promises that have been made, but not fulfilled through the administration.

[Knight]: We still don't have a city assistant city solicitor for the council and the position hasn't been posted.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I offer the paper.

[Knight]: I don't anticipate it passing.

[Knight]: I don't want to hold the city financially hostage.

[Knight]: If good things are going to happen in this community, they should.

[Knight]: They should.

[Knight]: But at the same time, you can't ask us to keep spending money without telling us what the financial picture is, what our financial health and wellness is in this community.

[Knight]: And if I could just add to that paper that the city council request the administration prepare an RFI for the city council to review relative to the hiring of an independent outside auditor.

[Knight]: Council like would you mind repeating your men, please, the city administration produce an RFR an RF an RFR an RFP for the city council to review relative to the selection and hiring of an outside independent auditor.

[Knight]: He's on the line for a raise.

[Knight]: Let's get him down here.

[Knight]: Right, well, I wouldn't mind going back to it.

[Knight]: I mean, I'm not sure the answer either but I don't know if you're going to say something I was going to say attention to what's going on here all things back and have been a disaster.

[Knight]: In terms of, you know, the media is that they're putting up on Boynton Road.

[Knight]: Issues of tickets on streets that not permit streets and tickets that are going on guys that say they're on one street and they're on another street so

[Knight]: In terms of our PACHA program and the application thereof, I don't think we're doing anybody a service.

[Knight]: As the program continues to mature and develop, I'm seeing a lot more signage and a lot more meters go up across the community, but I'm not really seeing

[Knight]: The data driven methodology as to why they're putting these in.

[Knight]: I know that being common street with the development that's going to occur at Titan Gas Station at some point, the development that's going to occur up at Nathan Electric in the expansion of the Green Line, that area has been under particular scrutiny based upon what's going to happen when the Green Line comes active.

[Knight]: But in terms of

[Knight]: who has the overall authority to implement and initiate those changes.

[Knight]: It's really the traffic commission.

[Knight]: I'm not here in the city, but I know the city did something, because the end of Albion Street wasn't a mentioned project.

[Knight]: It was a simple project, but it was invented.

[Knight]: But the house is invented, but the street right in front of it.

[Knight]: I looked at the map.

[Knight]: Because it's a disaster what they've done over there.

[Knight]: Did anybody, I actually I'm still waiting for the mayor to go yell at her superintendent like she yelled at Mr. Belson.

[Knight]: because this issue right here is scary, all right?

[Knight]: This isn't someone dropped something out of their pocket, it was found in the little theater by a custodian.

[Knight]: This is a student got assaulted, stalked, assaulted, tracked down, five adults, six adults, seven adults, nine adults, 10 adults watching, no one intervening.

[Knight]: I'm waiting for the mayor to go and treat her superintendent like she treated Roy Belson.

[Knight]: I just, I mean, I'm thinking back to this whole situation where the mayor's at Fox 25 down in front of the school department over here.

[Knight]: She called them herself talking about the gun clip, calls for a press conference.

[Knight]: The school committee comes, they put Roy Belson on the stage in the little theater.

[Knight]: And he sat there for four hours.

[Knight]: And after 40 years of service to the city guard, his head beat it for hours and hours and hours.

[Knight]: And the mayor led the charge.

[Knight]: The mayor led the charge.

[Knight]: She was like a raven lunatic.

[Knight]: getting up out of the crowd, running up to the microphone, yelling and screaming at people.

[Knight]: It was nuts.

[Knight]: And now to have something like this happen under her watch and to not hold her own people accountable to the same level and same accord is shameful, in my opinion.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: I do believe, oh, it must be about a year and a half ago now, this council passed a measure and we sent it to the administration and shocker, never got a response.

[Knight]: But what we asked for was the administration to analyze the feasibility of creating an Italian-American cultural district in South Medford to commemorate the contributions of many of our Italian-American residents here.

[Knight]: When you think about people like

[Knight]: Ernesto Martini, Alfredo Russo, and the likes, people that really made a big difference in this community over time.

[Knight]: We've asked the administration to look into that.

[Knight]: Year and a half might have gone by now, and we still haven't received anything from it, from the administration.

[Knight]: So I know it's only been a year and a half, and it's usually about three years before we get something back from the administration.

[Knight]: But I'm hoping that maybe we can put a reminder into the administration as maybe a B paper or as an amendment to this paper.

[Knight]: I'm asking for an update from the administration on the feasibility of creating an Italian American cultural district as passed by the council previously.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much and thank you to Councilor Caraviello for putting this on.

[Knight]: I've known Barbara DeCristofaro for as long as I can remember growing up in the same neighborhood.

[Knight]: Friendly with her father, Jerry, for a number of years.

[Knight]: He was a great guy.

[Knight]: It's glad it's great to see Barbara pursue this promotional opportunity to be appointed by the administration to position sergeant.

[Knight]: And I think it's important that you know the brass and our police department is reflective of the population that we serve.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'm hoping that I reach out director will take steps to encourage minority and female police officers to take these promotional exams.

[Knight]: for Barbara to be promoted the first female sergeant in the city of Medford in the year 2022 is kind of showing that our internal recruitment is lacking.

[Knight]: And we have many talented police officers that are here in this community that would help make the brass in our police department reflective of the population that we have here.

[Knight]: But we have to encourage those individuals to apply for the civil service exams.

[Knight]: We need to provide them with the tools necessary to study for the civil service exams so that they'll be in a position

[Knight]: for being one of the first.

[Knight]: Madam President, as part of this paper just like an update from the city administration is Council beers mentioned, we had a $1 million grant project that was funded for the safe routes to school, and that created a bike lane from maybe halfway up the hill on high street to the work school, but part of that project also reconfigured the intersection at Wilbur Street high street.

[Knight]: And since that time, property, personal residents that have bought

[Knight]: including flooding, drainage issues and the like.

[Knight]: We've seen McKay construction out there at least six times since this project was supposed to be completed.

[Knight]: So I'd just like to get an update from the administration as to what the status of the drainage issue is on the corner of Woobin and High Street and how much money the city's expended since the completion of the $1 million grant project and remedying the design defects and on property damage claims since this project's been completed.

[Knight]: Can you just explain what the significance of October 26th is?

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: Madam President, the city clerk be so kind as to investigate report back to the council as to whether or not BJ says any special permits extended our permit.

[Knight]: So like, I think one way that we may be able to address this is by bringing them in and saying this is an issue that's going on in the community and you have a permit.

[Knight]: and we don't like what you're doing, so we're gonna take a look at your permit and see if we can put some restrictions on it to safeguard the neighborhood.

[Knight]: This has been an ongoing issue since I got on the council, between Budweiser and BJ's, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: Tough neighbors, you know, large employers in this community, valuable neighbors, you know, bring some good to the community, no doubt.

[Knight]: But you have to live there, I don't, right?

[Knight]: And you know, I know where you live, I know where your house is.

[Knight]: It's not a little tiny little street, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: Well, when it's warm, if you don't wanna go and use your pool, I will.

[Knight]: And I don't care about those crummy old men over there with their beer.

[Knight]: I'll watch them and they watch me.

[Knight]: No, I think that the best bet would be to see if we can call the brass in for BJ.

[Knight]: We've tried this before.

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately, I don't think it's gonna help situations that we are right now in the middle of litigation with BJs because we didn't want them to put a gas station in.

[Knight]: So there's a lot of moving parts going on with that location, but I think that the special permit might be the best way to attack it.

[Knight]: I think it is important to point out, though, that this is really a function of the administration.

[Knight]: I remember when Mike McGlynn was the mayor, he'd get in his car and drive down there and say, I want to meet with the general manager.

[Knight]: He wouldn't pick up the phone and call him.

[Knight]: He'd say, this is what I want done, and go down there to meet with them.

[Knight]: If you're not getting that type of service, you're not getting that type of service, and we'll do all that we can.

[Knight]: But ultimately, this is an enforcement issue, not a legislative issue.

[Knight]: So the administration has to buy into this.

[Knight]: And if the administration wants to see it stop, then they have to send their people down there.

[Knight]: They have to send code enforcement down there and they have to hold VJs accountable.

[Knight]: This council can't do that.

[Knight]: We can call them to the meetings and we can try to work on the permits that fall under our purview.

[Knight]: But when it comes to the day-to-day operations of the community and code enforcement, that's a department that falls under the building commissioner.

[Knight]: for an administrative branch and executive branch department, the mayor has to get them down there.

[Knight]: And we can ask until we're blue in the face.

[Knight]: But if a track record of asking is any indication as to what the administration is going to do, this is going to go on a file like this big right here.

[Knight]: And we're not going to we're not going to hear back because that's historically what's happened.

[Knight]: We've talked

[Knight]: about it all day today in our previous meetings as well.

[Knight]: We had a subcommittee meeting today to talk about two pieces of draft ordinances that we've asked for.

[Knight]: The first one was offered in 2019.

[Knight]: It was a two-sentence draft ordinance that needed review.

[Knight]: The administration didn't get back to us.

[Knight]: us.

[Knight]: The second item was offered in 2020 was a little bit more involved but again the administration still hasn't responded to us.

[Knight]: So these are items that this council is asking for for us to create legislation in this community, and we're not getting any, any cooperation.

[Knight]: So my advice to you would be also to be sure to stay on the administration and let them know your level of dissatisfaction, because they're really the only ones that can solve this

[Knight]: We're ready to fight with you.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: I appreciate it.

[Knight]: And use as much authority and power that we have.

[Knight]: However, that scope and authority is limited under the purview of our responsibilities.

[Knight]: Exactly.

[Knight]: It's a great quiet street.

[Knight]: It is.

[Knight]: Only one way in.

[Knight]: So Rita, does this mean you're not going to go to the celebration on the completion of the Medford square meter project ice cream truck that the mayor wants to do?

[Knight]: I agree with you, and I know Councilor Carvialo and I had spoke on this, and Ricky was telling me how involved he was in working with Faye and the administration to get those taken out.

[Knight]: It seems like the left hand doesn't know what the right is doing a lot of time.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Yes, Madam President, I just think it's important to point out that, you know,

[Knight]: Back in FY21, when we looked at the $6 million structural deficit that we had, and then again in FY22, when we looked at the $12 million structural deficit that we have in FY23,

[Knight]: When we look at the old $700 million or so dollar structural deficit that we have, one of the things that I made very clear during the budget discussions was that we're not going to use the parking program to generate revenues and fill our budget shortfalls.

[Knight]: And I feel like that's what's happening, right?

[Knight]: We're expanding the park.

[Knight]: Now, three weeks, three weeks in a row, four weeks in a row, four meetings in a row.

[Knight]: We've had talk about parking right talk about parking talk about failures in the parking department, ticketing people but not supposed to get tickets going down the wrong street and giving everybody on the same street a ticket.

[Knight]: Now the expansion of meters into residential neighborhoods the expansion of meters in front of churches and places of worship and schools and funeral homes.

[Knight]: All right, it seems to me like we're trying to use this parking program to generate revenue.

[Knight]: to address the structural shortfall.

[Knight]: I'm sorry.

[Knight]: And, you know, the packing program when first initiated and first implemented was to turn over spots in the business districts and to enforce residential packing in neighborhoods that were budding public transportation areas.

[Knight]: that's expanded now into ninjas jumping out of trees and giving you tickets on if you're facing the wrong way if you don't have an inspection sticker if you have an expired sticker on your license plate uh you know it's it's getting it's getting a little out of hand yet um we get the residents on brook street that have been never-ending problem that's not going to be rectified anytime soon um parking still comes and gives them tickets um there's really no

[Knight]: And there's been no dynamic amendment of any of these policy decisions that have been made to satisfy any of our constituency.

[Knight]: And it just seems to me like the reoccurring theme, if you agree, it's great, we'll hug.

[Knight]: If you disagree, it's gonna fall on deaf ears and no one's gonna talk to you.

[Knight]: I'm pretty sure George Bernoski is like the media repairman.

[Knight]: I think his title is like supervisor of media repair or something like that.

[Knight]: I don't think he has any type of function that has to do with the supervision or the issuance of tickets.

[Knight]: I think he's more of a

[Knight]: a meter fixer, oversees the meter repair program.

[Knight]: If it's my recollection, I remember when the mayor put out one of her many emails about her new hires that she classified.

[Knight]: Council request that pavement restoration be done in a curb-to-curb fashion.

[Knight]: Oh, sorry.

[Knight]: Well, I mean, it's a question.

[Knight]: So it says that this is a, what, a replacement project?

[Knight]: A relocation project?

[Knight]: They're relocating the gas main on Walnut Street, why?

[Knight]: You're off right now.

[Knight]: Similar to the work necessary on Riverside Ave, sounds like.

[Knight]: Well, you guys don't necessarily want to do this, but they have to do water works.

[Knight]: Are you going to get out of the way?

[Knight]: That's a lot.

[Knight]: So is the restoration going to be done curb to curb, or is it going to be one of these six inch trenches out to the middle of a street that in six months is going to fall apart and turn this into 600 feet of potholes?

[Knight]: Does this have anything to do with the loan order that we just passed?

[Knight]: No, no, right.

[Knight]: We have it as a city engineer available.

[Knight]: Cuddy, this is no reflection on the job you're doing.

[Knight]: It's more of a reflection on the information that the administration provides us when they put these papers on the agenda.

[Knight]: So, you know, here we are this evening and we're, you know, expected to vote for seven football fields worth of ground getting torn up and we have nobody here from the city engineers

[Knight]: restoration is going to look like.

[Knight]: And I'm not comfortable going into a neighborhood and tearing up, you know, 700, 800 feet worth of street, turning the neighborhood upside down and then not knowing what the final product is going to be.

[Knight]: So I apologize for having to sit through this meeting this evening, but I'm without further information from the administration.

[Knight]: I'm not very comfortable proceeding in any other fashion.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Quite frequently I get calls, especially surrounding some of these car repair facilities automobile repair facilities along Mr. Avenue, relative to the amount of footprint that vehicles take up.

[Knight]: And also the parking of vehicles that they're servicing on public roads in public parking spots.

[Knight]: So, one thing I've noticed is every time we get a permit.

[Knight]: application before us that the traffic commission has to sign off saying that there'll be no traffic impact, but they failed to look at parking.

[Knight]: They failed to look at the parking impact of this proposed business.

[Knight]: So this proposed service might create.

[Knight]: So what I'm asking is that the administration revamp the criteria in establishing these reviews to also take into consideration the parking impacts so that we have a better idea.

[Knight]: We vote for something, what the parking impacts are as well as the traffic impacts.

[Knight]: much to ask for.

[Knight]: I think the administration could do a parking assessment or even maybe establish a certain criteria that would say the sex amount of parking spots per square feet.

[Knight]: And that's it.

[Knight]: Very similar to what we have in our zoning ordinance.

[Knight]: But with that being said, Mr. President, what we're seeing, especially if you go down ST James Avenue and some of those streets off of Mystic Avenue,

[Knight]: is that every single parking spot is taken up by vehicles all day long.

[Knight]: Then six o'clock comes, the sidewalk rolls up and all those guys disappear.

[Knight]: Then six o'clock in the morning, all those cars are back there again, but they're not people working.

[Knight]: Those are cars that are being worked on.

[Knight]: They're being moved in and out of garages and being put in the street and being put back in the garage.

[Knight]: All right, well, it's a public way.

[Knight]: Those parking spots are also necessary for other businesses to utilize.

[Knight]: They should be turned over.

[Knight]: I

[Knight]: But ultimately, I think this is something that needs to be looked at, because it does certainly have an impact on, number one, public safety, and number two, our ability to turn over pockets and generate business for business owners and business storefronts in the downtown area.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This is an ongoing situation up on Fulton Spring Road.

[Knight]: If you know where Mr. Falco lives, look down the street about four or five houses and you'll see that there's a situation down there where

[Knight]: The pitch of the underground infrastructure for sewage is not appropriate.

[Knight]: And this goes back now, several years, one of the homeowners there reached out to the DPW had representatives from the water department come up and take a look at what was going on.

[Knight]: The solution that the water department came up with at that time was, are you going to have to jack your house up eight inches.

[Knight]: So the gentleman went, invested $200,000, jacked up his house eight inches, and the day that they pulled the bulldozers away, he had another sewage backup.

[Knight]: The city engineer, DPW commissioner have been working on this.

[Knight]: They've looked at it.

[Knight]: What they've been able to determine is that in a quote, I believe things are all screwy under there would be the very technical term that was used, but the pipes, there's a water pipe that goes over sewer pipe that goes under a gas pipe.

[Knight]: There's a big problem, but this homeowner spent a ton of dough at the direction

[Knight]: about water and sewer department saying that if you jack your house up, you won't have to deal with this backflow issue.

[Knight]: They spent the money, they jacked the house up and they're still dealing with the issue.

[Knight]: The DPW commissioner is well aware of the situation and I've been assured that he's working on it.

[Knight]: I actually met with the residential homeowner this evening before I came to this meeting this evening.

[Knight]: I'd like to withdraw this matter at this point in time and give the DPW commissioner an opportunity to continue to do

[Knight]: come up to a significant and satisfactory remedy for our bodies involved.

[Knight]: So I will be withdrawing this at this time.

[Knight]: But I did want to just give a preface as to what this was all about, because I'm sure that would raise a lot of curiosity based upon the language of the resolution.

[Knight]: I mean, that's not a paid holiday.

[Knight]: That is losing her touch.

[Knight]: Motion to suspend the rules.

[Knight]: Well, I'll delay that then if we have questions.

[Knight]: So thank you.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I'm somewhat familiar with flex car and flex hub.

[Knight]: One of the questions I have is this rental car is this going to be a rental car that's used for when they say drivers, you know, I keep thinking picturing driver like a Lyft driver in the Lyft driver works for Lyft and then they rent the vehicle through Lyft to use to provide the Lyft service to consumers.

[Knight]: Or is this where these are just going to be rental cars that

[Knight]: The driver is me, and I want to rent the car and I can just go through flex lift to get the car.

[Knight]: Can she explain clarify that for me please.

[Knight]: Yeah, absolutely.

[Knight]: So ultimately it's somewhat like we have a post office over here and the post office has trucks and the employees of the post office use the trucks.

[Knight]: And this is the same thing, the employees of Lyft would use the Lyft, the FlexLyft vehicles to perform the functions.

[Knight]: Now, that's assuming that they don't have cars, right?

[Knight]: Are they going to be authorized to park vehicles there all day while they take these FlexCars out?

[Knight]: Or are you saying that they're more long term than short term?

[Knight]: So I just, I think part of the concern that we're hearing from my colleague is that it's heavily congested.

[Knight]: heavily congested area.

[Knight]: And because of that, there are some public safety concerns that coupled with the fact that there's some issues with the garage.

[Knight]: The excise tax, I think, was a great question.

[Knight]: That makes a lot of sense.

[Knight]: The business is going to be here.

[Knight]: The vehicle should be garaged here so the city can offset the damages to our infrastructure with the funds that we generate.

[Knight]: But I certainly support the gentleman's motion to table the matter.

[Knight]: In fact, we need to go back to the table

[Knight]: a little bit closer to an understanding of what this program is.

[Knight]: I personally have no problem with it.

[Knight]: I think it makes sense.

[Knight]: I would make some recommendations that, you know, the special permit go with the business and not with the address.

[Knight]: Do a 90 day review.

[Knight]: But as of right now, it doesn't feel as though

[Knight]: I think Lift Hub has been a pretty good neighbor in this community.

[Knight]: They've been pretty open with us when they came to this community.

[Knight]: They let us know they were coming.

[Knight]: They invited us to come down.

[Knight]: They've always been visible and available to speak with anybody from government that has any concerns.

[Knight]: So I certainly don't have an issue with their business model or the way they run their business, but the quality of life stuff and the neighborhood stuff do

[Knight]: some of the entities that the larger businesses that are residential property.

[Knight]: So that stuff needs to be put into consideration.

[Knight]: So I would second gentleman's motion to table it.

[Knight]: Should he reintroduce it in an effort for us to come to some common ground and see if we can figure this one out.

[Knight]: Because I think Lyft is a good employer to have here.

[Knight]: If they work the hours, they can make the money, right?

[Knight]: I just have a couple of more questions to a friend of sunny California might not be sunny there anymore at 630.

[Knight]: But what are the requirements to be a Lyft driver in Massachusetts, where you need a driver's license in a vehicle right.

[Knight]: Okay, and if I have a driver's license, but I don't have a vehicle, can I be a Lyft driver?

[Knight]: Excellent, excellent.

[Knight]: So ultimately, this also gives people who don't have the

[Knight]: driver's license, the opportunity to get a job and work.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: Excellent.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: I would again suggest so I there's no one else to speak.

[Knight]: I missed that.

[Knight]: Can you say what this was for again?

[Knight]: to have an ice cream to celebrate Paca Minas.

[Knight]: Councilor Newton.

[Knight]: I'm just trying to figure this out because this sounds like the most tone deaf proposal I have ever witnessed by this administration to date.

[Knight]: After the last four weeks, the last month and a half, six weeks.

[Knight]: You tell me how many months we've been talking about parking and what's going on with parking and how terrible the program is and how many failures have been with this program.

[Knight]: And we're going to have an ice cream social to celebrate these failures?

[Knight]: Ice Cream Social, Leprechaun Family Network.

[Knight]: Oh, your parking ticket.

[Knight]: I mean, listen, honestly, come on.

[Knight]: Is Ashton Kutcher, where's Ashton Kutcher?

[Knight]: Is he coming out?

[Knight]: Are we being pumped right now, like seriously?

[Knight]: Does this really happen?

[Knight]: And this is what our government does?

[Knight]: I mean, this is like the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life.

[Knight]: Or alternative, or alternatively, right?

[Knight]: It's for, it's for, it's to create a pseudo,

[Knight]: look that there is support for this field right program right so that you can put it in a press release like Justin said right so we have pictures but look at the pictures it was an ice cream social and everybody had a great time right anytime the going gets tough there's a ribbon cutting have we seen that trend anytime the going gets tough there's a ribbon cutting I'm just saying if the goal there's a lot of ways to go about it that don't require this process

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: And Mr. Batten, thank you for being here.

[Knight]: Another bank, Mr. Gav, shocker, right?

[Knight]: Ultimately, you know, this is an example of wasted opportunity.

[Knight]: This location was the site of a rather large scale proposal that would have created significant growth in this community, significant jobs in this community, and potentially significant housing in this community.

[Knight]: But the administration decided

[Knight]: to bring this corner into a different state.

[Knight]: So with that being said, we're stuck with what we're stuck with.

[Knight]: And I'm not saying that a bank is a bad thing, because a bank does bring us jobs, jobs that pay a living wage, jobs that provide health insurance, jobs that you can provide for a family with, right?

[Knight]: So the next best alternative, right, is to bring jobs here that are going to be sustainable, that are going to be well paying enough where people can raise their

[Knight]: We missed the boat with the development.

[Knight]: The existing use is a bank.

[Knight]: The proposed use is a bank.

[Knight]: The existing signage is there.

[Knight]: I don't think it hurts anybody.

[Knight]: The signage that they look for doesn't seem to be too overly intrusive.

[Knight]: It doesn't seem to be too obnoxious.

[Knight]: It's illuminated.

[Knight]: The illumination is going to shut off.

[Knight]: there are no moving pieces it's not digital um you know i think that this you know is something that you know makes sense and just in the realm of fairness alone right i mean i don't want to see mr gab lit up like the las vegas strip you know what i mean um signs with movement i think would have created a problem um illuminated signs in the fashion that you've explained it i don't think it's going to create much of a problem um i'm happy to support this this evening um ultimately we know that um this application has been

[Knight]: I would be happy to support this this evening.

[Knight]: I ask that the special permit go with the business and not the address, and that we implement a 90-day review.

[Knight]: And I would offer those in the forms of restrictions and move for approval on the paper.

[Knight]: Second that motion, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Yeah, that's a good one.

[Knight]: No.

[Knight]: We can still put the restrictions on it.

[Knight]: Does anybody ever notice that anytime anything goes wrong in the parking department, it's always somebody else's fault and not the parking department's?

[Knight]: Or is it just me picking that up?

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Bill Carr was a great Mustang.

[Knight]: pillar of the community, father and grandfather, teacher, coach, community activist, good elk, a member of Post 45, American Legion, veteran, served his country and this community well, some that I have fond memories of that will sadly be missed.

[Knight]: It's all too often that we're up here celebrating people and the achievements and contributions that they make to our community after their passage.

[Knight]: And this is one of those instances where I think we should have taken an opportunity to look at the contributions that Mr. Carr had made to this community and maybe had the chance to honour him while he was still with us because he is someone that certainly has made a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of families in this community.

[Knight]: I find this very troubling.

[Knight]: So we have an IT department with no IT director or assistant IT director.

[Knight]: We have a law department with no solicitor or assistant city solicitor.

[Knight]: We have an assessor's department, no assessor or assistant city assessor.

[Knight]: I'm not sure if we have an elections coordinator or not.

[Knight]: I've heard various mumblings throughout the community that the moment that Ms.

[Knight]: Gale was taken from her office, they had somebody filling her shoes with a higher salary.

[Knight]: Human resource crisis.

[Knight]: I thank the gentleman for putting the resolution on.

[Knight]: the agenda this evening to raise awareness of the issues that are going on here in this community.

[Knight]: The first community to sign up for the school building assistance program to get a 90% reimbursement on our schools.

[Knight]: The first community to get a transit-based smart growth development in this state of Massachusetts mentioned.

[Knight]: Where are our firsts?

[Knight]: What are our firsts now?

[Knight]: The council has some firsts.

[Knight]: It's very frustrating to come here week in and week out and make recommendations on how we can improve the way that we deliver the most basic of city services and have it fall on deaf ears.

[Knight]: From the sounds of it, as Councilor Bears said, there was a serious problem going on there that had to result in the termination of an employee.

[Knight]: That position was never filled.

[Knight]: So were these problems ever remedied?

[Knight]: What is going on?

[Knight]: Um, I think what we need to do is stop the bleeding.

[Knight]: And councilor Caraviello is absolutely right.

[Knight]: We need to stop issuing tickets for resident permit parking until mentioned or a mentioned parking department or whatever they go by these days can figure it out.

[Knight]: Um, ultimately this is a department that never should have been absorbed by the city.

[Knight]: You don't have the capacity to run a parking department.

[Knight]: We're proving that daily.

[Knight]: We went from having a vendor that wrote us a check.

[Knight]: to a department that's come here before us now for over $800,000 in initial appropriations, and then another $200,000 or $300,000 in supplemental spending.

[Knight]: We're still not getting any satisfaction.

[Knight]: Now, we talk about reports, and we talk about committees.

[Knight]: Forget the reports, and forget the committees.

[Knight]: It's time to use common sense.

[Knight]: When we talked about taking parking enforcement and doing it in-house, a committee was put together.

[Knight]: That committee came before this body.

[Knight]: And we spoke to that committee, and we said, please talk to us about resident parking, resident parking enforcement.

[Knight]: When I say stop the bleeding, it's not just the tickets that are getting written.

[Knight]: What about non-renewals to the registries?

[Knight]: What about non-renewals for your license?

[Knight]: What about non-renewals for your registration?

[Knight]: Because of unpaid tickets that were issued unjustly that you can't get a remedy for here in City Hall.

[Knight]: That's what the parking program was established for, to put the residents first.

[Knight]: And we're not doing that.

[Knight]: When we looked at, as Councilor Scarpelli said, the history of parking enforcement in Medford and why this program came to fruition, it was to turn over spots in the business districts.

[Knight]: That's what it was initially proposed for.

[Knight]: It wasn't to go into the neighborhoods, to go down Sylvia Road, a dead end street, and give people tickets when they've been able to police themselves and have no parking complaints for 50 years.

[Knight]: It doesn't make sense to me that the Metro parking department is driving down Wellington Road when Wellington Road hasn't complained about a parking issue in 25 years, but the residents of Goldsmith Ave have been going on C-Click fix for the last six months and asking for relief and no avail.

[Knight]: It just doesn't make sense to me.

[Knight]: We have problem areas that are being identified.

[Knight]: through these tools and modules that the mayor has touted as being so effective in the delivery of city services.

[Knight]: But then we're not using the data that we're collecting from these modules to make decisions.

[Knight]: I know that it's

[Knight]: Hispanic Heritage Month.

[Knight]: It's also today's national no excuse day.

[Knight]: So I hope someone from the administration is on the call.

[Knight]: Madam President, if they can bring that up.

[Knight]: I do not see anyone.

[Knight]: Madam President, I just, I do want to point out that these failures are really managerial failures.

[Knight]: And, you know, when we talk about the human resource problems that we have there in our community and the human resource crisis that's going on here in Medford,

[Knight]: In our packets this evening when we got here, we have charges, additional charges that were brought forward by local 25 who represent our parking enforcement officers.

[Knight]: And it appears to me that the administration's not exactly treating them in the kind of fashion as well.

[Knight]: Tracking devices and cameras, randomly changing our, randomly changing schedules from night to day and day to night.

[Knight]: I mean, imagine having a family and having your schedule randomly changed.

[Knight]: Next week you're working nights, sorry.

[Knight]: That's an expense.

[Knight]: I will say this, that when we implemented the parking program initially, what we saw was an increase in the local meals tax.

[Knight]: which showed that there was a problem, and that those spots weren't turning over.

[Knight]: And with the enforcement, those spots did start to turn over.

[Knight]: And then what we saw was actually enhanced growth and enhanced revenue in our business districts through the local meals tax, because those parking spots were turning over, those restaurants were selling more product, and in turn, we were getting more money.

[Knight]: Well, every signature's on it, so.

[Knight]: Thank you, Mr. So maybe you could explain to us what the role of the building commissioner is in the community and what role the building commissioner plays because it's my understanding that any zoning question

[Knight]: and the city goes to the building commission, and the building commission is the one that makes the determination as to how those zoning decisions are made in this community.

[Knight]: And we all know what a crucial role zoning plays in our ability to generate new growth.

[Knight]: And when we're sitting here, beating our chest after $49 million of deficit spending over the last three years, and no revenue generation plan, it might make sense for us to prioritize this position, because ultimately the building commissioner is someone that does help generate revenues through permits and fees,

[Knight]: and through rulings on zoning, as well as oversight of the code enforcement office, which is something that we all have had talks and discussions about in the past.

[Knight]: Thank you, Mary.

[Knight]: And I guess all I'm challenging is that... I think it was brought up through an official channel.

[Knight]: I think the gentleman asked the mayor, right to her face, in negotiations, and she asked the team, right, in negotiations, and they haven't answered the question.

[Knight]: One way or the other.

[Knight]: And I agree with you 100%.

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately, especially what we're seeing in the committee trend right now is I don't want to make a decision.

[Knight]: So put a committee together and have them do it for me.

[Knight]: Right?

[Knight]: I don't want to make an unpopular decision.

[Knight]: So I'm going to put a group of people together to make an unpopular decision and say, don't blame me.

[Knight]: That's what they said to do.

[Knight]: Right?

[Knight]: It's a leadership issue, really, is what it is.

[Knight]: It's a leadership issue.

[Knight]: Point of information, Madam President?

[Knight]: Also, it's important to remember, Ms.

[Knight]: Brown, that some of these

[Knight]: committees and boards are statutory and when you not necessarily backed by ordinance but but enabled through state law and in the majority of those circumstances and situations a residency requirement is outlined for example of a malcommissioned Brooks Commission the Brooks the Brooks Bar

[Knight]: and the like.

[Knight]: So it's important to remember that there's also state statute that covers and dictates a lot of the stuff that our ordinances support.

[Knight]: As the authority through a regulatory action to establish the protocols and criteria for which a member of a board of commission under her purview would be fit, residency can be one of those selective criteria that she uses.

[Knight]: Madam President, if you may.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: I think this administration's been very clear about its approach to labor relations in this community.

[Knight]: Quite frankly, we've seen personnel turnover, more frequently than the rooms at the Hyatt across the street.

[Knight]: All right, there's a human resource nightmare going on here in this community.

[Knight]: It's an absolute nightmare.

[Knight]: A couple months ago, we had a representative from local 25 here before us that showed us a package of 40 somewhat various labor charges, grievances, lawsuits that are pending before the city.

[Knight]: So it brought to my attention that yet another employee has been removed from city hall by escort.

[Knight]: That's not the way you treat employees.

[Knight]: If you respect your employees,

[Knight]: You work with them, not against them.

[Knight]: And I feel as though this administration has worked against a lot of the employees in this community as of recent.

[Knight]: How much money did they spend investigating rumors on a DPW employee?

[Knight]: How much money we've spent reinvestigating and rehashing the Brady List issue?

[Knight]: On and on again, it's more about press releases than results.

[Knight]: On and on again, it seems to me that the work that you people do is not respected.

[Knight]: On and on again, it seems to me that three years without a raise, three and a half years without a raise, while other bargaining units are settling and getting raises, tells us something.

[Knight]: It tells us something, all right?

[Knight]: I appreciate the work that you guys do Amy, I worked with you, I was a bargaining rep for your union at one point in time, I think I did better than 74 cents an hour to I hope Jesus.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: So, in looking at this and the approach that's going forward I mean ultimately the city council doesn't have the ability to tell the mayor to give you more money, but we can stand with you in lockstep and say that this is a good fight.

[Knight]: And I don't think you have the luxury of closing your door and telling people that you're too busy to meet with them either.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: When the general public walks in off the street, you guys don't have the ability to turn them away.

[Knight]: But when you guys have concerns and issues that you want to address,

[Knight]: The door's not open for you to address those issues and concerns.

[Knight]: I, as one Councilor, appreciate the work you do.

[Knight]: I know that the city's only as successful as the work that you do and the commitment that you have to being a part of this team.

[Knight]: It's a two-way street, and the administration has to show some of that respect and responsibility as well.

[Knight]: Moving forward, I certainly would never, ever, ever stand in the way of a contract race, a negotiated contract race that the union and the administration have been able to work out.

[Knight]: But it seems to me that right now negotiation is not the approach administration wants to take we're seeing what's going on at the school department.

[Knight]: My teachers have been the impasse has been declared and the teachers contracts negotiations.

[Knight]: That's one of the larger bargaining units that we have here in this community.

[Knight]: The work in this community that, you know, I send my two children to the public schools that sit there with these public employees for more hours of the day than they spend with me awake, right, when you think about it.

[Knight]: So the investment that we're making in our employees here, the investment that we're making in retention of those employees that have that institutional knowledge is laughable.

[Knight]: We're losing good people.

[Knight]: More and more, we're seeing good people being walked out the door.

[Knight]: More and more, we're seeing good people saying, I've had enough, I can't take it anymore.

[Knight]: And they're moving on.

[Knight]: And the only people that are suffering because of that are the residents of this community.

[Knight]: I appreciate you guys in the fight that you're putting up.

[Knight]: It's a good fight, it's a fight worth fighting.

[Knight]: And I'll stand with you every step of the way to ensure that the administration takes the appropriate steps to show value for the work that you do.

[Knight]: And I do find it curious, Madam President, when we take a look at this agenda this evening, papers from the administration, and we'll see that they're trying to upgrade a position in the Community Development Department, but we have created a new position, upgrading the existing position from the land use planner to a senior planner.

[Knight]: Non-union role, we've seen more and more requests for non-union positions to get pay raises.

[Knight]: More and more requests for non-union.

[Knight]: positions to be reclassified.

[Knight]: We still have the issue of our human resource director working out of grade now for the better part of two and a half years and not being required to pay back any money.

[Knight]: Not being paid back any money to the taxpayers.

[Knight]: So we have a human resource director who's being paid out of grade.

[Knight]: This council voted down, voted down the reclassification of the position.

[Knight]: Gentleman's still being paid between $69,000, I think more than what his initial salary was as diversity director.

[Knight]: And here we are with teachers educators in this community, fighting for a pittance 2%.

[Knight]: So what's that 35 bucks a week.

[Knight]: I don't understand the message that you're trying to send.

[Knight]: So you have a group of 500 teachers that you're negotiating with and you're going to the labor board and you're saying,

[Knight]: We reached an impasse which really means we don't want to negotiate anymore we're walking from the table but then at the same breath is saying we do want to negotiate.

[Knight]: Right, so now we're in a situation where we have

[Knight]: other bargaining units that are receiving a cost of living adjustment right which is really just a cost of living adjustment to combat inflation at the battle inflation right so now we have units that have settled contracts at two percent and now we're giving cost of living adjustments at a different rate to other employees so it kind of sends a message of value the work of some more than others and that the impact on the economic factors that are happening around all of us um

[Knight]: don't impact those traffic supervisors, for example, or those school nurses in the same fashion that they would impact the school teacher.

[Knight]: Listen, we sit here and talk about craziest stuff for all night long about stuff that doesn't even matter.

[Knight]: This is something that's very important to the lives of at least 500 people that reside in this community.

[Knight]: That's okay, but it is what it is, right?

[Knight]: I mean, we got to do with this, what we're here for, right?

[Knight]: We voted to go bi-weekly.

[Knight]: We're going to have to deal with some long meetings sometimes.

[Knight]: I just want to get to the city staff.

[Knight]: I'm happy to revisit it.

[Knight]: That's great.

[Knight]: That's great.

[Knight]: We suspended the rules.

[Knight]: We didn't have to.

[Knight]: We voted for it.

[Knight]: We're in the situation we're in.

[Knight]: You know, when listening to what Mr. Murphy said about the most recent package being better than the last three collective bargaining agreements, I've been around a long time.

[Knight]: And you know what?

[Knight]: Maybe the employees took less back then, but we didn't hear him complain because they felt a lot more appreciated.

[Knight]: And I think that that's really a reoccurring theme that I'm feeling and that I'm hearing across many departments here in the city, but the school department's not exempt.

[Knight]: So when we sit here and we talk about the filing for an impasse as a way for us to move closer to a settlement, it's not.

[Knight]: In my opinion, it's not.

[Knight]: It sounds more to me like the administration just trying to control the narrative and the public perception as to what's going on than

[Knight]: actual progress towards a settlement and really sounds just like a counter to the June budget job action that was taken and the job actions that are being taken now because the union's being publicly vocal about their position and the way that they feel to be treated.

[Knight]: With that being said, Madam President, it sounds to me like you want to move on, so I'd be happy to rest my case.

[Knight]: It's important to point out that the city staff is being paid to be here, and these people are here on their own, free will and volition as well.

[Knight]: I just want that to be clear.

[Knight]: Madam President, motion to table until such time as the overwhelmingly large and looming labor relations problems that we have in this community can be addressed.

[Knight]: I don't think it's time to create another position.

[Knight]: We didn't have another position that's gonna cost us more money.

[Knight]: We didn't have another position that's gonna cost us more money that's being created 60 days after the passage of the budget.

[Knight]: Well, if legal, whatever, get back to us and answer our underlying and initial question, I'm sure that we'd be able to answer that question.

[Knight]: But as of right now, it's been almost about a year and we still haven't received that information.

[Knight]: I stand with the workers that were before us here this evening and reintroduce my motion.

[Knight]: I don't feel as though we should be creating positions two months after the budget passed, after we've talked about how we have no revenues, about how we had to sit here and fight tooth and nail for what we asked for for eight months.

[Knight]: And now all of a sudden we have more money.

[Knight]: We have more money to create a new position, but we don't have more money.

[Knight]: on cost of living adjustments that are recordable across the board for our school department employees.

[Knight]: And we have eight collective bargaining agreements that right now are at an impasse or not being negotiated.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, these contracts that are expired, they expired quite some time ago.

[Knight]: So once they get settled, they're just going to expire again and they're going to be right back at the table in the next six to eight months.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I reintroduce my motion to have this matter tabled until the labor relations dispute and the contracts are settled.

[Knight]: Madam President, I asked for a ruling from the chairs that how many votes it takes to pass this calf, and whether or not chapter 44 twice, and I don't really know Zach's reading it for you know what, almost as good as what we have which is no lawyer but

[Knight]: I do believe in June we discussed that with the mayor and we were talking about the budget, that document that you know sets up the spending for the next fiscal year which we're in now.

[Knight]: That document, we talked about having an assistant city solicitor position to the city council, I believe.

[Knight]: And the mayor came back to this council and made a compromise and said, yeah, if you vote for my budget, I'm gonna give you guys that.

[Knight]: And it's gonna be posted in September.

[Knight]: And it's September and we don't even have a regular city solicitor, nevermind an assistant city solicitor for this council.

[Knight]: We have legal questions that have been looming for nine months that haven't been answered.

[Knight]: We can talk about this stuff, so we're blue in the face.

[Knight]: It's an irresponsible vote to take right now without the response from the city solicitor that we asked for nine months ago.

[Knight]: This is crazy.

[Knight]: Motion to waive the remainder of the readings and have this matter be passed upon vote of this council this evening, Madam President.

[Knight]: It will save us the trouble of having to go through advertising.

[Knight]: It will save us the trouble of having to bring this paper back for a third reading.

[Knight]: We've had two meetings on it already.

[Knight]: It's a 0% interest loan.

[Knight]: It's a good idea.

[Knight]: It makes sense.

[Knight]: It's necessary for this community.

[Knight]: And I think we've been able to establish that through the two meetings that we've had previously.

[Knight]: I would second that.

[Knight]: being a young father and having the opportunity to take my kids down to the public schools, my kids are at the Brooks.

[Knight]: And just seeing the work and effort that they put in down there, they do an excellent job.

[Knight]: These traffic supervisors are really underappreciated.

[Knight]: Nothing's worse than when one of them's out and they have a uniformed police officer doing the traffic detail down there.

[Knight]: They have it down to a system that the traffic supervisors where it just flows amazing.

[Knight]: And any disruption to that usually creates chaos down in the neighborhood.

[Knight]: But I'd like to just thank the

[Knight]: the traffic supervisors that we have here in the community for doing such a great job, because they are an underappreciated resource.

[Knight]: They're the people that we trust in keeping our kids safe.

[Knight]: We've seen a number of tragic incidents over the years with traffic supervisors being assaulted, being yelled at, spit on, and the like.

[Knight]: So I'd like to just make sure that they recognize the value that they have in this community.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Just last month, Donald and Mary Bonner celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Aruba, surrounded by their five.

[Knight]: digits were the grandchildren down there.

[Knight]: Mary Bonner was a traffic supervisor here in the city of Metro for a long time her husband Donald, a local auto body repairman, but they grew up on, they live on Hastings road lifelong Metro presidents, great people, great figures in the community.

[Knight]: That was one of the houses in the neighborhood we could always.

[Knight]: walk into the backyard, take a dip in the pool, get a drink off the hose, and use the bathroom if there's ever an emergency.

[Knight]: A very welcoming family.

[Knight]: They touch the lives of many in this community, and it's great to see them celebrate 50 years of wedded bliss.

[Knight]: I hope we can all be so lucky.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President, I ask my council colleagues in joining me in congratulating them on this momentous occasion and also requesting the city clerk provide them with a citation doing the same.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: My two had the good opportunity of attending high school with Kimberly.

[Knight]: I've known her for a very long time.

[Knight]: She's a great person, very hard worker and someone that was very dedicated to this community.

[Knight]: Her presence in that law office is going to be sadly missed.

[Knight]: I've always found her to be someone that had the utmost of integrity.

[Knight]: and someone that came to work prepared every day.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President, I hate to see her go.

[Knight]: She's a very close friend and someone I respect very much.

[Knight]: So congratulations, Kim.

[Knight]: Wish you all the best in your future endeavors and hopefully you'll be able to help as many people as you have in a new job as you have in the past.

[Knight]: Any Councilors, Madam President, just money papers come from the administration.

[Knight]: Historically, there was conversation relative to the construction or reconstruction of the

[Knight]: At that point in time, I don't think the mayor was too supportive of that paper or that initiative or endeavor.

[Knight]: Presently, we're looking at a financial situation here in the community.

[Knight]: We're looking at, what, $29 million in deficit spending over the past three years.

[Knight]: So from a financial standpoint, I think we're not in a great position right now.

[Knight]: The certain funds that were out there were available to us, whether or not they're still available to us is a whole different ball of wax and a whole different question.

[Knight]: I know that there was several million dollars that was dedicated to this community through the federal government's transportation bond bill, and I know that there was several million dollars dedicated to this community from the state's transportation bond bill in order to get those funds released.

[Knight]: It'd have to be an act of Congress, literally, and also an act of the governor at the state level.

[Knight]: It's certainly a worthwhile endeavor.

[Knight]: I know that we have some concerns about the traffic management in this community and the parking management in this community.

[Knight]: Councilor Caraviello has a resolution on, coming up a little later, whether or not we have the capacity to handle this type of stuff, whether or not it's a good idea for the city to be in the business of parking, whether or not we should outsource it.

[Knight]: We looked at having outsourced parking in the previous administrations and

[Knight]: seem to generate revenue.

[Knight]: Now we seem to be spending quite a bit of money and not getting anything back and not getting a return on our investment.

[Knight]: That coupled with a lot of the confusion that we're seeing in the neighborhoods related to tickets, appeals processes, being pushed to outside court for a day in court, filing fees and the like is creating a situation over here.

[Knight]: I certainly support anything that will bring business to our communities and revitalization of Medford Square.

[Knight]: We've only been talking about that since the 80s.

[Knight]: So, you know, if anything will help, I think it would be if I could graduate in conjunction with the work that we're doing at Chevalier.

[Knight]: But I think we need a bit of a private partnership and a commitment in order to do that, as well as a commitment from the administration.

[Knight]: On that note, Madam President, if you look at the recodified zoning ordinance, what the council did was allow for the opportunity, for instance, is where we can have public-private partnerships and entities like this.

[Knight]: We have shared parking changes in our zoning ordinance, which allows an entity to have parking during the day for business and parking at night for residential or other uses, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: So I think that that's something that we've really set the stage for.

[Knight]: It's just a matter of putting a plan together and executing it.

[Knight]: Exactly.

[Knight]: The availability is there and the opportunity as well.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: Madam President, ultimately, a convictual license is a license to sell food.

[Knight]: By ordinance, we require the breweries to sell food.

[Knight]: So this is a no-brainer.

[Knight]: Move approval.

[Knight]: And again, let's say, you're right-handed to have an irrigation system, right?

[Knight]: You can't just water your lawn.

[Knight]: Correct.

[Knight]: So you'd have to put a $5,000 or $6,000 investment into your front lawn in order to get the benefit of the- That's the current rule, yes.

[Knight]: A couple of questions.

[Knight]: I don't think either one of you gentlemen, we had the last time that we went through a meter replacement.

[Knight]: There was quite a bit of, I guess, problems surrounding that.

[Knight]: Now, listen, I understand we need to get the work done.

[Knight]: I understand that we're getting 7.8 million bucks for free pretty much, right?

[Knight]: I mean, we just have to pay it back, but we're getting it at 0%.

[Knight]: What's the plan to make sure that what happened last time doesn't happen again when we go through this process?

[Knight]: Why don't we just explain that, what some of the big problems with the first go around.

[Knight]: And the reason for estimations was because of outdated equipment that was given less than accurate readings?

[Knight]: Leak detection.

[Knight]: So last time, I think part of the problem that we ran into was that there was a lot of inaction, right?

[Knight]: We didn't make up our minds as to what we wanted to do.

[Knight]: And then we fell into a spot where the meters were at the spot where they needed to be done and they needed to be done immediately.

[Knight]: And we're not at that spot right now.

[Knight]: with some assurances that if we get this project done and we do it in a timely fashion, that we won't run into the same problems that we've had.

[Knight]: With the lifespan of the new meters, we're taking out a $7.8 million loan that's going to be paid back over 10 years.

[Knight]: And then we're going to pay the loan off in 10.

[Knight]: So we're going to get 10 years for free.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: The paper that's before us this evening is nothing more than an informational paper, if I'm not understanding it.

[Knight]: Maybe that's what it looks like, right?

[Knight]: Has the city applied for the loan and have they been deemed eligible for the loan?

[Knight]: That's my next question.

[Knight]: So we need to approve you to put the application in?

[Knight]: I can see why, because they're not going to give you the money and then have you come back here and then us not approve it.

[Knight]: That would make sense.

[Knight]: And if you guys have any further questions for us, you know, we'll come and answer.

[Knight]: Can we just offer that in the form of a motion that the mayor initiate the process?

[Knight]: Madam President, it's my understanding that $5,000 is the maximum award an individual can receive on a slip and fall in a public way.

[Knight]: It also appears that the necessary releases were signed and that the city is now, I guess, making this individual whole pursuant to the claim that's before it.

[Knight]: I've moved for approval to pay, but so let me close the matter out and get Ms.

[Knight]: Rooney the compensation that she deserves.

[Knight]: Madam President, yes, thank you to Councilor Caraviello for bringing this up.

[Knight]: You know, this request is really in line with what we're seeing around the community and in neighboring communities.

[Knight]: If you look at some of the newly opened establishments, my question as to whether or not the ratio is exactly what's been put out through way of ordinance.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: If you look at some of the newer establishments, there's a lot of bar seating.

[Knight]: That doesn't include outdoor seating.

[Knight]: It only includes indoor seats.

[Knight]: So I think this is something that's really in line with the practice.

[Knight]: It's also in line with what we're seeing in neighboring communities.

[Knight]: Councilor Caraviello makes a good point.

[Knight]: People like to sit at bars,

[Knight]: Restaurants also like to have that model because it allows them to cut down the amount of staff that they have.

[Knight]: So they can have one person serves multiple day of multiple people from one location.

[Knight]: So it's also an operational issue and an operational efficiency.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I support the resolution or item we have a second motion.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I think the easiest answer to this question is, you know, why have the kiosk accepting change credit cards is because we don't have the capacity as a community time to take this endeavor at this point in time.

[Knight]: I think it was fully rolled out and it was not necessarily the best business decision the city could have made.

[Knight]: But one of my biggest concerns that I had said when we looked at the revenue forecast previous years was that I'd hate to see the revenue deficit being made up from the backs of the residents of this community through pocket tickets.

[Knight]: And if we're gonna have hypervigilant parking enforcement offices, we have to give the people in this community a chance to be able to pay when they want to.

[Knight]: And I'd say walk 500 feet or 600 feet or 700 feet out of the business district that you're in to find another kiosk.

[Knight]: I don't think that makes a lot of sense.

[Knight]: And I really do think that this does focus around economic development and revenue.

[Knight]: So this is something that definitely warrants a good hot book.

[Knight]: And I thank the council for bringing it up in the second motion.

[Knight]: on the motion of vice-president berries to refer to the appointment of president it was my understanding that the paper had to be passed before august 8th for it to make the ballot um the revenue is going to be the revenue uh so these figures wouldn't necessarily reflect any accurate data or data points for us to have a informed discussion on it um you know if we get better revenue figures maybe then we could take a look at something but at this point you know i think that it's a little bit premature to keep a paper open on an override proposition based on override figures that are going to be

[Knight]: out of date, and it would be my recommendation to have a paper received in place.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: The reason I say this is because the paper doesn't make sense.

[Knight]: If you look at what it says at the end, it says, from this assessment, the fiscal year beginning July 1st, 2023.

[Knight]: The deadline to make that was August 8th, according to Council of Business presentation.

[Knight]: So the paper's dead on arrival already.

[Knight]: If the issue is that you want to have a conversation about revenues, we already have a paper that's on the agenda.

[Knight]: We've been asking the mayor to come and present to us quarterly as to what the revenue picture is.

[Knight]: We set the tax rate in December.

[Knight]: You know, that's when we should really be stopped.

[Knight]: That's when we should really start talking about this.

[Knight]: When we set the tax rate in December to fund the budget that we just passed.

[Knight]: I believe Mr. Baker said that the project started in 2005 and ended in 2007 and that the machines had a 15 year shelf life.

[Knight]: I missed the beginning of that sentence, thank you.

[Knight]: The machines had a 15 year shelf life, we're coming up on year 15 at the end of the next fiscal year and some of the machines are starting to fail already.

[Knight]: on the motion of us, Madam President, just reiterate that the paper is in order to place on the ballot for the 11 23 election, an override question that had to be placed on the ballot by August 8 in order for the paper to be operational.

[Knight]: The paper is moved.

[Knight]: So we're having a meeting on something that's dead.

[Knight]: It's in fact, it does pass.

[Knight]: I'd just like to point out that there's really no need to amend anything.

[Knight]: If you look at the agenda and we see paper 22026, which was filed the first meeting in January,

[Knight]: In paper 22027, also filed the first meeting in January, requesting quarterly updates from the city, chief financial officer in the city's financial health, and a monthly copy of the Warren articles to see where we're spending our money, right, which is exactly what Councilman Bass is asking for in his amended paper, pretty much.

[Knight]: meeting with the finance team to discuss revenue shortfalls, revenue growth, and the like, which is what we've been asking for since January of this year, since the first meeting that this council met.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, going back to the term before, and we haven't got it.

[Knight]: We haven't got, again, the paper before us is moved.

[Knight]: It's dead on arrival.

[Knight]: It was supposed to be passed to go to get on the ballot by August 8th.

[Knight]: The paper is asking to be placed on the ballot.

[Knight]: We have papers that are already readily available for us to act upon that haven't been acted upon, that have been on the table for eight months, with the administration failing to respond to them in any capacity.

[Knight]: Why don't we take care of the first things first?

[Knight]: Madam President, debt exclusion really shouldn't be used to address an operational deficit.

[Knight]: The debt exclusion is normally used to address the capital need.

[Knight]: You take the debt exclusion out to pay off a bond over a certain period of time to build a building or to take care of a project.

[Knight]: To do a debt exclusion with an expiring use to hire 25 new DPW workers.

[Knight]: Well, after 25 years, what happens?

[Knight]: That debt exclusion falls off the books and then- You can't pay it.

[Knight]: You can't even legally do it.

[Knight]: Just know that no matter present that do believe you spoke on that, I'm not gonna be able to make tomorrow's meeting I do have a work obligation.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: And listening to what my colleagues are saying and looking at paper 22451, I think that merging the two papers together and developing an agenda for discussion with our state delegation would make sense.

[Knight]: You know, we have a paper that was passed on May 17th, June, July, August, now three months have passed, 90 days.

[Knight]: We haven't had the meeting with Senator Jalen.

[Knight]: Senator Jalen hasn't been able to set up the meeting.

[Knight]: Maybe the mayor's not available, I don't know.

[Knight]: But, you know, maybe it's time to reach out to the other members of our delegation to see if they can move this along a little bit.

[Knight]: You know, a state senator has a much larger district to represent 160,000 people across three to four communities, whereas state representatives represent 40,000 people each, you know, across one or two communities.

[Knight]: So maybe reaching out to our state delegation on the House side might be helpful in moving this endeavor forward.

[Knight]: But I think it would make sense for us to merge this along with 22451.

[Knight]: and develop an agenda for items of concern.

[Knight]: Now, I know we've passed a number of items relative to DCI roadways and other parcels and properties.

[Knight]: So we can probably put together with the assistance of the city clerk, an agenda for discussion with a very short order and move on this.

[Knight]: attack the problem, right?

[Knight]: And we're going to say, listen, let's talk about the Felsway now.

[Knight]: Let's talk about the Fulton Heights.

[Knight]: These are the seven issues we have in the Fulton Heights now.

[Knight]: Let's talk about the Fulton Heights.

[Knight]: Oh, you did a good job.

[Knight]: Now come back.

[Knight]: Let's talk about this again.

[Knight]: Let's talk about this next.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: Just for an efficiency purpose, really more than anything else.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: The state's going to think we're crazy.

[Knight]: We already sent them enough lunatic stuff as it is.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: This is something that actually makes a difference.

[Knight]: This is something that matters in our community.

[Knight]: This is something we can move on.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: That's why I get a little concerned when we send a lot of letters up to the statehouse that don't really have anything to do with real life issues that are going on.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: You know, in terms of nuts and bolts and service delivery.

[Knight]: So, you know, my concern is that, you know, if we're going and we're asking for help from the state, that we do it the right way, that we have a game plan.

[Knight]: We have an order of operations.

[Knight]: We have an organizational effectiveness so that we don't just go in screaming and yelling because we got a call from a neighbor about how they don't like the sidewalk.

[Knight]: And, you know, the goal is we tried, but we never get the result.

[Knight]: And a lot of that has to do with planning more than anything else.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: I'm thinking it might make more sense that we

[Knight]: as a council, direct the DPW commissioner to address the issue and then report back to us in a defined period of time.

[Knight]: You know, it's an infrastructure improvement.

[Knight]: The DPW director's involved in all this type of work, right?

[Knight]: When it comes down to traffic management, plans, permits, or ground opening and the like.

[Knight]: So it might make sense for us to reach out to the DPW commissioner and say, DPW commissioner, what's going on?

[Knight]: These are projects that you're aware of, right?

[Knight]: Why is the product not coming back in the metric way?

[Knight]: Why is the product coming back in the DCR way?

[Knight]: please explain to us why and what steps you take to remedy it because, you know, ultimately, the DC has, you know, when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of public works, our public works director is the person, our infrastructure person is the public works director.

[Knight]: The city clerk can send a letter and wait for a response.

[Knight]: It seems like a lot of it might be technical in nature, and I don't know why.

[Knight]: It might be a very easy answer to what Tim already asked.

[Knight]: So it might make sense for us to direct the director of public works to do these inquiries and report back to us in a certain period of time.

[Knight]: That's just my suggestion.

[Knight]: I won't offer them a full motion or anything, but it just seems like it would make sense.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: He has Madam President, we're talking about a sidewalk.

[Knight]: He would turn this thing into a national project for a rocket ship to go to space to move.

[Knight]: I would like to do it.

[Knight]: I'm just trying to get it right.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: As we've discussed in the past, the city of metric right now is undergoing, it's probably the largest electrical infrastructure project that it's seen in 40 years with the other source pipeline project.

[Knight]: And if.

[Knight]: We talked back to 2013-2014 when this project first was discussed.

[Knight]: One of the reasons that this project needed to come to play was because of the grid on the East Coast region and rolling brownouts that were occurring and the like, because the grid did not have the capacity to deal with the volume that's on it.

[Knight]: So, when we talk about, you know, why are these power outages happening?

[Knight]: I think that's something that we're well aware of and we've known about for the better part of a decade.

[Knight]: And, you know, we're in the process of a construction project that's attempting to address it in a regional fashion.

[Knight]: So that's something I point to keep in mind.

[Knight]: And also, because this construction project's going on, the load's being distributed to other parts of our grid, which is putting additional pressure on our grid, right?

[Knight]: So that coupled with, you know, the heat wave,

[Knight]: And the amount of people that are cranking up the ACs, I think, has put some strain on the remaining infrastructure that's in place here in our community.

[Knight]: At least that's what I've been able to read up on and what I've been able to find out and speak with Mr. Gilligan.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I move approval of the paper.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Tseng.

[Knight]: Any further comment?

[Knight]: Yes, I appreciate that, Mr. President.

[Knight]: The gentleman bringing this up, and, you know, we all have to be very hypervigilant over here.

[Knight]: That's why I think, you know, when we talk with our friends and our neighbors and individuals that travel out of country, that we be sure that they take the appropriate steps when they come back to the country, back from vacations and back from stuff like that, that they take the appropriate steps to be sure that they're not infecting anybody else with some diseases like this.

[Knight]: But I appreciate the gentleman bringing it forward.

[Knight]: I too certainly have questions for the Board of Health in terms of the transmission of the disease and what steps we're taking.

[Knight]: in order to prevent it.

[Knight]: It's my understanding that was that immunization for this or vaccination for this at some point in time that was discontinued or eradicated due to the smallpox disease being eradicated.

[Knight]: Well, I understand it's the same vaccine.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I thank the gentleman and I second this motion.

[Knight]: I think my interpretation was misguided, Mr. President, but it is what it is.

[Knight]: Madam President, this is to address some of the inequities that have come up through our Medford Historical Commission and the handling of demolition delays and demolition permits.

[Knight]: When we discussed the budget, we talked about what was going on over there and the circumstances, and I was in a position at that point in time to cut their budget entirely based upon the treatment that they provided to homeowners and business owners in this community that are trying to invest their money and message.

[Knight]: At just last night's meeting, it was determined that one of the members, one of the voting members is actually not even residing in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: It was brought up at last night's meeting that there's an individual that's looking to file a cease and desist order against a historical commission and is threatening litigation against that historical commission right now.

[Knight]: So there's a lot going on.

[Knight]: But one thing that's not going on is houses getting saved and houses getting restored back to their political, cultural, historical significance.

[Knight]: Now, when we sit here and we look at this community and we see the number of houses that have been fixed in the last 22 years or restored in the last 22 years, I think one comes to mind, and that was by agreement, and that was 22 Toro Avenue.

[Knight]: And after that, I don't think we've seen any successes, Madam President, based upon our current ordinance.

[Knight]: Right now, we add 16 parts to court, for example, to an 18 month demolition delay project that would have been a multimillion dollar project that would have increased growth in our neighborhoods, it would have increased the tax base in our neighborhood, and it would have addressed housing in our neighborhood.

[Knight]: Projects fell through, why?

[Knight]: Because they ran out of funding.

[Knight]: Why did they run out of funding?

[Knight]: Because of the demolition delay.

[Knight]: So what I'm doing is asking that this council revert back to the way that the demolition delay was prior to the changes that were made in 2015.

[Knight]: We can go back to the drawing board and figure out something that works in this community.

[Knight]: But currently, right now, what we do doesn't work.

[Knight]: We talk about restoring and preserving historic houses with political or cultural significance.

[Knight]: Then you look at 20 Cushing Street.

[Knight]: Can anybody tell me who grew up there?

[Knight]: Michael McGlynn.

[Knight]: His father, Jack McGlynn, before him, owned the home, a business owner in this community, a former school committee member, a former city councilor, a former mayor, a former state representative.

[Knight]: His two sons, Richard and Jack, Olympic medalists.

[Knight]: His other son, Michael, the longest serving mayor in the history of Massachusetts.

[Knight]: That house isn't politically significant to this community.

[Knight]: That house hasn't been given a historical designation, but Pacelli's, a pizza shop is.

[Knight]: Something's significantly wrong with this process.

[Knight]: All right, but ultimately the bottom line is our ordinance doesn't work.

[Knight]: Our ordinance doesn't work and they're not reaching the goals that they've established.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President, I ask that this matter be forwarded to a committee of the whole for us to take a look at this, get redacted language and bring this back to a sense of normalcy and reality so that we can move forward as a community and we can continue to grow and not hold up people for inordinate amounts of time.

[Knight]: for the process that is futile.

[Knight]: So last night at last night's meeting, I believe it was applicant that was introduced.

[Knight]: And they said, this applicant's here before us just because they just want to share with us what's going on with their project.

[Knight]: And the applicant, is there anybody who had anything to say?

[Knight]: The applicant says, yeah, I'm here.

[Knight]: That's not what I'm here for at all.

[Knight]: I don't know who told you that.

[Knight]: I gave you a cease and desist letter.

[Knight]: I'm trying to sue you.

[Knight]: I want my demolition permit.

[Knight]: So it's not necessarily all done in good faith.

[Knight]: They give good stories.

[Knight]: But the fact of the matter is, there's been comments that say,

[Knight]: If we hold you up, we're happy.

[Knight]: We've completed our goal.

[Knight]: Set in live session.

[Knight]: That's not what they're there for.

[Knight]: That's not their objective.

[Knight]: That's not the intent of the audience.

[Knight]: They're not living up to the legislative intent.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: They've gone way outside the scope of their legislative intent.

[Knight]: When we look back to the beginning of our term, I'm sorry, we look back to 2021, when Governor Baker put out a release, I believe he said, in the Boston Globe, there was an article talking about boards and commissions running rampant in communities.

[Knight]: And this is a perfect example.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: It's no longer historical commission it's a design review board.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: Now what it is is it's a group of people that have gotten together and said we're going to tell you what your house can and can't look like and we're going to tell you what you can and can't do to the largest purchase, right, regardless, regardless of whether or not the person intends on knocking the house down and building another one and improving our community and selling it or living in it.

[Knight]: All right, they're not the building code enforcement officer.

[Knight]: All right, and they're not the zoning board.

[Knight]: All right, so, and they're certainly not a design review board because the ordinance doesn't call for that, okay?

[Knight]: So they're having individuals come before them and submit plans.

[Knight]: Oh, these are what the plans will look like.

[Knight]: This is what it'll look like.

[Knight]: This is what it'll look like.

[Knight]: The ZBA might shut that down in a heartbeat.

[Knight]: It might not comply with building code.

[Knight]: It's outside their scope.

[Knight]: It's outside their authority.

[Knight]: It's clear they've been abusing this power.

[Knight]: And the reason it's clear is because if you're in the good old boys club, if you're in their network,

[Knight]: you seem to get an expedited permit.

[Knight]: If you're not, then you don't.

[Knight]: On that profit that gets turned is an investment that comes back into this community.

[Knight]: So when that parcel gets sold, it gets taxed at a higher rate.

[Knight]: So if we look at the parcel on West Street, for example, that sold for $600,000.

[Knight]: Right, but you're also talking about not not the board of this person just bought this to make a profit, the city doesn't have any benefit.

[Knight]: The city has a great benefit when people invest in this community.

[Knight]: And if we look at West Street we had a parcel that sold for 618,000 that got redeveloped and then the redeveloped process sold for 2.8.

[Knight]: All right, that increases our tax base that gives us more money to do things we want to do.

[Knight]: Last night, Madam President, we looked at the recertification of our zoning ordinances, this was the type of project that we were looking to bring it project like this is going to be something that's going to be able to create new growth in our community rejuvenate regenerate our tax base and I think it's going to be something that's going to be good for method.

[Knight]: I appreciate john for coming up there and doing his homework and answering the questions that we asked last time.

[Knight]: But ultimately, by making the small changes, we're gonna be able to create jobs in this community, generate more new growth, more tax base, more linkage fees.

[Knight]: So I think it's gonna be something that's gonna be good for the community.

[Knight]: So where exactly is this possible located?

[Knight]: It appears to be grappa on the map.

[Knight]: Just, if we accept it what I was thinking Council Scott probably was because we have the six day waiting period anyway after the close the public hearing that we request from the code enforcement officer listed suggestions as to what they would deem suitable for that area, and then we can put them on as restrictions to the special permit, when it comes for us.

[Knight]: I am.

[Knight]: I mean, I just think that, you know, ultimately there's a situation that's going on down there.

[Knight]: Councilor Scapelli and Councilor Caraviello are absolutely right.

[Knight]: If you're driving down in that area,

[Knight]: You know, it's the auto mile, we have a lot of dealerships down there, a lot of car repair places down there.

[Knight]: And what we're seeing is their vehicles getting parked on the public way, creating a lot of congestion.

[Knight]: Just recently, I believe we passed a permit for Fresh Pond Automotive, I think it was.

[Knight]: And although they have a lot of vehicles, a lot of parking for vehicles off street, if you drive past the location and take a look at it, I mean,

[Knight]: you barely have an inch to get a car in or out of there.

[Knight]: I knew our new zoning act also spoke a little bit to what types of what types of the number of vehicles that you keep on a parcel and the like.

[Knight]: So I think it's going to come down to a code enforcement issue as well.

[Knight]: But right now there is a problem that's down there.

[Knight]: The one thing I will say is that I don't think that the

[Knight]: It's not gonna be any more detrimental of a use than what was there before, right?

[Knight]: It's not like we're creating a situation and making it worse.

[Knight]: We have an opportunity to remedy it, make it better.

[Knight]: But like Councilor Caput said, I'd like to see the guy be in business.

[Knight]: I'd like to see him be able to operate.

[Knight]: So I think that the suggestion of asking the chief of police and the code enforcement officer to give us some suggestions as to what we can do to make it a little bit easier down there for their needs would make sense.

[Knight]: Is there gonna be a where's Barry setting?

[Knight]: Just that most times those trucks, when they are parked, they do have someone that's inside them asleep.

[Knight]: Normally they're long haul truckers that are, you know, limited by the amount of hours that they can travel on the road through federal DOT standards.

[Knight]: So some where they could be going.

[Knight]: somewhere else, but yeah.

[Knight]: I second Councilor Scarpelli's motion to approve.

[Knight]: Great, thank you so much.

[Knight]: You're very welcome.

[Knight]: Second, Councilor Scarpelli's motion to approve.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I think it's important to point out that we have a deficit, because the council approved the spending.

[Knight]: The council approved the spending.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: And we certainly do have a revenue problem.

[Knight]: But we also have a spending problem.

[Knight]: And we have a prioritization of spending.

[Knight]: Okay, so when we look at kind of override is the only two options I don't think that that's the case.

[Knight]: I think, I think we had an opportunity to eliminate a lot of waste in this last budget.

[Knight]: When we look at what's going on with KP law and this package here, $255,000 in outside legal fees.

[Knight]: That's $255,000 that could have gone to the school department.

[Knight]: The mayor gave us $300,000 out of the utility account, so the lights might not be on at the hockey rink come the end of the school year, but we got the $300,000 back in the budget, because she took it out of the utilities account.

[Knight]: She wanted to take it out of the contract account.

[Knight]: We have a spending problem.

[Knight]: We have an embraced development to generate new growth.

[Knight]: We're fighting 340B projects that would bring in millions and millions of dollars to this community.

[Knight]: We have the gentleman up here today talking about a small scale project that's gonna bring in $300,000 annually, just our permit fees and property taxes, plus the jobs it's gonna create, which is gonna bring more revenue into our community in the circular flow of a local economy.

[Knight]: We have inflated salaries in a top heavy school administration.

[Knight]: We're not investing money in the classroom.

[Knight]: We're investing money at the top.

[Knight]: We're investing money at the top.

[Knight]: I remember doing budgets with Roy Belson.

[Knight]: He'd get up here and he'd speak for five hours.

[Knight]: He'd know every single dollar, where it was being spent, why it was being spent inside and out.

[Knight]: He didn't talk about rubrics.

[Knight]: He didn't call somebody up here to speak for him.

[Knight]: He got paid $160,000.

[Knight]: He came to work for 20 hours a day and he knew that budget inside and out.

[Knight]: We have human resource issues across every single department in the city.

[Knight]: And we have a proven lack of fiscal constraint, transparency and mismanagement.

[Knight]: So is now the time to give the administration more money to spend when they've shown us that they can't do it responsibly now?

[Knight]: And we've been patent possible with it, improving spending above and beyond our means.

[Knight]: So when we do that, yeah, I guess Councilor Bears is right when we spend above our means, the only thing we can do is ask for more money.

[Knight]: But if we sit down, we take a look at the budget and we see that we have $100,000 human resource director in the school department, and 140,000 human resource director on the city side, and then I communicate, and then I'm working together.

[Knight]: I think that's a duplication of efforts and wasteful spending.

[Knight]: We need to look at this in a way that the individuals in this community if this goes through and quite frankly, I think that we do need to generate more revenue, how we do it is the question, right.

[Knight]: Now if you look at the tax rate in the city I mentioned, it's very low compared to our neighboring communities, it's very low.

[Knight]: And over time we've seen commercial properties in the number of passes that are commercial dwindle.

[Knight]: So we're at about 7% now, you know what I mean, I'd like to see us at around 15 to 20.

[Knight]: For us to have that strong commercial tax base that we don't need to have this conversation every year, but we can't do that with the zoning Board of Appeals that doesn't embrace growth with a historical commission that won't let anybody improve their own homes to generate increased tax revenue and improve curb appeal and neighborhoods.

[Knight]: So, wow.

[Knight]: This is a very.

[Knight]: interesting issue, and it's an issue that needs to be discussed, that needs to be talked about, because we cannot continue to go on this way.

[Knight]: We absolutely cannot.

[Knight]: Our roads are the worst in the region.

[Knight]: DPW is the most understaffed in the region.

[Knight]: $2.6 million for DPW personnel will go a long way.

[Knight]: It will go a long way, if the money ever gets there, if the money goes to where it's intended to go.

[Knight]: At the very least, if this question does come to fruition, if this issue does come up, every individual should get an estimate as to what it's gonna cost them individually.

[Knight]: And it would be great if we had an assessor in this community that could answer some questions and put that data and information together for us, but we don't even have an assessor.

[Knight]: So for us to do this right now, I think is scary.

[Knight]: We're looking at exemptions.

[Knight]: Exemptions are great, but the money has to be shifted somewhere.

[Knight]: And the more exemptions we pass, the more we're gonna squeeze those in the middle and they're already being squeezed.

[Knight]: So we have a lot to think about here and a lot to discuss.

[Knight]: I just see this as a spending issue and a spending problem here in the community, as well as a number of other issues that are going on that I think are putting us in a position to be a little bit

[Knight]: less financially sound than we could be if we were a little bit more proactive.

[Knight]: Three years ago, we passed the budget.

[Knight]: And that budget had zero dollars and zero cents of deficit spending.

[Knight]: Three years later, we spent $29.7 million in deficit spending.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Knight]: First of all, I think it's safe to say that the budget that we have right now isn't the budget that any of us want.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: The question is, will $12 million give us that.

[Knight]: And I don't think it will.

[Knight]: because the budget we have right now is the same budget that we've had for 40 years.

[Knight]: It's just been tweaked and tweaked and tweaked and tweaked year after year.

[Knight]: We've never really had a major comprehensive reform or a look at the way we spend in this community.

[Knight]: We've never prioritized the way we spend in this community.

[Knight]: I called for a zero-based budget when COVID hit.

[Knight]: Perfect opportunity for us to break it down to zero and build every department back up.

[Knight]: Start using, how about metrics and data-driven decision-making instead of reactive decision-making, right?

[Knight]: We didn't do that.

[Knight]: Now, week in and week out,

[Knight]: And it's been going on for 30 years, you hear the same thing fix this sidewalk fix this road fix this street.

[Knight]: We asked for more, we asked for priority spending in various areas across the community, and we're not getting it.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: I see what Councilor bears is doing he's bringing a solution to a problem.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: I think there's more than one way to do it.

[Knight]: I know he thinks there's many ways to do it he's looked at them all, or the ones that he's looked at it, and he thinks that this is the best one.

[Knight]: All right, and he thinks this is the best one because you know why it plugs the hole exactly right it stops all the bleeding.

[Knight]: We're ready to rock and roll we're back to, we're back to even, and we're going to move forward right.

[Knight]: I get it, I get where you're coming from, I do.

[Knight]: I really do, I get it, right?

[Knight]: But I still don't think that 12 million would give us the budget that we want or the budget that we're looking for or the spending in the priority areas that we've been asking for.

[Knight]: And until we take that budget and break it down, break it down to zero to see whether or not we can make do with what we have a little more or a little less, I think we're doing,

[Knight]: a little bit of a disservice.

[Knight]: Now I agree, there's not a lot of places you can cut, but there are places you can cut.

[Knight]: It's not so much cutting as it is moving the shells around, right?

[Knight]: This account might have to go into that account, just like end of the year transfers that we see every year.

[Knight]: We pass a budget, the budget isn't the budget.

[Knight]: At the end of the year, they come to us and they say, there's a million dollars in the fire department's overtime account that wasn't spent, let's transfer it over here.

[Knight]: Right, every year, there's a million dollars in this account that wasn't spent, let's transfer it over there.

[Knight]: The budget's the best case scenario, right?

[Knight]: When you look at the budget, the budget is just a picture.

[Knight]: If everything went perfect, this is how it would be spent.

[Knight]: But it's never spent that way.

[Knight]: It's never, ever spent that way.

[Knight]: And I think that there has to be a discussion, there has to be a process.

[Knight]: But to say, let the voters, trust the voters, I've always trusted the voters, Justin.

[Knight]: I've always trusted the voters.

[Knight]: That's why we're here, because the voters trust us.

[Knight]: I've trusted the voters I put my faith in them, and they've given me the opportunity to sit here and serve.

[Knight]: So, when it comes up to a circumstance like this, where I think the process is a little bit flawed, because it's in the 11th hour, because we've been left with no other options, other than to say, can we live with this for another 12 months.

[Knight]: and then start a process all over again, and exercise and futility if you must, at some points we think, because we have a partner that doesn't wanna cooperate, it doesn't wanna have a strong partnership with us.

[Knight]: A chief of staff that comes up here and fights with us instead of works with us, gives us more defenses than answers, right?

[Knight]: We're gonna be in the same situation again, I understand that.

[Knight]: And I can appreciate Councilor Calls and Councilor Beall bringing this issue up and saying, look it, we have a large scale problem and here's a large scale solution.

[Knight]: We can keep putting band-aids on things or we can go in for surgery, right?

[Knight]: And that's really what this is.

[Knight]: This is us making a decision as to whether or not we wanna do conservative treatment or go in for surgery.

[Knight]: And that's something that needs to be weighed.

[Knight]: And when you oppose with that question in your personal life, you surround yourself with the people, your family.

[Knight]: That's our community right now.

[Knight]: That's our family, the community.

[Knight]: And you tell them what's going on and you get their input.

[Knight]: So we really need to establish a process if this is the direction that we want to go in.

[Knight]: And the process can't be this short.

[Knight]: I'd be happy to have this discussion moving forward to get this ready to go at some point in time to get languages proper for us to see what our financial needs are and move on something.

[Knight]: But now's not the time.

[Knight]: Now's not the time.

[Knight]: when we took a vote on Mystic Avenue in the middle of the summer, you would have thought Mayor Longo's head was gonna explode.

[Knight]: You used that to catapult yourself into office.

[Knight]: You thought that Stephanie Burke was gonna put apartments all up and down Mystic Avenue, no one was gonna be able to drive their car.

[Knight]: Never happened.

[Knight]: Nothing's happened on Mystic Avenue since.

[Knight]: Nothing's happened on Mystic Avenue since.

[Knight]: There's been no development, there's been no growth until this council passed the recodification of zoning.

[Knight]: and was able to start generating revenue for this community.

[Knight]: So we have some tools in our toolbox too right now.

[Knight]: In September, we're gonna get an RFP out.

[Knight]: I mean, in September, we're gonna get an assistant city solicitor, we're told.

[Knight]: We're gonna get an RFP out for our zoning consultant to continue to build upon the work that we've done.

[Knight]: We're gonna be able to generate revenue for that.

[Knight]: So I think we're gonna be able to do our part in creating recurring non-tax-based, recurring revenue, not one-time revenue sources.

[Knight]: But in terms of this question, in the direction that we're going in, I commend you on the hard work that you both put into this and the efforts that you put forward.

[Knight]: I'm not comfortable with it, based upon the timing and the process, more so than the question that's being asked.

[Knight]: I do have a couple of concerns that are legal in nature.

[Knight]: surrounding this?

[Knight]: Can we put a question on that says $0 or $1?

[Knight]: Is it plurality?

[Knight]: Is it 50% of the people that voted or just 50% of the people that voted the question?

[Knight]: You know, that would make this, that would enable this in an act?

[Knight]: You know, so there are a couple of questions that I have related to the process of passage as well as the financial side of things without an assessor.

[Knight]: I just think we're in a real scary spot right now.

[Knight]: We're talking about assessments and exemptions

[Knight]: moving, shifting a pot of money around among a small group of people, we really need to know what the dollars and cents are going to be.

[Knight]: Without an assessor, we can't do that.

[Knight]: If I may offer a compromise, why don't we allow everyone to speak once and use their a lot of time and then they can come back up and speak a second time.

[Knight]: We're not going to limit them to once.

[Knight]: Keep them within their five minute framework.

[Knight]: Let them speak.

[Knight]: If there are other people in line that want to come up and speak, let them and then we can keep talking until we're done.

[Knight]: The city budget actually pays the most for parking, because it went from not paying anything to now paying over a million dollars a year.

[Knight]: I don't think that that's a fair assessment.

[Knight]: I think everybody behind this reel gives a lot of their time and a lot of their effort, right?

[Knight]: I don't think you can give enough time to do it.

[Knight]: To make this city a better place, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: So when you make that, I'm a politician, trust me.

[Knight]: I mean, I just don't think that's a fair characteristic.

[Knight]: Is he giving you any reason not to trust him?

[Knight]: It's not even a motion, it's just a rule in one sentence.

[Knight]: It's a reference to chapter 43, section 22 of the general laws, which says that if any member of the council objects, the measure should be postponed for that meeting.

[Knight]: So it's postponed for this meeting.

[Knight]: one of the rules hasn't been debated.

[Knight]: Oh, still move approval.

[Knight]: That's fine.

[Knight]: Leave this companion paper that's the same amount of President 22435 and 22435 offered by Councilor Caraviello.

[Knight]: Councilor Caraviello's abstention, I'd just like to mention that he was also a great member of this Metro community, not just the Grace Church community.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: And served that country well.

[Knight]: Move approval.

[Knight]: Why don't we open it up to anybody that's in favor or against before, like.

[Knight]: Is there anyone else who would like to... Madam President, actually, I'd like to keep... Continue?

[Knight]: Madam President, I ask that we keep the public hearing open for 90 days.

[Knight]: You need to...

[Knight]: I'm sorry, not to close the public hearing to keep it open for 90 days.

[Knight]: No, not with approval.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: Starbucks right now is in the middle of a quite a public

[Knight]: dispute over the conditions that they placed their workers in allowing the five o'clock opening right now in the middle of a contract negotiation.

[Knight]: I don't think it's the way to go.

[Knight]: There's a strike going on at Starbucks right now for the Starbucks baristas relative to wages, hours and conditions of employment.

[Knight]: I think that's something that needs to be remedied.

[Knight]: I support the work of people and I think this corporate giant should go to the table, sit down with them.

[Knight]: They're not broke.

[Knight]: No, I just wanna keep the public hearing open for 90 days to be sure that our friends at the United Commercial Workers can come down and express their concern about this when the time is right.

[Knight]: I was just gonna second the motion.

[Knight]: So would taking these roadways from the school department as private property and then making them public ways allow us to utilize CHAPA 90 funds to repair them?

[Knight]: Let's keep the comment period open in case there's any question about whether or not we need to have input from the traffic commission on such a matter.

[Knight]: I don't think we do, but let's keep it open just in case friends of the traffic commission have some input they'd like to make.

[Knight]: I'm the other guy.

[Knight]: I'm that guy.

[Knight]: I know, I know, but we don't live in Las Vegas, you know, 55 inch LCD screens.

[Knight]: And my uncle was the quartermaster at the Milton VFW for a number of years.

[Knight]: So I know what you're dealing with out there as well.

[Knight]: So these are gonna be 55 inch screens?

[Knight]: And there's only gonna be two of them?

[Knight]: Okay, so we're looking at 220 inches, square inches of illuminated sign.

[Knight]: Okay, in two locations.

[Knight]: Designed for pedestrians to look at when they're crossing the street, right?

[Knight]: They don't have to if they don't want to.

[Knight]: Are there crosswalks in the locations where they are about the areas where the signs are going to be located?

[Knight]: I know what you're talking about.

[Knight]: With the placement, I'd like to see the placement be placed where a crosswalk is, right?

[Knight]: So that at the very least, the stop sign crosswalk.

[Knight]: So, I mean, someone's going to look at a distracted driving, something we talk about all the time, right?

[Knight]: If you guys have driven in this parking lot, right?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: You'd want the bulldozer, not the truck, right?

[Knight]: I mean, it's crazy in there.

[Knight]: There's a lot of cars, a lot of vehicles, a lot of heavy trucking going on.

[Knight]: I'm not so worried about the internal illumination because I mean who's your neighbor half afraid you know what I mean I don't think that they're going to really mind too much if they see that.

[Knight]: In terms of moving forward we have two now is there plans for expansion or is it just going to be two?

[Knight]: Yeah, but if you work at Brown Rudnick, and you guys are slick talking lawyers, we approve it once, next thing you know, you come in and, oh, you approved it last time, now you're out, you can't do that now, what are you gonna do?

[Knight]: No, you've addressed my concerns.

[Knight]: As long as the crosswalk issue is addressed and this is located in close proximity to a crosswalk and stop sign, I certainly have no problem with it.

[Knight]: But if someone's not charging, they don't have an electric vehicle, they just park there.

[Knight]: And have they expressed willingness to do that?

[Knight]: In other places.

[Knight]: If we could get a financial presentation from the finance department, Madam President.

[Knight]: Madam President for me.

[Knight]: Can you just discuss the nature of the settlement for $137,000?

[Knight]: Previous city solicitor did something happen to our existing city solicitor that we need to know about.

[Knight]: That's all.

[Knight]: Madam President, in my, on my desk today when I came in I found a packet.

[Knight]: And it was provided to us from local 22.

[Knight]: I look at 25 rather and going through it.

[Knight]: It has a number of charges documents.

[Knight]: I'm wondering if, you know, based upon the fact that there's $192,000 of overspending in this account right now, and the administration's asking us to transfer that from the fire department public safety to legal.

[Knight]: I'm hoping maybe gentlemen that gave us this packet can just give us a brief outline as to what's in it so that we have a better understanding as to what's going on on the side of things.

[Knight]: On the underlying question, Madam President, if we could just get a review of the packet related to the law line item from- Yeah, I'm not sure I even did that.

[Knight]: The messenger did pass it out.

[Knight]: It's quite voluminous.

[Knight]: I just do want to point back out to the meeting we had with Mr. Silverstein that said that these attorneys are not attorneys for the city of Medford.

[Knight]: These attorneys don't work for the city council.

[Knight]: His attorneys don't work for anybody but the mayor's office.

[Knight]: Their client is the mayor.

[Knight]: That's who their client is.

[Knight]: That's where their loyalties lie, not to the taxpayers of this community.

[Knight]: He made that clear.

[Knight]: How much longer is the lying going to go on?

[Knight]: That's my question.

[Knight]: How much longer is the buffaloing going to go on?

[Knight]: How much longer are we going to be left in the dock?

[Knight]: And then in the last 11th hour, you come up here and ask us to spend hundreds and hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars.

[Knight]: That's my question.

[Knight]: How much longer do we have to wait for the quarterly presentations from the finance director that we've asked for for three years?

[Knight]: Those are questions I can ask, too, if those are the questions you were willing and ready to answer.

[Knight]: We've been giving you an opportunity now for 36 months to do so.

[Knight]: But then after the retained earnings get certified in the fall, can you come back and request an additional 250,000 and then provide that additional rate?

[Knight]: Well, I know, but earnings in three months, or maybe the way things are going.

[Knight]: So right now, the only option we have is to either vote this paper through with $500,000 or table it until such time as the chief of staff can get the legal advice that this council has been asking for to have here during these meetings to get a determination as to whether or not the mayor's allowed to amend the paper for $250,000 on the floor the night of the meeting after it's been proposed.

[Knight]: It's a lot of procedure problems.

[Knight]: I just want to be adamantly clear that I'm 110% favor of water sewer rate relief.

[Knight]: I mean, that's what the retained earnings are flawed.

[Knight]: That's what we should be doing with this money.

[Knight]: Keep a healthy amount of reserves and then get the money back to the taxpayer, the back to the ratepayer for relief.

[Knight]: I certainly think that this is the way to go.

[Knight]: The question is just when can we follow the proper mechanism to do it so that we don't find ourselves in a financial situation or a legal situation.

[Knight]: Any discussion on this paper from the Council, Madam President, the way I'm reading it is that this paper is in accord with the surrounding agreement with when casino, which would mean that

[Knight]: They're telling us we have to hire a motor vehicle graduate payment and a transportation engineer, or is this positions that were negotiated through this agreement?

[Knight]: Maybe someone could elaborate.

[Knight]: Are these positions something that we said, you know, when the casino gets open, we want you to fund these positions for the city of Medford annually, or is it a direct appropriation of money that they give us that we then turn and spend however we see fit?

[Knight]: Absolutely.

[Knight]: I'm just wondering if this agreement dictates that these are the funds, these are where the funds need to be paid.

[Knight]: When you read this, the language of it says that these appropriations are in accord with or in compliance with the Medford and Winn Casino surrounding

[Knight]: Community Impact Agreement.

[Knight]: So does that agreement say that when we'll fund an annual transportation engineer and an annual MEO3?

[Knight]: Or does it say that they'll provide us with funds that we can use in a discretionary fashion when we see fit?

[Knight]: So the agreement with Wynn says that we can use these funds for anything.

[Knight]: We're choosing to use them for these two positions.

[Knight]: I'd like to sever the police cruisers from the rest of the paper of course.

[Knight]: Madam President, we'll for approval or $165,000 to purchase a three new hybrid police cruisers to the police department.

[Knight]: Thank you very much, Madam President, Mr. McGovern, how are you sir.

[Knight]: Excellent.

[Knight]: Quick question.

[Knight]: this remediation project is the property owner responsible for payments of any of the radiation.

[Knight]: Are there any other remediation commitments from any of the neighbors that are privately owned parcels there?

[Knight]: I believe they've been exhausted.

[Knight]: Has the city made any payments to private entities or interests relative to the remediation that is possible or abiding?

[Knight]: If you can give me a breakdown of that please from your office if the expenses have been made payments to the to any of butter of the mediation project.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: If you're able to go over that briefly, as it relates to police cruisers.

[Knight]: Any discussion or emotion on this paper, as I understand it, Madam President.

[Knight]: This appropriation would replace the revenue shortfalls that came with poor economic performance in regards to permitting meals taxes, hotel restaurant taxes, and new growth, as well as development permitting.

[Knight]: The ABA funds were put in place for us to replace revenues when we come into shortfalls like this.

[Knight]: So it seems like it's something that we need to do.

[Knight]: Whether or not we want to, we need this $7 million in revenue to balance the budget.

[Knight]: We need this $7 million in revenue to be sure that our government continues to operate.

[Knight]: We need this $7 million, the corporation I'm sorry not government corporations so this corporation operates.

[Knight]: So, I just wanted to make that quick.

[Knight]: Yeah, it's not how I read chapter 44, section 32, but.

[Knight]: Well, it's my understanding that, and Madam Mayor, thank you for being here, and I appreciate the fact that you've taken the hits you have, I've thrown them at you, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: Yeah, you're standing here.

[Knight]: You've thrown some good ones, too.

[Knight]: I learned from the best, you know, you sat next to me for a while.

[Knight]: Yeah, I did sit next to you, yeah.

[Knight]: I missed this.

[Knight]: So, my question is, looking at,

[Knight]: Looking at this 500,000 that you're talking about, you're taking out of negotiated salary accounts.

[Knight]: When the budget was presented, it was presented that there was a 2% cost of living adjustment was penciled into this, right?

[Knight]: From the negotiated salary accounts across all the open contracts.

[Knight]: Right, because what I'm hearing is that we have some money set aside.

[Knight]: We've already made a commitment that it's going to be 2% cost of living adjustments, and now we're going to take money out of that account to fund these other items.

[Knight]: So then that would leave less money on the table for these cost of living adjustments.

[Knight]: Right, so what I'm saying, there are some contracts that are gonna be under negotiation right now.

[Knight]: We put money into a negotiated salaries account to fund, hopefully, a settled contract.

[Knight]: We've appropriated those funds at 2%.

[Knight]: Now we're taking money out of that account.

[Knight]: So there's not gonna be 2% in there for these negotiated contracts.

[Knight]: Now, quite frankly, I don't think that these men and women that are out working every day, coming to work every day, should take less than 2%.

[Knight]: They should get more than 2% anyway.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: So if we're taking money.

[Knight]: All we're doing is robbing Petey to pay Paul, right?

[Knight]: We're saying make the council happy by giving them this money and opening the library, but now we get the contract problems still on our hands.

[Knight]: We have open contracts and we're taking money out of negotiated salary accounts.

[Knight]: It's a tug of war, right?

[Knight]: It's a zero sum game.

[Knight]: All we're doing is moving money from this part to this part.

[Knight]: Right, but what I'm saying is based upon the financial presentation that's been given to us, the future budgeting projection has always been at 2% or more.

[Knight]: So if we're rating that account and taking $500,000 out of it for an account that's already been looked at for future negotiated contracts, right, at 2%, we have less money in the pot now to spend.

[Knight]: That we'll have to cover with free cash.

[Knight]: We'll have to cover with free cash or some other revenue stream, right?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Okay, thank you.

[Knight]: I convinced you, huh?

[Knight]: Madam President, I think it's also important to point out there's no paper for a proposition two and a half over right before this council this evening.

[Knight]: This is true.

[Knight]: The only thing that's before us is the operating budget, right?

[Knight]: The council is going to vote it up, vote it down and make changes to it.

[Knight]: The question of a proposition two and a half over is not something that's going to be addressed this evening or solved this evening.

[Knight]: I think the ma'am made that clear in her comments as well.

[Knight]: And then they- Those NDA transfers, right?

[Knight]: So ultimately you had $194,000 of surplus funds in your account from last- Right, those are because I had those extra positions that are now gone.

[Knight]: Budgeted positions that were vacant, so we didn't have a true number of your actual operating budget.

[Knight]: Right, and that's why we talked about the $1.9 million appropriations overtime and whether or not you're gonna be able

[Knight]: Madam President.

[Knight]: Have I talked about legal services?

[Knight]: There is a line item in our budget number 0101515302.

[Knight]: Last year, I put forward a motion asking that this line item be cut by the amount of $55,000.

[Knight]: Council passed it.

[Knight]: Around January, the administration came back and asked for supplemental appropriation to the budget, the amount of $55,000.

[Knight]: That appropriation passed.

[Knight]: That was the fund KP law.

[Knight]: As we look at our budget this year, we see that line item has a dollar figure attached to it of $81,600.

[Knight]: I'd ask that that budget be reduced by $81,600 for that particular line item for professional legal services, Madam President.

[Knight]: I could go into the thousand reasons that I've stated previously, but I'll spare everybody based upon the late hour.

[Knight]: Well, apparently, Madam President, the Council is doing much more than one ordinance per year, as stated previously.

[Knight]: I guess we're getting some good work done.

[Knight]: I quite frankly think we can operate without them.

[Knight]: I don't think we need them.

[Knight]: I think that that money could be better spent, quite frankly, maybe with a zoning consultant to begin phase two of our zoning recartification.

[Knight]: As we sat here for the last couple of weeks and we looked, we saw that we were able to generate millions of dollars in funds for this community through the recartification effort with the creation of an O2 district.

[Knight]: We've generated probably close to $6 million worth of permitting fees and new growth in the community based upon this effort.

[Knight]: So I think that this is a worthwhile endeavor.

[Knight]: I think it's a good expense, to be honest with you.

[Knight]: And I think making the cut makes sense.

[Knight]: I just like to point out that we were able to do it without KPMG law previously.

[Knight]: I understand the chief's point.

[Knight]: I understand the chief's point about reform and how things have changed, and I do, and I get it, chief.

[Knight]: I understand that.

[Knight]: Okay, but just the implementation of police reform to come out of the purchasing office if that's the case for a specific scope of service for that, for that purpose.

[Knight]: Well, I would assume we have a city solicitor in this community that would pick up the phone and take that call and be able to provide you with that guidance, Chief.

[Knight]: And I think that that's part of the problem.

[Knight]: I think we're moving away from our in-house city solicitor, who has the institutional knowledge of 20 years of working in this building, and we're moving away from them to a private service

[Knight]: that's being paid where we see a new face every other day and a new person every other day.

[Knight]: Right now, when Councilor Caraviello met with the mayor to discuss the future of legal services here to the council, the discussion was pretty clear.

[Knight]: The mayor made an offer, the council rejected it.

[Knight]: The mayor said that's your offer and walked away and that was it.

[Knight]: And then there was no negotiation discussion about it until tonight when we heard that there might be

[Knight]: reallocation of funds that they're going to take it out of the negotiated salary accounts, which is set up to provide the funds for your employees and for the employees that sit behind you to fund this want for the council and it's not really a want it's a need we need this right.

[Knight]: So, quite frankly, we did this last year and we were able to survive.

[Knight]: We're able to survive.

[Knight]: We did it last year, we're able to survive, but I don't think it's something that's going to impact our operations to the point of red flags.

[Knight]: I think that it's something that we're going to be able to work through.

[Knight]: And if the administration is serious about what they said, but they want to work with us and they want to put together a budget that works, then we'll be happy to come back to the table and discuss this further.

[Knight]: But the council needs certain tools in their toolbox to be successful as well.

[Knight]: Mr. Bailey, I can appreciate that.

[Knight]: I mean, here we have,

[Knight]: But just city departments we get the city budget here and as I look at this budget and I see all the city departments talking about how they need legal services right and then I look at the budget here and I see the city department it's called legislative.

[Knight]: That's us.

[Knight]: We're a city department as well, and we also need the service, and we're not getting it to the level that we need it at.

[Knight]: So that's why we're taking the action.

[Knight]: That's why I'm taking the action I'm taking.

[Knight]: I don't know what my colleagues are gonna do.

[Knight]: They've supported this measure in the past, and I'm pretty sure they're gonna support it again.

[Knight]: But I think that, again, like Councilor Scarpelli said, all those things that they do for you, they don't do for us, but we need them to do for us.

[Knight]: And that's why we're making this move.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: Madam President, last meeting we talked a little bit about our prestigious historic commission and I had discussed my desire to slash that budget based upon the

[Knight]: actions that they tend to live by, which is not, in my opinion, good for business here in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: Ultimately, we do have an appropriation before us for what looks like $36,500, but part of that's a matching grant.

[Knight]: And if I can get a commitment from my colleagues to have a committee of the whole on this to discuss the ordinance, I'd be happy to move off of my defunding of the historic commission for this point in time for us to sit down and have some talk over the ordinance to see if we can create an ordinance that actually works in this community.

[Knight]: When you look at the historic commission and you ask how many houses have been saved.

[Knight]: through the demolition delay process over the past 20 years, I think the answer is one, 22 Turoev, and that was done with a deed of restriction with the buyer prior to the purchase of the home.

[Knight]: So ultimately, we have an ordinance that's a place that doesn't work.

[Knight]: It's morphed itself into more of a design review board, and I don't think that it's really meeting the objections in the legislative intent that has been outlined in the ordinance when it was passed.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Madam President, in an effort to

[Knight]: provide the city with the ability to receive the matching grant.

[Knight]: If I can get a commitment from my colleagues to move forward and have a Committee of the Whole on this issue to review the ordinance, I'd be happy to no longer further introduce that measure.

[Knight]: Madam President, I as one member of this body support increasing the funding to the library, but I don't support taking out of the negotiated salaries line item.

[Knight]: That's the money that's been set aside to pay the cost of living adjustments for the people that came up here and told us their story this evening.

[Knight]: So I just don't feel comfortable taking him out of that account, because all we're doing is robbing Peter to pay Paul.

[Knight]: We have a problem over here and a problem over here.

[Knight]: We're going to take it from over here and put it over here, and then we'll deal with that problem later.

[Knight]: I don't think that makes good sense.

[Knight]: I think it makes political sense, but I don't think it makes good fiscal sense.

[Knight]: Does Shane get paid for next day now?

[Knight]: Because he's been here for two days.

[Knight]: So Shane should definitely get paid twice.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: First of all, I think this council owes you a debt of gratitude because it wouldn't be where we are today, if it wasn't for your persistence.

[Knight]: You're not allowed to sit down we're going to give you what you want the big seat you got to stand up.

[Knight]: But we wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for your persistence.

[Knight]: Since your election as council president, you've been across the hall banging on the door saying, when are we going to start the budget hearings?

[Knight]: When are we going to start the budget hearings?

[Knight]: When are we going to start the budget hearings?

[Knight]: And it's because of that persistence that we're able to make the decisions that we've made tonight.

[Knight]: And we were also able to receive the information that we've received, albeit in a fashion that maybe not satisfied many of us, but nonetheless got us through a process.

[Knight]: Now, quite frankly, for me, Madam President, this isn't about an organization.

[Knight]: This isn't about a corporation, all right?

[Knight]: This is about our city, all right?

[Knight]: This is about Medford.

[Knight]: It's about our neighbors.

[Knight]: It's about our family, our kids, all right?

[Knight]: It's about the men and women that go to work every day and try to make this city great.

[Knight]: And when we look at what's going on before COVID and since, we've seen an absolute HR nightmare.

[Knight]: when it comes to various department heads in this building.

[Knight]: We've seen the council call for quarterly meetings on the financial health of this community to no avail.

[Knight]: We've seen the council beg and plead for a copy of the monthly warrant articles, showing us where the money's being spent to the point where we've had to ask that the solicitor draft an ordinance for us.

[Knight]: When COVID hit, I thought it was the perfect opportunity for us to hit the reset button.

[Knight]: to look at some zero-based budgeting, where appropriations are actually based upon measurables, not a recycled budget from when Mr. Glione was the town manager, with little modifications throughout the last 40 years.

[Knight]: So here we are asking for information.

[Knight]: Between May and July, we virtually go undergoing.

[Knight]: And then come May and June, the council's got a seat at the table finally.

[Knight]: And when we finally have a seat at the table and we raise all those issues that we talked about for the last year, we get told any action other than a rubber stamp will be detrimental to this organization.

[Knight]: I don't think we can operate like this.

[Knight]: I don't think we can continue to afford to operate like this.

[Knight]: There's not a road in this street that you, not a road or a street in the city that you can drive down.

[Knight]: It's not in disrepair.

[Knight]: There's not a road or a street in this city that doesn't have a stump that's seven feet tall for some reason, but all the stumps are this tall.

[Knight]: They're gonna cut the tree down, cut the tree down.

[Knight]: I mean, come on, enough's enough, right?

[Knight]: I mean, the things are gigantic, right?

[Knight]: At the end of the day, you know, services have been degraded to the point where we have to hit the reset button.

[Knight]: And, you know, as I said, for me, this is about this city.

[Knight]: This is about our neighbors, our kids, our families, and the hard working men and women that go to work every day to make this city great.

[Knight]: Those are the people with their boots on the ground.

[Knight]: Those aren't the people with these things in front of their desks.

[Knight]: All right, we're not the ones that make the city great.

[Knight]: We make informed decisions to move that process along.

[Knight]: But it's the people in this room that were up here advocating and fighting for themselves that make the city great.

[Knight]: And they're what make a community.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, I think that this budget doesn't support that.

[Knight]: It misses the mark.

[Knight]: And for that reason, I won't be voting for it this evening.

[Knight]: No more important financial responsibility from our finance office than the fiscal health of this community and in the city budget.

[Knight]: All right, I don't care what else is going on.

[Knight]: Nothing's more important than the fiscal health of this city, and the operating budget, because we can't operate without.

[Knight]: We can't move forward right so we got to get back to a spot where we can operate, and we can deliver services and we're not there.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: I have a question as to whether or not a meeting can even go past midnight into the next day when it's been posted for yesterday.

[Knight]: 22-409.

[Knight]: Leilaniwa's petition for grant of location.

[Knight]: Two questions, Madam President.

[Knight]: The first question is it appears based upon the reading of this application that all the work will be done exclusively along the sidewalk?

[Knight]: Will there be a traffic planning plan there?

[Knight]: Will the road be closed down?

[Knight]: Correct.

[Knight]: I heard that Somerville really likes it if you could detour the cars through Somerville.

[Knight]: Is that a metric when you do that?

[Knight]: But all right, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Now, how long is this going to take?

[Knight]: Eight weeks.

[Knight]: Eight to 10 weeks.

[Knight]: And when are you going to be doing the work during the day?

[Knight]: Madam President, if I do recall,

[Knight]: There was some discussion when they were doing some Greenland extension work that we had half a street paved curb to curb.

[Knight]: If I'm not mistaken, at one point in time, maybe within the last several years, maybe the city engineer, the former city engineer and now DPW commissioner.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: Forget about that stuff.

[Knight]: When did we repave that street?

[Knight]: Was that within the last five years?

[Knight]: Yes, it does fall into more than five years.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: So we get it this way, but you guys will figure out this way.

[Knight]: Exactly.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: You're welcome.

[Knight]: that I would even not move to waive it would be due to the large scale community act activity from some of the residents of the Lincoln Kennedy condominiums.

[Knight]: I want to make sure that they're well aware that this project is going to take place before it goes off.

[Knight]: I just want to make a note that this is the first time anything that said Brooks, master plan on it, that Tom Lincoln wasn't here for.

[Knight]: I hope he's okay.

[Knight]: I believe that the way that CPC is structured is that there's a certain statutory positions that are required representatives from the Park Commission, right?

[Knight]: Representatives from the Historic Commission, and then we have some open positions as well.

[Knight]: And those open positions would be subject to council approval where the other positions are not, if I'm not mistaken, correct, Joan?

[Knight]: It's been a long time since we worked on this one.

[Knight]: I know, I know, a long time.

[Knight]: It's amazing.

[Knight]: Now, where you are coming in as a general

[Knight]: nominee.

[Knight]: I heard you say a little bit about housing.

[Knight]: Is that what your focus is going to be on here?

[Knight]: Or is that going to be one of your areas of expertise that you're offering us here?

[Knight]: Or, you know, why do you want to be on the CPC?

[Knight]: Why should we vote for you?

[Knight]: I guess is the question.

[Knight]: That's what they ask me when I run for office every year.

[Knight]: Let's ask you that question.

[Knight]: and can we expect you to fill out the duration of the term?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: So it's now June 29th at 1249 in the morning.

[Knight]: This council met as a body in May and set their budget priorities.

[Knight]: That was like seven weeks ago, eight weeks ago.

[Knight]: We went through an exercise of reviewing each department's budget.

[Knight]: And when we reviewed their budget, we continued to reiterate what our priorities were.

[Knight]: We went through another exercise of going through a budget presentation

[Knight]: And now all of a sudden, at quarter one in the morning, the day before, the budget needs to be passed, we're at the table negotiating.

[Knight]: There's something fundamentally wrong with this process.

[Knight]: So now I sit here and I remember like in 2018 when at one o'clock in the morning, we took a vote about Mr. Gaff and there was outrage.

[Knight]: We're doing it in the shadow of darkness.

[Knight]: The people can't pay attention to what's going on.

[Knight]: What's the story here?

[Knight]: We should have been at the table.

[Knight]: the week after we put this council priority agenda list out.

[Knight]: And to have it be put on us now to be brought to the table to negotiate at one o'clock in the morning, literally like 46 hours before the fiscal year ends is irresponsible, I think.

[Knight]: quite frankly, we've all set it behind this rail.

[Knight]: Nobody makes good decisions after 11 o'clock at night.

[Knight]: Nobody certainly makes good decisions after a seven hour meeting.

[Knight]: And now's the time for us to start negotiating.

[Knight]: There's something fundamentally wrong with this process.

[Knight]: And I think part of it was the fact that nobody respected the council enough to think that they'd actually vote a budget down.

[Knight]: So, now, for the first time, and I've been involved in metropolitan politics a long time, right, 2025 years.

[Knight]: For the first time in my life, I've actually seen seven members of the Council come together and unify around one particular issue.

[Knight]: One big issue.

[Knight]: It's something that has to tell a story, right?

[Knight]: It has to speak volumes as to the process and what went on.

[Knight]: moment on I don't think it's fair that we're sitting here or one in the morning trying to negotiate a deal to pass a budget.

[Knight]: Less than 2 days before the fiscal year closes with we were beaten down the door starting in April to stop this process we put our priorities out well in advance.

[Knight]: Well before the public has given us this.

[Knight]: So again.

[Knight]: I think that this process is fundamentally wrong.

[Knight]: The way that we're going about doing this is not transparent.

[Knight]: It's not transparent at all.

[Knight]: I mean, the taxpayers are sitting there watching this meeting for the last six hours.

[Knight]: And now all of a sudden we get everything we want after we heard we're not going to get anything.

[Knight]: I'm very confused by this process, Madam President.

[Knight]: And I, again, Madam Mayor, I give you a lot of credit for coming here and facing the beast.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: Absolutely.

[Knight]: You know, you're in the belly of the beast.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: You're going to hear it on the street.

[Knight]: You're going to hear it on TV.

[Knight]: You're going to hear it here.

[Knight]: You're here to hear it.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: You had to face the music and I appreciate that.

[Knight]: Um, but I'm not comfortable with this process at all or the way that it's going down.

[Knight]: The way I'm hearing this is that we're gonna take money from facilities and give us what we're looking for, restore all the cuts that we just made, then they're gonna come and ask for more money later on.

[Knight]: They're gonna ask us for more money to make that appropriation, right?

[Knight]: I just want a financial picture.

[Knight]: I mean, because ultimately what we're doing is, in essence, we're just creating more spending down the road for later on, right?

[Knight]: So we're gonna restore the facility's budget with free cash money.

[Knight]: One information on that.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: It doesn't matter.

[Knight]: We can just make an ordinance that says 20 hours a week would be.

[Knight]: My question is, when's it going to be filled?

[Knight]: I mean, we can say, Oh, yeah, sounds good to me.

[Knight]: And then, you know, January, February, March, we still wait for the position to be posted.

[Knight]: I'm assuming that the mayor would maintain her position as the appointing authority relative to the assistant city solicitors position?

[Knight]: member of the council to be able to serve on the selection committee considering that or the city clerk therefore even with the person to be working in the council on the selection committee as they go through the process.

[Knight]: How's this any different than the veterans office, right?

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: We, we also talked a little bit about the work that I videographer does the amount of hours that he puts in the fact that, you know, his salary, that position hasn't changed in terms of stipend for now, as long as I can remember.

[Knight]: but where we've made such a move to the hybrid version of meetings and the like, I'd like to see some sort of a cost of living adjustment or a salary adjustment to the videographer.

[Knight]: And if we look at my budget here, we do a purchase of videographer services.

[Knight]: And I'm hoping the city clerk can tell me whether or not 5202 would be the videographer services that we utilize for Shane.

[Knight]: The way I see it, the kid barely makes minimum wage the way these meetings go.

[Knight]: So I'd like to maybe revisit this and maybe make that an hourly position as opposed to having to be a monthly stipend position.

[Knight]: Because right now I think he's getting $300 a month.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, you couldn't pay me $300 to do what he did tonight sitting in that room in the back over there listening to this.

[Knight]: So, you know, ultimately, this needs to be rectified.

[Knight]: It's something we need to address.

[Knight]: I don't think this is going to be a budget break.

[Knight]: It's not going to be one to hold us up.

[Knight]: But moving forward, I'd also like to get a commitment from the administration that they'd be willing to work with us on getting a videographer a more suitable wage than what is being compensated at right now.

[Knight]: 500 bucks.

[Knight]: Just like the CPA, there are buckets that you can use it for, right?

[Knight]: We're saying that there's $300,000 in ARPA funds that we know that we can use for this purpose.

[Knight]: We just have to make sure that we figure out what bucket that is.

[Knight]: And then just out of curiosity, if that money was there previously, and we were talking about the school budget for six hours, how come we didn't grab that money a long time ago and put that on the table?

[Knight]: And we probably would've got this conversation short by three hours.

[Knight]: For Chief Buckley, no.

[Knight]: We're going to hold the committee.

[Knight]: I never offered the motion to reduce the budget.

[Knight]: I said that we'll talk about it via ordinance as opposed to finance.

[Knight]: Madam President, at the beginning of these discussions, I explained the reasons why I was going to vote no on this budget.

[Knight]: I'm gonna have to find something else to talk about now that we've got 2 lawyers instead of one.

[Knight]: All I wanted was a part-time lawyer, and we got two.

[Knight]: So I'm very happy with the compromise that we were able to reach with the administration.

[Knight]: I will be voting in favor of the budget this evening based upon the fact that we were able to restore $300,000 to the schools.

[Knight]: That's for young children.

[Knight]: That's for young public school children.

[Knight]: I think this is gonna make a big difference.

[Knight]: I've also been talking about ad nauseam, the need for this council to have the tools and the toolbox necessary to do the job.

[Knight]: And with the appropriation of $50,000 for us to continue looking at phase two for the zoning consultant, and also $85,000 for our assistant city solicitor that will work part-time at the city council, I think a lot of our concerns are going to be addressed through those two mechanisms.

[Knight]: So with that being said, it was a pleasure to work with the mayor.

[Knight]: I was glad to see her here this evening so that we could actually work something out and negotiate it.

[Knight]: And again, like I said, thank you to you, Madam President, for the work that you did in putting this together.

[Knight]: and also thank you to the mayor for coming down here to the belly of the beast and facing the music and being able to work with us to negotiate something that can satisfy us.

[Knight]: Mr. President, first of all, I'd like to thank Mr. Rafferty for being here this evening.

[Knight]: He's actually here at our behest and our request.

[Knight]: Previously, he was here before us to get a common victuals license to open up his restaurant.

[Knight]: And we had a little bit of discussion about what was gonna be in the menu and the like, and where it's an establishment that serves alcohol.

[Knight]: He has received a alcohol permit from liquor licensing commission.

[Knight]: That license goes to one and but I am city of Medford in order to get extended hours need to come before the council so Mister Rafferty and his wisdom is actually following the protocols and processes that are in place here in the community.

[Knight]: I commend him for complying.

[Knight]: I am someone who really likes to sell it to make it thrown out the middle of the game.

[Knight]: So I certainly support this measure wholeheartedly from what I understand.

[Knight]: It has been quite a buzz about the business around the community a lot of people are

[Knight]: saying good things about it, and I wish you the best of luck, sir.

[Knight]: It's also very nice to see someone who resides in the community to invest their hard-earned dollars in this community and open up a business here.

[Knight]: So, me as one Councilor, and I'm sure my colleagues behind the rail, I'm more than happy and willing to help you out in any endeavor that you need moving forward to make sure that this is a smooth transition for you as you open this establishment.

[Knight]: but I support a lot of Mr. President, I'd offer the motion to waive the waiting period.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much, Mr. Deveney of any of any being here today.

[Knight]: Mr. President, by way of history, I believe this O2 district was something that we created the rezoning recodification and first one in 60 years.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: And it was, um, well, we did stations landing.

[Knight]: This parcel was actually the parcel that we had in mind when we started discussing this about a redevelopment opportunity.

[Knight]: Councilor Caraviello and our economic development director spoke at great length about what we can do to bring biotech into this community.

[Knight]: And one of the things was to create this office two district and create some dimensional requirements that might meet some of the needs that developers like this gentleman have.

[Knight]: I was wondering if you could tell us how many number of jobs this would create in construction and also permanently once the facility is complete.

[Knight]: So we're looking at one to 200 short term jobs that pay a good wage.

[Knight]: And then one to 200 long-term jobs that also pay a good wage for people that work in this type of industry will be able to live in the community also.

[Knight]: And also, I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about how much money this would generate for the city in permitting fees and also increased tax revenues.

[Knight]: Just last week, Mr. President, we had a neighbor of this parcel come to us with similar request.

[Knight]: They informed us that they'd be able to create a very similar aspect of jobs and growth growth was a little bit bigger is a lot larger parcel.

[Knight]: $3 million in permitting fees and $2.9 million in increased property tax revenues.

[Knight]: This project here, it should go pot and parcel with the approval that we just lended last week.

[Knight]: If we're going to redevelop, let's redevelop the whole area at once.

[Knight]: We also see a project that's going to be taking place down at Walkman Court near the side of the train tracks.

[Knight]: So with some proper planning in the next 12 to 18 months, we could see

[Knight]: significant expanded tax base down to new jobs, as well as some revitalized curb appeal down in an area that's somewhat run down and blighted.

[Knight]: So this is something that I think is good for our community to support a lot of.

[Knight]: Salem Street or Salem Street, high street Salem Street.

[Knight]: We're talking about a food truck permit.

[Knight]: This isn't a food truck, this is a pushcart.

[Knight]: And the city of Medford has an ordinance that prohibits pushcart services.

[Knight]: Right, so whether or not we're for it or against it or anything else.

[Knight]: This doesn't, this application isn't being presented to the council or the body in the right scope and form, right?

[Knight]: So for us to vote on this as a food truck doesn't make sense because it's not a food truck, it's a pushcart.

[Knight]: We have an ordinance that governs pushcarts at this point in time.

[Knight]: It might not be the answer that you want to see in terms of pushcarts are prohibited, I believe, in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: But from what I'm looking at here and what I see, I see a pushcart, not a food truck.

[Knight]: I don't see this application as being appropriate for the food truck,

[Knight]: application process.

[Knight]: Listen, if you were here and you said I want a one day permit to go to go to circle in the square, which was a big event that we had last week, I want to say go for it.

[Knight]: You know, I share my council's concerns.

[Knight]: But I think that there is a solution.

[Knight]: And when we look at the draft food truck ordinance that this city hasn't been able to put their head around since 2016.

[Knight]: Now, something that I support, I think that the city should have the opportunity to bring food trucks and other opportunities.

[Knight]: And I think competition, you know, is good for business, it drives costs down.

[Knight]: So it's always a good thing for the consumer.

[Knight]: It also creates better product for the consumer, right?

[Knight]: So it's price control and better product.

[Knight]: It's great for the neighborhood.

[Knight]: It's great for the economy, right?

[Knight]: Don't get me wrong.

[Knight]: I think a food truck will be good.

[Knight]: A food truck draft ordinance that we had that's been kicking around now for half a decade, has in it a contingency that says that the permit will be offered only if all businesses within 200 feet sign off on it.

[Knight]: If Maryland, as well as for the difference, doesn't care, then John,

[Knight]: That Martin Pastry doesn't care.

[Knight]: And they say, yeah, we have no problem with it.

[Knight]: Then why would we?

[Knight]: Right?

[Knight]: It's an opportunity to bring something new to the community.

[Knight]: It's an opportunity for us to try something different, to liven up a dead space, right?

[Knight]: I know we have the chess club down there whenever they're down there in the summertime as well.

[Knight]: I know that we've invested a lot of money in this area down here to bring people to the square under prior administrations, and that focus is somewhat soft.

[Knight]: So I don't think it's a bad idea.

[Knight]: I don't at all.

[Knight]: I share the concerns that my colleagues reiterated, have mentioned, and I also don't feel as though this is falling into the right process.

[Knight]: but it's something that I think we could come up with a solution on and maybe Vic, I don't know what you think about that.

[Knight]: Mr. Schrader.

[Knight]: That was a wicked long point of information.

[Knight]: I apologize for that.

[Knight]: I mean, I guess in the food truck ordinance, the way it was presented today, just like I did when it was presented before.

[Knight]: The term's already over pretty much.

[Knight]: We wouldn't make the gentleman come back next week.

[Knight]: I just had a question.

[Knight]: I was wondering if the street was a private way.

[Knight]: It is not, okay.

[Knight]: That's important.

[Knight]: They put you on the list and they'd be on the list forever because they don't do private ways.

[Knight]: Maybe the chief of staffs on the call and she can ask us you can help set up an appointment with trying to get an appointment.

[Knight]: I moved to take the budget off the table.

[Knight]: How fast do you think she'll come back?

[Knight]: Okay, I mean she wants a meeting with the mayor.

[Knight]: We have a chief of staff is supposed to be responsible for this stuff because I don't know what else they do.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: So this is something that the chief of staff should handle it.

[Knight]: All right, we have a chief of people or whatever, we have an HR director to handle HR, we have a budget director to handle the budget, we have a chief of staff that handles what?

[Knight]: Us.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much and thank you to my colleagues for putting this on Mr. Fitzpatrick was a great guy had the opportunity to meet him on a couple of occasions at the American Legion through various community events that are going on with his sons Sean and Brian will both close friends, both following their father's footsteps, with a commitment to service with a commitment to the veterans in this community, and they've given a lot.

[Knight]: instrumental in decorating graves on Memorial Day and the like, really just great great individuals that give back to the city that there is.

[Knight]: Fitzgerald's a great people, Fitzpatrick's a great people, and Mr. Fitzpatrick's gonna be sadly missed.

[Knight]: I offer my condolences as well.

[Knight]: Yes, Mr. President, if any of us have watched the news we've seen that it's going to be a bad season this year for ticks and the city of Medford is very blessed to have a great deal of open space.

[Knight]: The Middlesex fellows the Medford woods, and 22 active and passive parks across our community.

[Knight]: But with that comes the concern that we will be breeding ground for ticks.

[Knight]: So I'm asking that the Board of Health put together a mediation program, report back to the council what the cost would be, and whether or not this is something we can work on funding so that we can keep our community safe from a public health standpoint.

[Knight]: Yes, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I know by mechanism of law, I do believe we're audited every year, but we've been using the same firm, I think,

[Knight]: two decades.

[Knight]: So at some point it becomes negligible, right?

[Knight]: They're not going to say that they found something that they missed something last time.

[Knight]: they're going to figure it out as they go forward.

[Knight]: So I think that it might be something we also want to see go out to bed or be sent through the inspector general's office or maybe through the DKM list of auditors that might be available and open to us so that we can pick them from a state approved list of contractors as opposed to having to put the matter out to bed or to seek private counsel.

[Knight]: But I think it's very important that if we do have this audit, that it's done in an open and transparent fashion.

[Knight]: And then the administration does conduct informational meetings throughout the process as well.

[Knight]: Ultimately, the biggest topic in this community right now is on municipal finances.

[Knight]: After a little bit of yelling and screaming, the council was able to create enough noise where we found $4 million over in the administration side of things, they found $4 million.

[Knight]: So, you know, I think that as it goes forward, we wouldn't be in the situation we're in right now, not from a financial standpoint, but from a communication standpoint, if the administration stepped up to the plate and shared with us the information that we asked for and shared with us the information that we needed.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: And now as we sit here and we see the circumstances unfold, it gives us a reason to scratch our heads and raise question.

[Knight]: Um, so this is a vote that I'm happy to take this evening.

[Knight]: Um, you know, I hope that we're doing things the right way.

[Knight]: I hope that we're not mismanaging our money financially, but right now, you know, track record shows that we are.

[Knight]: Um, so I think this is a responsible resolution.

[Knight]: I think it's a responsible course of action.

[Knight]: Um, the question is going to lie in who's going to conduct

[Knight]: the audit, and whether or not it's going to be the same group that's been doing it year in and year out or if we're going to go and have some new fresh eyes.

[Knight]: Just to reiterate your point, Mr. President, I guess it is obvious that the financial software isn't the only thing in this building that doesn't talk to each other.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I certainly support them all heartedly.

[Knight]: I think these are very reflective of some of the comments that we had last week at our budget meeting when we discussed, you know, what's going on in this community from a financial standpoint.

[Knight]: A lot's changed from last Tuesday to this Tuesday, obviously, with the Boston Globe coming out over the weekend.

[Knight]: But ultimately, I think that these are responsible questions that make sense, that put us in a position to make smart decisions, right?

[Knight]: Ultimately, we wanna create a long-term successful future for our community.

[Knight]: We wanna have the confidence and the ability to know that our taxpayers are gonna receive the level of services that they so deserve.

[Knight]: And I think that this is information that's pretty much plain and simple.

[Knight]: They get it in other communities.

[Knight]: I don't understand why we can't get it here.

[Knight]: So thank you for putting it forward.

[Knight]: My supporter will have it.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Councilor Collins.

[Knight]: So Councilor Bears, as I'm understanding this, this is more of a planning tool than actually a step towards putting an override measure on the ballot, but more or less a planning tool is to say to the mayor, Madam Mayor, we see what's going on in this community.

[Knight]: Do you see something different?

[Knight]: And if you do, how are you gonna tackle it financially?

[Knight]: So I just wanna be very clear that this isn't the beginning of a two and a half override ballot question.

[Knight]: What this is,

[Knight]: us getting information from the city administration necessary for us to make a determination as to what direction the city is going to go in.

[Knight]: Correct.

[Knight]: But this is a planning tool really where it's we're asking the administration to say this is where we are this is where we need to be how can we get there without doing this.

[Knight]: Not we need to do this so immediately do it.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I'm just just a few minutes earlier this evening we had a gentleman before us who talked a little bit about a project that he wanted to do in an old to district that we just created.

[Knight]: And as part of that discussion, we talked about how much money would be generated through these property taxes, right?

[Knight]: And I'm just trying to find my notes here because I want to see how much money he said it was in permits.

[Knight]: It was $15 per thousand square feet for the project.

[Knight]: So I'm wondering, Mr. President, with the number of life science projects that are now coming online here in the community,

[Knight]: and with the structural deficit that we see, whether or not it would make sense for us to raise that or to even attach permitting fees to the rate of inflation so that we don't have to get to a situation where annually or biannually or semi-annually or, I mean, quite frankly, I don't think these things have been looked at since the McGlynn administration.

[Knight]: They can self-adjust based upon the inflation rate annually, as opposed to us having to pass an ordinance every year saying that this is what they're going to be.

[Knight]: So I think it might be an opportunity for us to generate some revenue to close the budget gap, and to do so in a way that's going to be recurring and not be on the back of the residential taxpayer.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Knight in the paper Mr. President, I will withdraw, by the way, Councilor Carol.

[Knight]: Madam President, this is something I'm very excited about.

[Knight]: This is the first petition that we've seen come before us after our newly codified zoning ordinance.

[Knight]: This is something that we worked on specifically, actually, to create an O2 district so that we could generate life science opportunities here in the community.

[Knight]: Mr. Walsh is a property owner in the community, as he said.

[Knight]: He owns a substantial amount of real estate here in Medford.

[Knight]: He's been a good neighbor, a good taxpayer.

[Knight]: Mr. wash I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about the revenues that the city will generate down through this process if you could.

[Knight]: And can you tell us right now what an estimate is we're getting out of that parcel?

[Knight]: I'm not much of a math guy, but it sounds like quite an investment in quite a worthwhile initiative for this community to look at.

[Knight]: You know, we've talked about our commitment to life sciences, bringing jobs to this community to pay a living wage.

[Knight]: We talked about, you know, the need to diversify our CIP in residential districts to keep us

[Knight]: competitive with a strong commercial tax base so that I residential property or there's not burdened with balancing the tax tax burden on their back.

[Knight]: I think this project makes sense, Madam President, I support it wholeheartedly will prove.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: It's amazing how much things can change in three short years.

[Knight]: And FYI 2020 I remember that budget, I remember speaking on that budget when we voted on it.

[Knight]: And I believe my comments were something along the lines of this is the best city budget that I've seen as a member of the city council.

[Knight]: That was an FYI, 2020.

[Knight]: Looking at Council of bears graphs.

[Knight]: FYI 2020.

[Knight]: What was our deficit spending.

[Knight]: Zero.

[Knight]: Three years later, $29 million in deficit spending.

[Knight]: In FY 2021, I spoke of a budget.

[Knight]: I warned about us becoming reliant on these one-time revenues to balance the budget.

[Knight]: I warned about creating a structural deficit.

[Knight]: I called for recurring

[Knight]: non-tax-based revenues.

[Knight]: I called for public-private partnerships for us to be able to offset some of this impact on the residential taxpayer.

[Knight]: In 2002, I said the same thing.

[Knight]: Since 2001, this council has been calling on the administration to come before us on a quarterly basis to discuss

[Knight]: the financial and fiscal health and well-being of this community, to discuss our projected revenues versus our actual revenues, and to give us a snapshot each quarter as to where we are financially, so that come June 28th, seems to be the mayor's favorite day, we're not surprised with a situation

[Knight]: that puts us in a position that says, spend $7 million of reserves or I'm gonna have to cut teachers.

[Knight]: In fact, the budget that the mayor presented us says, spend $7 million of reserves and I'm still gonna cut teachers.

[Knight]: This is financial mismanagement at its finest.

[Knight]: We have a mayor that's not interested in municipal finance and the superintendent of schools is not interested in school finance.

[Knight]: Three years down the line, this is where we end up.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: When we abuse a finance director to the point where she has to leave the job for her own health and wellbeing, and we can't get someone to fill the spot for 10 months because we're bullying employees, this is where we end up.

[Knight]: When you send every person in City Hall to come up here and carry your water and do your dirty work and give a three minute and 92nd budget presentation, and 92nd budget presentation over zoom over zoom.

[Knight]: Thank you, Council bus over zoom.

[Knight]: How important is it.

[Knight]: How important is it 90% of life is showing up.

[Knight]: At least show up.

[Knight]: If you're gonna give us bad news, look us in the eye and give it to us.

[Knight]: Tell us how we got here and why.

[Knight]: Because I'm so tired of hearing one thing at this podium and then seeing a press release that says something totally different the same day.

[Knight]: Government by press release.

[Knight]: No transparency, no fiscal transparency.

[Knight]: If there was fiscal transparency, then this council would have had their quarterly meetings for the past four quarters.

[Knight]: And this wouldn't be a surprise to us, right?

[Knight]: And then maybe we wouldn't be so outraged when the chief of staff comes up here and tries to sell us slush, because that's what it is, it's slush.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: This organization, there's this organization.

[Knight]: It's the city of Medford.

[Knight]: This isn't an organization.

[Knight]: It's where people live.

[Knight]: It's not an organization.

[Knight]: This is a government.

[Knight]: It's here to provide services.

[Knight]: And we can't do that operating in a $29 million, 36 month structural deficit.

[Knight]: can't do it, can't deliver the services that the taxpayers deserve.

[Knight]: The way we're spending with the way we're doing deficit spending, we can't do it, we can't do it we can't sustain.

[Knight]: So console biz, let's look at you.

[Knight]: It's out there, right?

[Knight]: There's the talk, there's the discussion, there's the conversation that needs to be had, all right?

[Knight]: It has to be had.

[Knight]: We can either continue on the road that we're on right now and go down this path that we're on right now and continue to say, we're gonna throw good money after bad money and bad money after good money to keep us running in place, while we watch the likes of Everett and Malden and Somerville and Arlington and Melrose, give me another one, anybody, give me another one.

[Knight]: All these communities pass us by.

[Knight]: All these communities pass us by.

[Knight]: Cambridge gives their high school graduates $3,000 each in opera money when they graduate.

[Knight]: Malden gives them 1,000.

[Knight]: We're broke.

[Knight]: We're broke.

[Knight]: How?

[Knight]: How is that possible?

[Knight]: How is that possible?

[Knight]: Is it maybe because when you look at these other communities, you see cranes in the sky?

[Knight]: When you look at these other communities, you see them creating public-private partnerships with developers that want to come into this community?

[Knight]: I think that might have a little bit to do with it, a little bit to do with it, but you have to be present and you have to show up in order to develop these partnerships, in order to face the music, in order to get ahead of bad situations.

[Knight]: You have to be present and you have to show up.

[Knight]: I'm at a loss.

[Knight]: I'm at a loss.

[Knight]: I wanted one thing in this budget, and one thing only, to get Mark Wabrowski rehired so that we could go look at our zoning map, so that we as a council, again, again, acting as the adults in the room, can figure out a way for us to generate revenues to get us out of this mess.

[Knight]: But for 50,000 bucks, now you just saw what $50,000 got us earlier this evening.

[Knight]: The gentleman came up here and he said that they have a parcel of land and they're getting about $100,000 a year.

[Knight]: 100,000 the city's getting out of it in property taxes.

[Knight]: And through the work that this council did by creating an office two district, that parcel now is gonna generate us $3 million, $3 million in permitting fees.

[Knight]: And the property taxes are gonna be $2.9 million higher than where they are today.

[Knight]: So we got a consultant for 50 grand.

[Knight]: The first project that walked in the door just got us 2.9 million bucks.

[Knight]: I don't know.

[Knight]: I mean, like I said to Mr. Walsh, I'm not great at math, but I'm pretty sure these numbers will add up.

[Knight]: At some point in time, these numbers will add up.

[Knight]: If we can create growth, if we can generate revenue in this community, because if we're running in place and we're not generating at least 1.25% a year, we're losing, we're deficit spending again.

[Knight]: we have to generate at least 1.25% of new growth annually for us to just run in place.

[Knight]: That's why an assistant city solicitor for this council is so important, because we've seen what we can do when we get the tools in the toolbox for us to go to work.

[Knight]: And there's not anybody behind this rail that's afraid to go to work.

[Knight]: We're all present.

[Knight]: We're all here ready to do it.

[Knight]: I think console base for going through the time, putting this together.

[Knight]: You know, in years past this is something I said to him on the phone today in years past this is something that would have been we've ever would have been arguing yelling and screaming about this and that because you made a suggestion.

[Knight]: He made a suggestion that we have a problem, all right?

[Knight]: Now, I don't think that's a suggestion.

[Knight]: I think that's a fact.

[Knight]: We have a problem, all right?

[Knight]: He also made a suggestion that there's a few ways out of it, and one of them is taxation.

[Knight]: Well, yeah.

[Knight]: Yeah, if we're not gonna develop public-private partnerships, we're not gonna generate new non-tax revenues, there's no other way for us to get out of it other than deficit spend and borrow from our reserves and watch our bond rating crash and watch our interest rates rise so we can't borrow and we can't build and we can't maintain.

[Knight]: The conversation has to be had.

[Knight]: The conversation has to be had.

[Knight]: Now, this council is not going to go magic wand, boom, the taxes got raised, pow, poof, and that's it.

[Knight]: It's going to be an open and public process, and the discussion has to take place.

[Knight]: I'm not saying I want to see the taxes go up in this community.

[Knight]: What I am saying is I want to see the taxpayers receive the services that they deserve at a level that's above mediocrity.

[Knight]: Now, I can count on my hand all the tires that I parked this year driving down our public streets.

[Knight]: Councilor Tseng told me he got one not too long ago.

[Knight]: This gentleman owns a company that drives cars, a livery service, multiple vehicles.

[Knight]: I can imagine, I can imagine the impact that this business owner is feeling for our lack of investments in our roads, the amount of money that he has to pay out of pocket on tires, on alignments.

[Knight]: Add it all up, look what's going on.

[Knight]: All right, add it all up and look what's going on.

[Knight]: We've been asking for it, we've been calling for it for two years.

[Knight]: The only reason this is a surprise to us, the only reason this is a surprise to us is because someone wasn't being transparent.

[Knight]: And that's the fact of the matter.

[Knight]: And now we're gonna be put in a position where it's gonna say, spend the 7.5 million in reserves, potentially mortgage, potentially mortgage the financial and fiscal health of this community for years to come.

[Knight]: because for the past 24 months, I didn't want to deal with you people.

[Knight]: Is that fair?

[Knight]: Not to me.

[Knight]: It's not about me.

[Knight]: I don't care.

[Knight]: It's not about me.

[Knight]: It's not being fair to me.

[Knight]: It's being fair to the people that put us here and being fair to the people that rely on us to make good decisions on their behalf so they can continue to live in this community.

[Knight]: continue to be a part of it and want to be a part of it.

[Knight]: Want to be a part of it.

[Knight]: That's the biggest thing.

[Knight]: I see people getting pushed away.

[Knight]: People don't want to be involved anymore.

[Knight]: Enough's enough.

[Knight]: I'm so tired of it.

[Knight]: I'm so tired of it.

[Knight]: I can't take it anymore.

[Knight]: And I think we're all getting there at some point because we keep asking, we keep asking, we keep begging, we keep crying.

[Knight]: Please give us this information.

[Knight]: We don't want it because we want to, you know, do something bad to you.

[Knight]: We want it because we want to help this community and we want to do the job that we're elected to do.

[Knight]: And sometimes that means bringing up unpopular issues and bringing up things that people might not want to hear, but it's a discussion that has to take place.

[Knight]: You got to hand it to Zach.

[Knight]: It takes a lot of guts to do what he did tonight, to put this on the table and say, look,

[Knight]: This is what's going on.

[Knight]: But like I said before, and I'll say it again, once again, this body is acting like the adults.

[Knight]: So thank you Constance for putting this on.

[Knight]: I appreciate it.

[Knight]: I certainly have no problem with a resolution going over these recommendations that you made.

[Knight]: I think we need to get these key takeaways back from the administration so that we can make a more informed decision going forward.

[Knight]: But I'm very impressed with the work you did this evening.

[Knight]: And I thank you for it because it's necessary for someone

[Knight]: to tell the truth about the fiscal health of this community and what's going on and why we're in the situation we're in.

[Knight]: And not do it through press release and social media posts.

[Knight]: Use the forum for what it's for.

[Knight]: So I've talked far too much about this.

[Knight]: Thank you very much, Madam President.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much as we've all had discussions and talked about the cost of living here in the city of mentioned.

[Knight]: We've also talked about the fact that many of our department heads don't live in this community.

[Knight]: And we also talked about the fact that many of the people that work in this community can't afford to live there.

[Knight]: This council has been at the forefront of affordable housing issues looking at creating an affordable housing trust fund, looking at examining housing production plan.

[Knight]: utilizing Community Preservation Act funds to create affordable housing opportunities here in the community.

[Knight]: This is something they did in Philadelphia, Mr. President, where they passed a council ordinance that required preference be given to city employee and retirees in the city of Philadelphia, and they apply for affordable housing lotteries.

[Knight]: So if you think about it, the people that, you know, work for our city and our school department are retirees, they're the people that actually

[Knight]: You know, give their blood, sweat and tears to the community they're a part of the fabric of this community they want to stay in the community they live in they might be overhoused underemployed or under income, and can meet the guidelines, why not keep these people in the community instead of forcing them out by allowing them the opportunity to get a preference in affordable housing.

[Knight]: Now this isn't to say that this is something that you want to pass or don't want to pass what I'm asking for.

[Knight]: is what steps we can take.

[Knight]: And then hopefully we can get a document or a draft to work off of.

[Knight]: So I don't wanna say, you know, this is gonna be the end all be all at the end of the day, but there should be a process in place that we can look at and examine to see if this is something that would be worthwhile.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This location is a crosswalk, and the crosswalk is fine to fall into disrepair the curb stone is totally completely removed going around the corner.

[Knight]: If you know Rockwell Terrace Rockwell Terrace is the street that would stretch between Hickey Park and Gillis Park.

[Knight]: It's a small little cut through.

[Knight]: Um, that is traversed quite a bit by, um, the league baseball players, uh, dog walkers, people that utilize in the parking lot, like, um, it's a safe pathway for individuals to cut through, um, and utilize the open space.

[Knight]: But, uh, the sidewalk has fallen at the disrepair of the homeowner on the corner.

[Knight]: is now being faced with the situation where many vehicles and cars are parking up on the curb, very close to the home, to the point where, you know, she can't even walk by on the sidewalk to get into her house because the curb stones gone so cars are edging closer and closer and closer to her home.

[Knight]: but this looks like it's something that's an easy fix.

[Knight]: They're doing the Gillis Park accessibility project.

[Knight]: There's a construction project that's underway right now that we just funded.

[Knight]: So I'm hoping that based upon the reports that came out of the OCD and the status of that project and how it's moving along, that this is something that can be added in there.

[Knight]: It should be a really low cost item.

[Knight]: It's just some granite curb stoning that needs to be put in and a little bit of asphalt or concrete.

[Knight]: So it's not something that's going to

[Knight]: break the bank, the crosswalk doesn't have to be designed, it's already been designed, it's already there, it's just in disrepair.

[Knight]: So I'm hoping that this is something that can be addressed by the administration, but I would not hold my breath.

[Knight]: Mr. President, this item is also on public participation portion of our agenda.

[Knight]: This evening, we have Mr. Carroll and Mr. Kamara, both from the Chamber of Commerce that we're here, we're waiting to speak on it, where the night was going not quite according to agenda or plan.

[Knight]: I suggest to the gentleman that we could pass this resolution that's on the agenda this evening, not worry about that public participation paper, and they can come back at a later date to present on what their questions and concerns are surrounding the garage.

[Knight]: Speaking from the chair, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Or the town hall guide, whichever one you feel.

[Knight]: Oh, I just took care of that one.

[Knight]: Well, because I had the same paper on the agenda and he had the public participation.

[Knight]: So I said, we won't worry about the public participation.

[Knight]: We'll just pass this paper, which we just did.

[Knight]: Okay, so do we need to?

[Knight]: Nope, it's done.

[Knight]: Individuals that have been waiting to put in a presentation this evening and we ran a little late so I'm hoping that we can get them out of here in the interest of their time.

[Knight]: And what paper is that what paper number looks like we have a public hearing and we also have on the motion.

[Knight]: Madam President, I for one don't have a problem with this application at all.

[Knight]: What it does is revitalize an underdeveloped parcel.

[Knight]: The parcel's been vacant for quite some time now.

[Knight]: It's been somewhat of an eyesore in the neighborhood.

[Knight]: Also, past use was a bank, future use is a bank.

[Knight]: Putting a drive-thru teller

[Knight]: machine in this location, I don't think it's going to be much of an issue at all.

[Knight]: It looks like they have the appropriate lead space to queue cars up, you're not going to back up into the street, and parking and, you know, square footage.

[Knight]: So I move approval.

[Knight]: I second.

[Knight]: Is there any questions from the council at this time Council night, Miss Connie welcome back I know last time you were here wasn't the most pleasant experience for you and apologize for that.

[Knight]: Any further questions from the Council Council night, Madam President, I as one member of this body, certainly have no opposition to this project I think that I'm

[Knight]: you know, based upon the meetings that we had earlier in the evening, even, we really need to figure out what's going on underground and get that stuff taken care of so that we can take the necessary steps to resurface our roadways into a condition that is suitable and worthy of the taxpayers driving their vehicles on.

[Knight]: Right now, our roads are in the worst shape around.

[Knight]: Like, you know, you know when you're entering Medford because it kind of starts shaking.

[Knight]: So, you know, with that being said, I think that this project for 195 feet will give us an opportunity to address some underground infrastructure concerns.

[Knight]: I'm hoping that the city engineer can speak a little bit about whether or not they coordinating any other underground infrastructure projects with the city during this period of time, while the grant location is being offered and the ground is going to be open.

[Knight]: So maybe the city clerk and the city engineer can speak to that.

[Knight]: I know this is Councilor Tseng's backyard, so I'm sure he's got a number of questions to ask about this coming up.

[Knight]: but ultimately I'm hoping that maybe the city engineer can talk a little bit about our underground infrastructure there, and if the ground's open, whether or not there's a need to do any other work.

[Knight]: Madam President, I do think it's also important to point out when you look at the conditions of improvement, the city engineer's office has been able to secure some mitigation for some existing defects in the sidewalks and streets there that aren't necessarily in relation to this project, but are going to get done as part of the project mitigation purposes.

[Knight]: That's something that I'm happy to see.

[Knight]: It's something we've called for in the past, and I'm glad to see that it's making its way into these grants.

[Knight]: Madam President, with all due respect, this is a pretty big issue we've been talking about for quite a bit of time, but I had no idea that they were coming tonight.

[Knight]: I don't know if anybody else had any awareness whether or not they were coming this evening.

[Knight]: Oh, they're here tonight to talk about it?

[Knight]: Apparently, that's what the city engineer just mentioned.

[Knight]: Councilor Cabrera, I'll ask all my questions, thank you.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I had the opportunity to go through some of the files that weren't stolen from my desk by one of the members of the school committee.

[Knight]: And what I found was a document dated 2015.

[Knight]: And this document was on May 19th, 2015, which is our initial introduction to the Ebersole Statistic to Woburn Pipeline Project.

[Knight]: At that time, we had some discussions where they said that this was gonna go to the Department of Public Utilities and then construction was gonna start in 2016.

[Knight]: In 2017, I'm sorry, 2017 we met and this was pushed out to 2018 to start construction.

[Knight]: The construction said it was gonna be nine vaults.

[Knight]: As of our last meeting, February 4th, 2020, five of the nine vaults were completed.

[Knight]: As we go through our old files and paperwork that we see here, it says Eversource is going to provide us with weekly updates via email.

[Knight]: There'd be a Medford-specific website and Medford-specific community events and meetings surrounding this project.

[Knight]: We haven't seen any of that.

[Knight]: I don't know how many requests we've made to get the curb stones removed from the front of Victory Park that have been sitting there for two and a half years.

[Knight]: You know, just small quality of life things.

[Knight]: We know it's going to take a while to get the construction done, but don't leave the place looking like a dump for five years.

[Knight]: five, actually seven, seven years now for seven years.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: So I don't know how long it took them to build that tunnel in Boston.

[Knight]: I think it was 14.

[Knight]: We're almost halfway there.

[Knight]: I mean, this is like the credit bridge part two.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: We got to get this thing done.

[Knight]: Now a quick question is the pipeline project portion in the city of Somerville complete?

[Knight]: Is the pipeline project portion in Winchester complete.

[Knight]: Is the pipeline portion in Woburn.

[Knight]: 2015 was a long time ago.

[Knight]: And this still isn't done.

[Knight]: I mean, there has to be some accountability.

[Knight]: What are the contributing factors to this taking so long?

[Knight]: Is it that we don't have the crews to do the work?

[Knight]: Is it that it had to be rebid?

[Knight]: I think it had to be rebid at one point in time, if I'm not mistaken.

[Knight]: But is it that we can't get police details to be out there?

[Knight]: Is the city administration saying we can't run crews?

[Knight]: What's the holdup on the construction?

[Knight]: I mean, we've had enough of these meetings in the past where I don't think anything's going to please us other than the job being done and everybody being out of here.

[Knight]: The residents of Winthrop Street now, since I've been on the council with my ninth year, we've done the Winthrop Street Rotary project that closed that area down for a year and a half.

[Knight]: Then they did three years of the Craddock Bridge, which destroyed traffic right through the Winthrop Street Rotary.

[Knight]: And then we started the Ebersource project.

[Knight]: All right, so for the past decade, this area has been just decimated.

[Knight]: with traffic detours traffic management plans and underground construction.

[Knight]: So it needs to get done and I don't fault you sir I know this isn't your fault and all this is a gigantic regional multi billion dollar project that you guys are trying to get done, but we have to understand.

[Knight]: I think we should take you up on your offer I think that this is something that could go into, you know, a little bit more detail.

[Knight]: You know, as I pull out some more files and notes, I'm gonna have more questions and I got enough of them in here in front of me to make this go on forever.

[Knight]: So I'm gonna rest my case and I'm gonna take the gentleman up on his offer and make a request that this paper be referred to a committee of the whole for future date.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: After a couple of years of uncertainty, a couple of years of confusion, we've finally seen a class go through the school year without having to learn remotely.

[Knight]: And it's great to see the class of 2020 had to overcome, 2022 had to overcome some great adversity over their time in school.

[Knight]: And I feel for them, Mr. President, I think that ultimately their ability to persevere through these difficult circumstances and reach the goals that they set their minds to shows what type of students that we

[Knight]: bring up here in the city of medicine, and I wish them all the best of luck in their future endeavors, whether that's going to the workforce to be coming a member of society or to continuing their education.

[Knight]: I think that this is very exciting time for these young adults and their future leaders of medicine so I'd ask my council colleagues to support the resolution.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: A couple weeks ago I was up at the little league field and the Red Sox were playing the Dodgers it was a great game.

[Knight]: And as I was walking the field with my wife, I was approached by a couple of staff members from our recreation department.

[Knight]: And they were having a difficult time because they had pulled permits for an adaptive kickball league.

[Knight]: And the baseball, one of the baseball teams was using the field permit.

[Knight]: And this turned into a little bit of a what was that word you used earlier kerfuffle kerfuffle turn into a little bit of a kerfuffle and as I thought about it and I walked around the community and I look at our business districts I see these what are they called so five boards or Sophie messaging boards.

[Knight]: And I thought it might make a lot of sense to see if we can install those in our public parks, so that we can put community notices up there I mean ultimately when you drive by our parks on a Saturday you'll see a place that park pack of soccer players.

[Knight]: They'll go by Drainfield, you'll see baseball players there all the time.

[Knight]: You go up to the Field of Dreams and you'll see lacrosse players up there all day long.

[Knight]: So I think it might make sense, Mr. President, as a way for us to expand the reach of our community notices, but also create some awareness about the permitting process, when the fields are available, who's gonna be using them, to take some of the confusion out of the game and to prevent kerfuffles like the one we've seen just a couple of weeks ago.

[Knight]: If you take a look at our agenda, and we go to reports doing deadlines, you'll see paper 23039.

[Knight]: I'm sorry, paper 22027, a monthly copy of the Warren articles from the chief financial officer.

[Knight]: Now that was paper 27 from this term, right?

[Knight]: So that must have been in the first two or three meetings, requesting that we get copies of the Warren articles each week, each month.

[Knight]: And the Warren articles are actually where our money's going, where our bills are being spent.

[Knight]: All right, so we pass a budget and the budget says this is what the bills are gonna be, but the Warren articles are actually where we are spending our money.

[Knight]: And I think it's very important that the council sees that information, especially based upon the financial mess that we're in right now.

[Knight]: So after two and a half years of begging for this information and having to get it in dribs and drabs and spatterings from the administration when they felt like giving it to us, I felt as though it was time for us, in order to really solidify our position here as being financial watchdogs in this community, that this information be solidified in the form of an ordinance so that it's not so mysterious and hard for us to get.

[Knight]: Now, our new CFO,

[Knight]: was very gracious and made it sound like this is a public document which I agree with them it is, and then it would be no problem for us to get them and I don't think it should be either.

[Knight]: And that's what our previous CFOs and previous chief of staffs have all said as well, but for some reason I still haven't seen one and I can't tell you how long

[Knight]: So with that being said, I think it's time that we we codify this to make it so that it's an official function of the position, so that they actually have to send it to us on a monthly basis as a requirement to their job, so that we have the information that we need to make informed decisions on behalf of the taxpayers.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: I feel like an old man now like the senior member over here for a minute of console caviar.

[Knight]: So, Madam President, this was an idea rather came up in conversation with console beers and I ultimately when you take a look at the resolutions that this council passes.

[Knight]: We pass a resolution and we send it to the administration and the administration supposed to respond to us within a specified timeframe is outlined in the city charter I believe it's seven to 10 days.

[Knight]: If you take a look at the last six council packets that we have, you'll see that there's not one response to one council resolution in any one of those six packets, and that covers a span of six weeks so I think that's a little bit longer than seven to 10 days.

[Knight]: So, my thinking behind this was that, you know, we need to take a look at.

[Knight]: work product that we're putting out, not necessarily just the talk that we're talking, we need to walk the walk as well.

[Knight]: And when we decided that the best use of our time would be in the committee process and committees as a whole and like one of the things that I always felt was lacking was our follow up on the items that left the council floor items that were on the agenda that left the council floor that went across the hall of the administration.

[Knight]: If the administration doesn't respond what's the follow up right there's no follow up.

[Knight]: So I thought this was a good way for us to keep track of some of the things that we're trying to do to make a difference in this community and also hold the administration accountable to the regulatory confines that have been established for us to work harmoniously.

[Knight]: So I think that this is a step in the right direction for us to be a little bit more transparent to show what it is we're looking for what it is we're asking for and how we want to do it.

[Knight]: And it also gives the administration the opportunity to say look at this is what's going on this is what we're doing, and this is why we can or can't.

[Knight]: So ultimately I think this is a great idea.

[Knight]: Council tracking sheet that the city clerk maintains already.

[Knight]: This might take a little bit more updating and maybe bringing into sign of the times but I think this is a great idea.

[Knight]: And I'd like to actually see it on the reports to section of our agenda weekly so that when you look at our agenda every week we'll say, you know, Council paper to 2001 was this past outstanding papers only be included on the agenda something like that some, some of the items that we can hash out another committee of the whole.

[Knight]: But I think it's certainly a step in the right direction for us to be a little bit more transparent to show the work that we're doing.

[Knight]: Because a lot of the work that we do doesn't necessarily take place on the council floor.

[Knight]: It takes place outside of the council floor and we need to show that progress is being made.

[Knight]: I mean, listen, I, I'm more focused on hyper local issues you know I didn't run for Congress I didn't run for state senator for Medford City Council I want to fix potholes I want to fix streets all right but I also want to protect people.

[Knight]: And when I'm looking at this language and I'm listening to Councilor Tseng and Councilor Collins speech.

[Knight]: I think all the saying is that Medford government should mind its business.

[Knight]: to issues of sexuality, when we're being asked to enforce another state's laws and provisions.

[Knight]: I mean, let's look at it from just an operational standpoint, right?

[Knight]: Just from, I mean, we just talked about having a $7.5 million budget deficit, right?

[Knight]: Let's keep our streets safe.

[Knight]: Let's worry about that, right?

[Knight]: Let's not get involved in other states, nonsensical policies.

[Knight]: Why are we gonna get involved in that?

[Knight]: That's the way I look at it.

[Knight]: Is that the air system?

[Knight]: If I could just amend the paper or offer a B paper, Madam President, requesting that the mayor provide us with a report on the status of the Adopt-A-Site program.

[Knight]: Under the McGlynn administration, the Adopt-A-Site program was relatively successful.

[Knight]: It was a program where local businesses could adopt an island or a rotary or a site in the city, and then perform the upkeep and maintenance on it in exchange for a small advertising billboard on that parcel.

[Knight]: and that was something that seemed to work out pretty well.

[Knight]: So I'm hoping that the administration can provide us with a report back on the status of that program.

[Knight]: Well, it's good to see that DCR has been out there.

[Knight]: I didn't know if they were participating in No Mo' May or not.

[Knight]: But I would like to ask the sponsor if I could, if you'd be willing for me to amend the schedule, just to request, amend the resolution rather to request the maintenance schedule for Medford-Holme parcels from the DCR and the DOT.

[Knight]: Madam President, if I recall correctly, I think one of the biggest issues when this issue first came up was the fact that they didn't want fences, they wanted to be free range.

[Knight]: And the issue was that when the dog is off leash, but in a fenced in or caged in area, they may feel cornered and become aggressive.

[Knight]: And that's why they don't want any fence there.

[Knight]: I think that that's what the sticking point was last time.

[Knight]: That coupled with the fact that I believe we were stuck

[Knight]: uh, in a situation where the pox department and the pox commission has a policy that's in place and they weren't willing to make a ruling on it until, uh, some further information was provided to the city of industry, uh, administration relative to, uh, bathroom facilities and the like down to that box.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Madam President, just on that note, I do believe, oh geez, maybe it was three months ago, four months ago, there was an administrative issue, a personnel issue related to our director of IT and the city administration made some personnel moves related to questionable activity or surrounding union involvement.

[Knight]: At the time, they said that the gentleman was removed from his position due to significant security issues surrounding our network.

[Knight]: And this council has asked for an update now two times on that.

[Knight]: And I'm hoping we can get that information back as well, because this might be a reason why our website's not getting updated, because there's some security issue.

[Knight]: And we don't know about it.

[Knight]: We've asked, but we don't know.

[Knight]: And that could be a potential reason as to why we're not seeing our website get updated so frequently.

[Knight]: So I just ask of the city administration, once again, for a third time, to report back to the council on what exactly the security threat or issue was.

[Knight]: the city definitely participated in some of our money for design.

[Knight]: It's my understanding that at one point in time, there was some discussion with the local college to do a public-private partnership with Tufts Park and do the whole entire field with AstroTurf and

[Knight]: a clubhouse and everything, but it's out of administration testing.

[Knight]: We never did.

[Knight]: No, because last time Ms.

[Knight]: Nazarian came up and said, you know, I'm very confident, and so is KP Law, that we've complied with the provisions and chapters outlined in the question.

[Knight]: And I said, well, when are we going to get the response?

[Knight]: And she said, it's going to be coming.

[Knight]: Madam President, I find the records in order and I move for their approval.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight, Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Mr. Mookie is one of the best department heads, I've had the pleasure of working with, and I've worked with department heads all across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as representative for union employees in a municipal setting.

[Knight]: And my relationship with Mr. Mookie over the years has grown to a friendship.

[Knight]: He's someone that I respect, someone that I admire, someone who, as Councilor Caraviello said, brings a wealth of knowledge to the table.

[Knight]: When you think about 38 years, that's a pretty long time.

[Knight]: When you look at the city, look at the community, you see what's happened over that 38 years.

[Knight]: Anytime there was a shovel on the ground, Mr. Moki was there to make sure that it was done the right way.

[Knight]: That includes the new schools, stations landing.

[Knight]: It includes Chevalier.

[Knight]: It includes the science labs.

[Knight]: It includes the field of dreams.

[Knight]: It includes the turfing of Fort Melton.

[Knight]: So when you think about the impact that he's had on this community over 38 years, that impact is going to last well, well, well, well into the future.

[Knight]: These are things that have made our community great.

[Knight]: And he's someone that had a hand in it.

[Knight]: When you talk about his style as a department head and the way that he runs his department, I think it's safe to say that that is the only department in city hall where every employee is cross-trained.

[Knight]: Where every inspector can be a code enforcement officer and every code enforcement officer can be an inspector.

[Knight]: And when someone's out, they don't miss a beat.

[Knight]: That's a testament to the vision that Mr. Mookie has, and how this is supposed to work.

[Knight]: I've always said that the building department here in the city of Medford is a team, and they work very well together.

[Knight]: And Mr. Mookie just happens to be the person that's driving the bus.

[Knight]: And when we talk about institutional knowledge being lost, that's always a concern.

[Knight]: But I think that Paul's done a great job cultivating talent in his office as well.

[Knight]: So I look forward to seeing the next generation of leaders coming out of the building department here to work with us.

[Knight]: But this is about Paul and all that he's done for this community.

[Knight]: He's a great person.

[Knight]: He's someone I've had the opportunity to speak with a number of times.

[Knight]: I've had the opportunity to sit down with a number of times and enjoy his company and his conversation in a professional setting as well as in a personal, private setting.

[Knight]: He's someone that I will certainly miss and I thank him for all that he's done for this community.

[Knight]: And I second Councilor Scarpelli's motion to invite him down for citation.

[Knight]: Madam President, can I speak to the debate that Councilor Bears and I had?

[Knight]: Go ahead, Councilor Bears.

[Knight]: It was very persuasive.

[Knight]: Last week we sat here with our city engineer and our director of DPW and they talked about a need for certain equipment.

[Knight]: to take certain functions in-house, that being grinding of stumps and the shaving down of sidewalks that are in disrepair.

[Knight]: Annually, this council normally appropriates anywhere between a million to $1.5 million for sidewalk repairs.

[Knight]: We also talk every year about whether or not we could handle this in-house.

[Knight]: Earlier this evening, we talked about our budget priorities, and one of our budget priorities would be increasing the staffing level at the DPW.

[Knight]: And in partnership or concert with that, I think it would make sense for us to also increase the equipment that they have.

[Knight]: So they get some of this work that is necessary.

[Knight]: As we said earlier in the day, the function of government is to provide services and we need boots on the ground in order to do that.

[Knight]: We also need equipment to do it.

[Knight]: So this is a request that the administration price out with this piece of equipment or cost that the city engineer and the city public works director was speaking up and to present it to the council for either inclusion in the capital plan or for a supplemental appropriation request.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This has been a topic of much debate and as evident by future governor Healy's.

[Knight]: lawsuits, also legal proceedings.

[Knight]: And it's really the age old argument of, you know, is this an employer, an employee or a contractor?

[Knight]: And, you know, when I think about this, I think about it in the simplest terms, right?

[Knight]: I mean, I've called Lyft before a bunch of times, I've called Uber a bunch of times, I've never called Joe the driver.

[Knight]: I've called Uber and Uber has sent me a driver, right?

[Knight]: So, you know, it's really employee misclassification, in my opinion.

[Knight]: You know, Uber, Lyft, these ride share hailing companies, you know, they have the control, the direction of the employee and anything the employee does is really in the furtherance of Uber and Lyft's name, right?

[Knight]: It's in their interest, it's in furtherance of the employer's interest.

[Knight]: That's a three-part test to determine whether or not you're a Councilor or an employee.

[Knight]: I mean, I'm sorry, contractor and employee.

[Knight]: So, you know, when you look at what's going on, it's clear that these companies are taking advantage of workers.

[Knight]: They're doing it through, like Councilor Caraviello said, vehicle leasing programs and financial lending programs that are making these individuals, quite frankly, financially bound to these organizations.

[Knight]: So if they wanted to leave, they wouldn't even be able to.

[Knight]: You know, so when you look at this and you sit back and you say, what's right is right, what's right is right.

[Knight]: The, the way that they're classifying people the amount of money that they're putting into this case.

[Knight]: It's ridiculous.

[Knight]: It's absolutely ridiculous and just shows you there's something wrong.

[Knight]: I haven't seen this since what was the last one with a right to repair.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: Millions and millions of dollars are going into this to fight something.

[Knight]: Why, because it's good for the working person that's why.

[Knight]: And what we're seeing this console concept is this is the first step.

[Knight]: in an effort to eliminate workers' rights and workers' benefits, so that big business doesn't have to be on the hook for these liabilities, and so that individuals are going to be tasked with the responsibility of planning for their own retirement, their own future, because they're not paying into Social Security, because they're not paying into healthcare, and at the end of the run,

[Knight]: we're going to see a situation where we have a lot of people that are going to need more from government.

[Knight]: So this is actually a policy I think that's going to make sense because it's going to protect us economically it's going to protect that name is going to protect the residents of this community, and it's going to prevent big business from taking advantage the little guy.

[Knight]: So I support this whole heartedly and I think the council put it on the agenda this evening.

[Knight]: Madam President.

[Knight]: Actually, a question.

[Knight]: I recall getting a correspondence from the administration at some point saying that they stopped the construction on the episodes project because they wanted to make sure that the condensate con and shell was accessible for the summer.

[Knight]: I'm just trying to look it up.

[Knight]: I'm just Madam President.

[Knight]: If in fact, we are going to be sending a letter right past that that letter come out of the Committee of the whole subcommittee.

[Knight]: That's the only question I have but I support them out.

[Knight]: It's 60,000.

[Knight]: We don't have the number ratings, Mr. Castagnetti.

[Knight]: We're not aware how many people are in the audience.

[Knight]: Madam President, motion to suspend the rules.

[Knight]: That is correct, Madam President.

[Knight]: I'd like to take the last paper on the agenda out of order for this evening, paper 22356, a request for an expenditure from the law department.

[Knight]: The only reason I ask is because we're the clerks and employee of the council.

[Knight]: When we need to invoke the rule of necessity to properly appropriate the funds.

[Knight]: concerned about that.

[Knight]: But I certainly have no problem proving the funds and gentleman had a switch back up into his house.

[Knight]: I certainly warranted remediation questions whether or not how we take the vote, we take the vote is a straight roll call vote as we usually do it, we have to invoke the rule of necessity, or does it doesn't matter.

[Knight]: Because the city solicitor has not provided us with an opinion, it does matter.

[Knight]: It doesn't.

[Knight]: So just like to be on the record, you know, I raised the issue

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I know that there are a number of DCI-owned properties that have service contracts with the city, where the city is afforded the opportunity to maintain and upkeep certain properties, one of those being the Condon Shelves, Councilor Caraviello was speaking of down at the sleeping hall.

[Knight]: So I just ask that as part of this paper that we get a copy of all the service and maintenance agreements that we have with the DCI, so we know who's responsible for what.

[Knight]: Ultimately, it is the DC has land, but the city in the past has signed on to be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of certain houses.

[Knight]: So for us to make an informed decision, I think we need to know what fossils those are, and whether or not those agreements still exist, and whether or not they need to be maybe beefed up a little bit to get us what community needs and benefits necessary to protect this.

[Knight]: Second.

[Knight]: Madam President, I just asked that this paper also be sent to the Director of Recreation.

[Knight]: I know the Recreation Department's been expanding their programming related to blotchy.

[Knight]: If you look at the Recreation booklet, you'll see that they have pickup games, I guess is what you want to call it, of blotchy down there as well.

[Knight]: So I think this is something that

[Knight]: the recreation department's really trying to take a look at investing some energy and effort into and having the state of the art quality facilities is what's going to really increase participation, I think, so I think it's a great measure.

[Knight]: The budget quotes are something I was always very supportive of.

[Knight]: I was the sponsor of the initial resolve under the Burke administration that brought these to fruition, and Councilor Caraviello is right, the specs are not up to community standards.

[Knight]: six to eight weeks, it's July.

[Knight]: I don't think it was intentional.

[Knight]: Does the city replace sidewalks on private ways?

[Knight]: I don't think it's... How about if we make it a yes or no question?

[Knight]: So the intention would be, I guess, moving forward, the city would be moving away from paving private ways, the sidewalks are private ways.

[Knight]: In this map with the 1700, or the 2100 sidewalk panels,

[Knight]: Does this include private waste in this assessment?

[Knight]: Does not include private waste?

[Knight]: And percentage wise, number of public waste versus private waste that we have in this community?

[Knight]: There's a lot.

[Knight]: Yes, there's a lot.

[Knight]: So, in essence, there would be a third of the streets in this community, if we expend these funds, that would receive no benefit from it, regardless of when we do it, right?

[Knight]: Because we're not gonna be paying for private sidewalks going forward for right now.

[Knight]: If they're issued as well.

[Knight]: There's a community benefit, yeah, but as the person that's said, I'm on the list for 11 years, and then you say it's private way, you're going to be on the list for another 11 years.

[Knight]: And if somebody resides in a private way and they want to replace the sidewalk in front of the house, can they do it?

[Knight]: All they have to do is pull a permit from you guys?

[Knight]: It's not our problem.

[Knight]: They can do it.

[Knight]: Do they even have to pull a permit from you guys?

[Knight]: We have no real assessment on a third of the streets, just with the condition that there's about a third of the streets that are private ways in the community.

[Knight]: We did no assessment on those Starbucks whatsoever.

[Knight]: Not the formal assessment, okay.

[Knight]: I like this approach.

[Knight]: I think that this is very helpful, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: It looks like we're going to get more bang for our buck, right?

[Knight]: Ultimately, it's like the sneakers that we're wearing most of the rubber off of are the ones we're going to replace, right?

[Knight]: Yes, I think it makes sense.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: We're getting bang for our buck.

[Knight]: you know, methodology, which we haven't seen in a long time.

[Knight]: It's something I've been calling for for a long time, you know, so I appreciate what you're doing.

[Knight]: I think that we need to really take a look at how we handle private ways in this community.

[Knight]: It's not like they pay less taxes.

[Knight]: I agree.

[Knight]: In some most instances, they pay more.

[Knight]: So when you look at the streets that are private ways and the homes that are on them, right?

[Knight]: Bigger houses, bigger lots and the like, right?

[Knight]: So we need to wrap our heads around this because the taxpayers in this community should receive the same services regardless of whether or not this street has been publicly or privately accepted.

[Knight]: You know, that's legal mumbo-jumbo.

[Knight]: The regular citizen in this community doesn't care about that.

[Knight]: Right, what they care about is the fact that Councilor Bears said, we can disagree on just about everything in this place.

[Knight]: The one thing we all agree on is our roads and sidewalks are in bad shape and we need to invest in them.

[Knight]: All right, I'm happy to spend this money.

[Knight]: I wish there was another zero at the end of it.

[Knight]: Right, and I know you guys do too, right?

[Knight]: Ultimately, at the end of the day, I know you guys do too.

[Knight]: In the future, I'm going to call for a meeting.

[Knight]: We can start really looking at talking about this private way stuff because, you know, I think that it really needs to be addressed.

[Knight]: But, you know, you guys did a great presentation.

[Knight]: I appreciate your work.

[Knight]: Welcome aboard.

[Knight]: Congratulations on your new appointment, maybe permanency.

[Knight]: That's great.

[Knight]: You've done a good job and you've proved it, you know what I mean, time and time again when you come up here.

[Knight]: So thank you very much.

[Knight]: I appreciate your honesty and openness in answering the questions.

[Knight]: I don't know if you know the answer to this.

[Knight]: Does accepting more public ways increase our eligibility or benefits for funding through the state house, maybe?

[Knight]: Right, but if we turn these private ways into public ways, do we get more money too?

[Knight]: There's a process, right?

[Knight]: You got to get seven, you got to get four here to agree to the five here to agree to this.

[Knight]: So that's not enough.

[Knight]: So I have to stay where you're coming from.

[Knight]: Well, let's forget about that until I bring it up later on, because I think we're getting way off track.

[Knight]: No problem.

[Knight]: I don't remember the policy at one point in time.

[Knight]: Same thing where all the neighbors chipped in.

[Knight]: Madam President, I move for approval of paper 22317 and 22318.

[Knight]: Madam President, looking at this application is before us.

[Knight]: There are a couple things that I'd like to point out.

[Knight]: First of all, there was no place in the city of Medford at 11 o'clock at night we get a good cookie.

[Knight]: So this is certainly a need that we have here in the community.

[Knight]: Second, when you look at the application is before us, the gentleman's only asking for Fridays and Saturdays, it's only asking for one additional hour.

[Knight]: You know, I think this is really.

[Knight]: He's not asking for much.

[Knight]: It's a brand new business, it's been very successful, a lot of talk about it.

[Knight]: From what I understand, a state representative has already broken the record for the most crumbled points that you can get in a month or something like that.

[Knight]: But in all seriousness, I think this is a good proposal that's before us here.

[Knight]: I just ask that the

[Knight]: license go with the business and not the address should it be approved.

[Knight]: And I'd be happy to motion for approval of the papers before us this evening.

[Knight]: Sure.

[Knight]: I have no problem voting for this.

[Knight]: He answers one question.

[Knight]: When is El Tecuba going to open?

[Knight]: We've been waiting eight years for them.

[Knight]: We're only waiting four for you.

[Knight]: I can't answer that either.

[Knight]: We need your common fix license to go apply for the liquor commission to get your liquor license.

[Knight]: Then you get your liquor license.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: For 11 to 1, even if they lick the licenses to 1 AM at the state level, you have to come back to us for the extended hours permit.

[Knight]: So if there's any opportunity for us to further vet this, it's going to be coming before us, I think.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: I don't see this being harmful, but I would defer to the council.

[Knight]: Or I'll make a motion to remove approval.

[Knight]: Madam President, I think it was my father that told me this a long time ago 90% of life is showing up.

[Knight]: I mean, how can we put somebody in the election commission as a vote?

[Knight]: It's crazy.

[Knight]: So it's pretty much, I never did this before, but now I want to do it.

[Knight]: So put me on a commission and we have a line of people that have participated every day that want to be vocal members of our community and vocal members of boards and commissions that get bypassed.

[Knight]: I don't think she's a good candidate just based upon the fact that she's seeking a job on the election commission and doesn't vote locally.

[Knight]: And it's a local appointment to a local board.

[Knight]: It doesn't make sense to me.

[Knight]: Doesn't make sense to me.

[Knight]: I mean, I'm sure that she's a great person.

[Knight]: I Councilor Tseng said that, you know, the people in our boards of commission should look like the people live in our community.

[Knight]: I don't know what this mommy looks like because I've never seen her before.

[Knight]: Since this application has come in, I've never seen or heard from her.

[Knight]: I've never gotten asked if I have any questions about her.

[Knight]: She's never reached out to me and said, I'd like your vote.

[Knight]: Do you have any concerns or questions?

[Knight]: I've never got any of that.

[Knight]: which is normal practice when you have an applicant that comes before this board, they usually reach out to you and ask for your vote, and they ask if they have any questions or concerns before this type of event happens.

[Knight]: So I, as one Councilor, can't support this.

[Knight]: Like I said, 90% of life is showing up.

[Knight]: It takes 30 seconds to vote.

[Knight]: It takes 30 seconds to vote.

[Knight]: How can you go from not voting to saying, I want to be an elections commissioner?

[Knight]: It takes 30 seconds to do it.

[Knight]: Madam President, voting is your voice, but voting also shows that you're invested in the community that you live in.

[Knight]: I'm president.

[Knight]: I understand this because I have a job.

[Knight]: I have two kids.

[Knight]: I have actually three jobs and two kids, but I still go out and vote.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I agree with all my colleagues, and I think that's why last term, this council voted to pass the ordinance to promote prevent and support behavioral health and establish a commission to do all these things that this ordinance before this proposal before us this evening is asking for.

[Knight]: If we look at that ordinance that was passed on three to 21 and established a series of goals.

[Knight]: One of those goals was to set community wide goals to create a strategic plan

[Knight]: achieving mental well being for all of that residents, and I think that that's really what speaks with this paper speaks to this evening.

[Knight]: Also, we look at the composition of this commission will see that it has the director of the Board of Health, the police chief or his designee the fire chief or his designee superintendent of schools or a designee, the manager of prevention and outreach the director of diversity,

[Knight]: The director of the senior center the director of veterans services or a designee designees from our EMS provider, the director of school counseling and behavioral health behavioral health specialist from Tufts, a behavioral health health specialist from Lawrence Mural Hospital, and three community members appointed by the map.

[Knight]: So it's clear, Madam President, when this paper first came out.

[Knight]: We as a body made sure that there was more of a focus on the students in our schools and the young people in this community.

[Knight]: If you remember what the first paper looked like when Mayor Burke put the paper out, Madam President, I did a little bit of work.

[Knight]: And through the subcommittee and committee process, actually, we were able to meet on a number of occasions and really hash out the details in this paper.

[Knight]: And we came up with a nice document here.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, if you're looking for what Councilor Tseng's asking for,

[Knight]: And what this ordinance calls for, it's the same thing.

[Knight]: And where this matter passed on 3-2-21, and the commission is required to file an annual report with the mayor and the city clerk, it looks like probably within the next 60 days, we should be seeing what their annual report says.

[Knight]: So that's something I'm looking forward to.

[Knight]: I'd just like to amend the paper and add that as a request that the administration provide us with a copy of the behavioral health commission's annual report, whereas the commission has been up and running now for a period of about 14, 15 months.

[Knight]: President for me.

[Knight]: This application is before us is endorsed by our superintendent lines, who in my opinion is probably one of the best department heads that we have here in City Hall.

[Knight]: Mr. Randazzo does an excellent job.

[Knight]: He's done a great job with his budget.

[Knight]: He's been able to cut his budget by about $400,000 when we transferred two LED lights and took over the maintenance of our streetlights.

[Knight]: He's quite a department head and he's laid out a pretty nice plan there from what I can see in the application that's before us.

[Knight]: You know, when we look at this stretch of area, for probably the better part of the last five years, the residents in this neighborhood, and I know you wouldn't know anything about this, Madam President, at all,

[Knight]: have had to deal with the Eversource project and have had to deal with the blasting project for quite a bit of time.

[Knight]: The conditions of the Eversource project call for significant restorations and sidewalk installation at Lorraine Road and Winthrop Street, as well as curb-to-curb paving for the whole stretch of Winthrop Street.

[Knight]: Coordination of these projects is key in order for us to make sure that when we get curb-to-curb paving, five days later, we don't have an application for someone to have a granite location for a ground opening to come in

[Knight]: and say we need to go and lay these telephone wires down now.

[Knight]: So I think it's in our best interest to conditionally approve this paper right now so that the city engineer's office can coordinate with Eversource because, you know, it's only been like half a decade.

[Knight]: So this project should be almost done, you know, maybe before, you know, 2029 or so.

[Knight]: But ultimately, you know, in placing my trust in the department head that we have here, Mr. Medazzo, and also looking at the circumstances that are before us and the damage that could be done should this grant location not be offered, I think a conditional permit is warranted at this point.

[Knight]: Madam president.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: Um, in my time on this council for about nine years now, um, I think we've had some great successes and I'm very proud of my track record and the track record that, um, when we've been able to work together.

[Knight]: the things we've been able to accomplish.

[Knight]: When I look at our accomplishments and I look at the good work that we've done in the building of consensus on issues that impact our community, it always happens when we go through the process and we properly vet the process through the subcommittee and the committee of the whole process.

[Knight]: And I think that that's really where our time is best spent.

[Knight]: So when we talk about what our most successful endeavors have been, we talk about inclusionary zoning.

[Knight]: We talk about

[Knight]: recartification of zoning.

[Knight]: We talk about breweries.

[Knight]: We talk about the library, the new police station.

[Knight]: We talk about the responsible employer ordinance, the wage theft ordinance, the science labs and the media center at the high school.

[Knight]: The list goes on and on.

[Knight]: All that work was an idea that started on the council floor.

[Knight]: And then it went through a very open, deliberate public process.

[Knight]: And during that public process is where the progress was made.

[Knight]: During that

[Knight]: public process and that vetting process in the subcommittee where we actually rolled up our sleeves and tackled the issue that was before us, we were able to produce great results.

[Knight]: When the administration buys in and gives us the tools in the toolbox, when they give us a lawyer, we've done amazing work, amazing work.

[Knight]: And it's all come through the subcommittee or the committee of the whole process.

[Knight]: So when we look at our successes, we look at the Stanley cup and we see

[Knight]: the names that are registered on it, right?

[Knight]: The names that are registered on it are all the issues that have come through this proper vetting process, right?

[Knight]: And quite frankly, I find that my time is far better spent in a subcommittee meeting or a committee of the whole than it is behind the rail on a Tuesday night.

[Knight]: Because we're not tackling issues behind the rail on Tuesday nights.

[Knight]: We're raising issues, we're throwing ideas against the wall to see what sticks, and then we're kicking it across the hall to the administration.

[Knight]: But when we own an issue,

[Knight]: and we take it from the subcommittee to the committee of the whole and back to the floor, we make a difference in this community.

[Knight]: And the track record shows it.

[Knight]: So I'm gonna say right now, Councilor Caraviello has asked for this West Medford revitalization group.

[Knight]: And he kicked it across, we've kicked it across all to the mayor's office.

[Knight]: We said the mayor put it together.

[Knight]: Last week, the subcommittee on zoning and ordinances, the subcommittee on ordinances met to establish a beautification committee.

[Knight]: And we're gonna pass it and we're gonna own it.

[Knight]: And we're gonna send it to the administration.

[Knight]: The mayor's either gonna sign it or she's not.

[Knight]: She's gonna veto it and send it back.

[Knight]: And then it's up to us to decide whether or not we wanna override it.

[Knight]: But we're gonna own the issue.

[Knight]: And we're gonna say, we're not happy with the curb appeal in this community.

[Knight]: So we're putting together a beautification committee because we own the issue.

[Knight]: And we've been able to do that because we've gone through this vetting process.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, again, my experience tells me my time is best spent.

[Knight]: in the attack on the issues.

[Knight]: And the reason I say that is because we have a work product to speak for.

[Knight]: So Madam President I, my two closest friends on the council my two closest to my closest friends in life.

[Knight]: I've worked with George and john I mean George and Rick for a number of years, and I've known them my whole life, right, I disagree with them on this issue.

[Knight]: And the reason I disagree is because I feel like our best work is done.

[Knight]: When we're in there with our sleeves rolled up, when we're not choked up with the tie all the way around our necks, choking ourselves, worrying about what's going on in the camera, we're worrying about what's going on the issue right in front of us.

[Knight]: We've done that work and we've managed to meet every week.

[Knight]: And imagine how much more work we could get done if we were better utilizing our time.

[Knight]: Point of information.

[Knight]: After they pull them after they pull after they pull the membership.

[Knight]: Because meeting for the sake of meeting isn't accomplishing anything not a second meeting if it's for the community.

[Knight]: To do what?

[Knight]: To discuss the items on the agenda?

[Knight]: I mean, it's just hard to understand information Council night, there's been a paper asking to reduce the number of council meetings to three per month that laid on the table for I have to say since 2012.

[Knight]: But it's never been discussed though it's not like this came out of the blue, this is something that's been discussed there's been there was a rules reform paper that came up previously.

[Knight]: So the question now, pardon me, until now, it's made it out of subcommittee and it's made, so it's made it out of subcommittee now.

[Knight]: But when we did it before, Adam, it was we met every single Tuesday night.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: But we still had subcommittee structure, Bob, and we went through that.

[Knight]: We still went through polling membership.

[Knight]: What's your schedule reflect?

[Knight]: And when can we do it?

[Knight]: All this is a minor scheduling issue.

[Knight]: So turn this into like, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: It's the end of the world or something, because you can't come down here and scream every every Tuesday instead every other Tuesday.

[Knight]: And if you have to wait every other week so much of an emergency that you're waiting for a Tuesday night to come here then there's something wrong, there's something really wrong with government.

[Knight]: Not from us to the administration and back.

[Knight]: That's personal.

[Knight]: Can't tell that one.

[Knight]: Mr. Phillips, thank you for checking in this evening.

[Knight]: It suggests that you might give the superintendent of schools a call and let her know what a great job her athletic department is doing and her team over there at the community schools.

[Knight]: Bobby Maloney, our athletic director, Rachel Perry, our assistant athletic director,

[Knight]: Our ACEs, they do a great job for us.

[Knight]: And I know that the superintendent would love to hear that they did such a great job and what an impact that having the pool open for you meant to you during the COVID pandemic.

[Knight]: So if you could do that, I think that'd be a nice feather in Bobby and Rachel's cap as well as the rest of the staff over there.

[Knight]: Council night was a borrowing paper I believe requires three readings only reading the paper is going to come back to this council for further discussion and debate, because the bar paper so requires a third reading before the money gets.

[Knight]: It's my understanding we lost the sidewalk contract last year because we couldn't get them to go out right so we appropriated the funds and the money went.

[Knight]: I don't think we ever spent the money from last year sidewalks, because it's not carried over.

[Knight]: Mr. Karen's was talking about how the construction market was hot and JD DiRenzo wasn't able to come out and perform the work and they will be contracted with, if I'm not mistaken, but I don't, I mean, we have a, we have a DPW commissioner now right.

[Knight]: Tim.

[Knight]: Oh, it's Tim McGibbon, that's right.

[Knight]: They shuffle around so much over there, I can't figure it out.

[Knight]: Madam President, based upon the review of the paperwork, I see no issue or problem with this, and I would certainly move for approval.

[Knight]: We all know that the CPA application is a lengthy process that's properly vetted by at least nine members of our community that serve on various boards and commissions.

[Knight]: We've all spoken in favor of how much we support the Chevalier Auditorium and how much we want to see this auditorium be the economic driver in our square.

[Knight]: I think facade improvements is something that we've all spoke about in the past I think this is something that I support wholeheartedly and I'm sure that my colleagues do as well, and I'll certainly move for approval.

[Knight]: Madam President is a member of this fund I am very grateful that the board has moved in its divine wisdom to make this cost of living adjustment applicable to more members in our system.

[Knight]: Ultimately, when we think about these individuals that are receiving these benefits, these are the people that are the ones that made our city great.

[Knight]: These are the ones that worked for 30 plus years dedicating their lives to public service so the metric could be the city that it is or once was.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I thank the retirement board for their efforts I think Mr. Jordan and Mr. Minerva especially, and I will move approval of the paper.

[Knight]: Yes, I'm just wondering if you could give us a breakdown as to what our unfunded pension liability is.

[Knight]: Yep, so the percentage is what our percentages of the even if that makes it easier.

[Knight]: We're at 64% funded 64% funded and do I know we were we were on a, we were at a great clip to comply with the directives to, you know, make ourselves so sustainable and fully funded.

[Knight]: Are we still on track or has the second recession set us back a little bit in that regard.

[Knight]: 2040.

[Knight]: So we're seven years ahead of schedule.

[Knight]: Excellent job.

[Knight]: Excellent work.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: No, just refer to a committee of the whole Madam President to interview the applicant.

[Knight]: Well my motion would be to have a committee of the whole to meet with the applicant to see who they are I appreciate the work that Sandy's done.

[Knight]: I glad that the administration finally stopped sitting on their hands after the primary election of last year to come around and start appointing people to these boards.

[Knight]: Ultimately, we're in a position now we're up against a wall.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: We're up against a wall.

[Knight]: We don't have anybody that can even approve nomination papers for candidates that are running for state office right now in our community, because since September of 2021, the administration hasn't acted on vacancies that are in the registrar's office.

[Knight]: So much so that this council had moved to change the format of our elections office to establish an election commission from a board of registrars of voters.

[Knight]: So it's very frustrating to be put in this position.

[Knight]: I remember when I sat in that chair next to me a long ago when I had this was almost a quote that she'd say you know how can you give us something today and expect us to vote on it with no information.

[Knight]: I appreciate what Sandy's done in the office and I also appreciate what she has to say but this candidate has not fully been vetted.

[Knight]: The reason this candidate has not been fully vetted is because it requires Council approval, and the Council hasn't approved this candidate, and that is the vetting process that is the check and balance that we have for right.

[Knight]: That is the advice and consent process that's established

[Knight]: when we establish one of these elections commissions.

[Knight]: So my theory and my feeling would be that each one of these individuals should be put through a committee of the whole process, where we get to interview them, ask them some questions, talk to them and feel comfortable with them.

[Knight]: Because ultimately, we want someone that's going to be impartial, someone that's not going to bring politics into the game, someone that's going to act in the best interest of this community and not as an activist.

[Knight]: And those are things that you really can't find out unless you talk to somebody.

[Knight]: So those are my concerns with this.

[Knight]: And that's why I call for a committee of the whole, I'd let my motion rest on the table and hope a colleague would second it.

[Knight]: So in that point, if there's no hurry, then let's have the committee of the whole, it sounds good to me, I like it.

[Knight]: We're not behind the eight ball and we're in a good spot, then let's vet this properly.

[Knight]: Yes, yes, I was not.

[Knight]: I had a child care issue.

[Knight]: Um, was not able to make the meeting.

[Knight]: You're correct.

[Knight]: Not to say that the motion would have been the same had I been there.

[Knight]: It just, uh, the motion's gone and seconded so we can move on.

[Knight]: Point of information.

[Knight]: Is there any particular information that we'd like to request from the administration prior to us tabling this paper so that they're aware that there's something in particular that we're looking for whether it's just a resume a CV letter of support from the mayor, or whatnot.

[Knight]: I think, do we want the applicant to attend the meeting, or would a resume suffice do we want the applicant to attend with a resume.

[Knight]: I'd just like to add a copy of the application as well then Madam President.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Charles Shannon was a mentor of mine.

[Knight]: I had the opportunity to work for him from 1999 until his untimely passing.

[Knight]: He was a United States Army veteran, a retired police officer, and a Massachusetts state senator.

[Knight]: He had over 50 years of government service to this Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the United States of America, and also the city of Medford.

[Knight]: And there are many things that Charlie did in his tenure as the

[Knight]: Massachusetts State Senator representing Medford, such as supporting marriage equality, supporting universal health care, supporting the extension of the Green Line, which we're now seeing 17 years after his passing finally come to fruition.

[Knight]: These are many of the items that Charlie worked on that he helped put in motion.

[Knight]: Not only that, he was one of the most prolific constituent service senators in the state legislature during his tenure there.

[Knight]: He was someone that never left anybody behind.

[Knight]: I had the opportunity to work for him with Councilor Caraviello's son for a summer.

[Knight]: Council marks former Council marks was a staff member and Senator Shannon's office as well.

[Knight]: He was just a great mentor to many people and a great friend to many, but also he was a great representative for this community in Medford in the state legislature he always delivered for us when it was time to deliver.

[Knight]: And if you go down to Shannon Beach in Winchester Medford line, you'll see that that was renamed in his honor, recognizing some of the achievements that he's done in the town of Winchester where he

[Knight]: But Charlie was a great friend he passed away 17 years ago and I hope it's important that everybody recognizes the work that he's done and that we keep his memory alive.

[Knight]: As we continue to go on.

[Knight]: People have always said that someone has always done a better, better than we have before us and Senator Shannon was one of those people.

[Knight]: I hold myself with great pride, having the opportunity to work with them in great humility, having the ability to recognize that I could ever fill his shoes.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'd ask my council colleagues to support me in this measure and

[Knight]: uh, dedicating this meeting to him and having a moment of silence, uh, to recognize all the work that he did on behalf of our community.

[Knight]: Uh, he passed away of a very public battle with cancer, uh, over three terms as a state Senator.

[Knight]: Um, the Senator battled cancer.

[Knight]: I remember going to his, uh, hospital room at the Dana Faba, bringing him the.

[Knight]: State Senate calendar and, uh, working with him while he was in isolation because he was having, um, bone marrow transplants while he was still going to work every day.

[Knight]: I mean, that's just the type of person he was.

[Knight]: He was very dedicated to this community and to his job.

[Knight]: He did his best to never miss a vote while he sat there and battled his illness.

[Knight]: So it's something that was really amazing to watch, to see how much he loved serving the public and how much he loved fighting for those that were in need.

[Knight]: And it's something that we should all really aspire to.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I asked my council colleagues to support the matter.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Mr. Harrington thank you for being here.

[Knight]: I do believe when you were given your presentation I heard you say that you spoke with the mayor and the chief of staff and they suggested that they wanted to do this outside of the bid process is that correct.

[Knight]: Right, so that would, so what's the, I guess the question is, I mean, anything needs to, any contractor, but I think it's 10 to any, any pervading some services over $10,000, I believe would require it to go out to public bid.

[Knight]: So it sounds to me like we're getting this done for far less than $10,000.

[Knight]: And where did the funding come from?

[Knight]: Okay, so you took it out of your operating funds that have already been appropriated?

[Knight]: Okay, excellent.

[Knight]: And moving forward for room 207, I mean for room 201 and for the console chambers, what price tag do you think would be attached to that?

[Knight]: with me on you tell me, I'm not familiar with who Teresa the point is that you development sustainability, I believe.

[Knight]: Did you say it community development.

[Knight]: We must be more like an IT when this won't be more of an IT function than community development.

[Knight]: So, Oh, no, no, I'm not saying it is.

[Knight]: I'm just a little confused as to why we're paying somebody in the planning department to do an it department job or a job that you can do.

[Knight]: But that's a whole different ball away.

[Knight]: That's all different.

[Knight]: That's an administrative issue that has nothing to do with you or the work that you're doing.

[Knight]: Ultimately, you say these things and I just go, huh, I don't know what that means.

[Knight]: I just know that if you're going to make it work, it'll work, right?

[Knight]: But it seems like based upon these methodologies, the way that they're going to work is it's really going to be user driven interface, right?

[Knight]: So the chairman of the meeting, it's only going to be as successful as the chairperson of the meeting.

[Knight]: So I would suggest then that the administration implement some type of mandatory training process for the chairs of

[Knight]: their boards and commissions that are going to be responsible for this, so that they can do it without a hitch.

[Knight]: Ultimately, if you have you know 20 somewhat boards and commissions and this responsibility is going to fall on the chair of each.

[Knight]: I think that some training module on methodology should be put in place so that everybody comes in with the same sense of comfort and understanding as to how this works, so that the public isn't the one that's the side that suffers.

[Knight]: And I would also recommend that one computer be used for each board and commission as opposed to individuals bringing their own

[Knight]: individuals using different different computers if we can have one computer in each workstation where each border commission has their own dedicated login I think that will cover pretty much the same concerns that we have but we have the, the, the ability to do it.

[Knight]: I just think that we need to make it streamlining consistent across the board that sounds like you're on top of it Kevin so thank you.

[Knight]: Amendments, recommendations, however you want to put them forward.

[Knight]: We don't necessarily have to vote on them.

[Knight]: I think Kevin wrote them down and I'm pretty confident in his ability.

[Knight]: He's been great since he's been here, so I'm not too worried about it.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: All this talk about IT starts getting me thinking.

[Knight]: I know back when the mayor's office tried to force our former IT director to resign under the guise of what was said was IT vulnerabilities, and this council asked for a report back from the administration.

[Knight]: We never received that report.

[Knight]: I think that, you know, the termination of a former IT director was more around protected union activity than actual performance on the job, but that's just my opinion.

[Knight]: But the reasoning that they gave when they terminated our former IT director was that there were IT vulnerabilities here in the city.

[Knight]: And at that time, this council had asked for a report back from the administration as to what those vulnerabilities were and what steps they was taking to protect the information that the residents in this community share with their government.

[Knight]: in the operations of the day-to-day delivery of services.

[Knight]: And I'd just like to have the paper reset to the administration asking for an update because we've never received a response to that paper as to what these IT vulnerabilities are, what steps are being taken to secure them, and whether or not there will be a request for funding in the future necessary to make us so safe.

[Knight]: Again, I still question the circumstances of the termination of our former IT director

[Knight]: He was in the middle of, uh, of organizing members of the administration to join a labor union.

[Knight]: And, um, he was terminated with, uh, really no warning and no progressive discipline.

[Knight]: Uh, so it raises a number of concerns for me, but the administration to give a reason.

[Knight]: And they said the reason was it vulnerabilities and the council still has not received a report on that.

[Knight]: And that's something that could become very costly to this council in this city in the future.

[Knight]: If in fact there really are.

[Knight]: IT vulnerabilities.

[Knight]: We don't know because we haven't gotten the report, but if we do get a report, then we might be able to position ourselves to figure out how much is it going to cost us in the future when the budget discussions start as to how to address these IT vulnerabilities, along with these other very positive IT issues that are coming along that Kevin's bringing to the table.

[Knight]: So I'd just like to offer that as a B paper to make sure that the administration responds to the prior paper requesting what the IT vulnerabilities were surrounding the termination of a prior IT director.

[Knight]: Yes, Madam President, one of the many emails I've received about all the wonderful things going on in this community.

[Knight]: I heard that the administration was putting together a community wide cleanup.

[Knight]: And I would suggest that we forward this resolution to her office and ask that she put this in as part of her community wide cleanup efforts that are coming up in just a few short weeks.

[Knight]: Shocking.

[Knight]: I thought they could do it.

[Knight]: Madam President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Jerry DeCristofaro, who passed away February 26th, he was a lifelong resident, lived in Summit Road, the father of Barbara DeCristofaro from Metro Police Department and Dr. DeCristofaro Registrar.

[Knight]: Jerry spent 45 years in public service for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

[Knight]: He served as Chief Investigator for the Licensing Board.

[Knight]: He was responsible for establishing the rules and regulations there and enforcing standards for our licensees in the Commonwealth.

[Knight]: known for his classic resemblance to Luciano Pavarotti.

[Knight]: Mr. De Cristofaro was someone that was loved by many.

[Knight]: He had failing health in his later years, but I remember him fondly growing up in metropolitics as someone who's always been there to lend an ear and lend wisdom and lend advice.

[Knight]: He's certainly someone that did a great deal for this community.

[Knight]: He raised two wonderful children who

[Knight]: believe in service, as evidenced by their work, and he will be sadly missed Madam President.

[Knight]: So, Jerry to Christopher our dear friend who served this community in this Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the better part of 50 years, I'd ask that this council joins me in extending condolences to his family on their recent loss.

[Knight]: Mr. Brennan, I wish you the best of luck.

[Knight]: I certainly have no problem with this application that's before us this evening.

[Knight]: I'm looking forward to seeing the Cummings Center come to completion.

[Knight]: I think this will be a nice, what they call, anchor store to bring some foot traffic through the neighborhood.

[Knight]: There's a couple with the opening of the Green Line Extension.

[Knight]: Hopefully in a few short months, we'll transform that neighborhood to make it a little bit more vibrant and

[Knight]: We all know if there's a Starbucks, people go there.

[Knight]: So it'd be nice to see us put traffic down there and another opportunity and an option for an amenity for some of the college students and neighborhood residents.

[Knight]: So thank you for your application, sir.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Anytime that a motion's been made on the floor, communication with the city staff should come directly to the council until the individual constantly constantly made the motion right so ultimately, last week I raised the question as to whether or not this is a use that would have to go to our community development boards outline the chapter 94 of our zoning act.

[Knight]: And I asked the question as to whether or not this is one of those uses because the paper before us didn't say what the use was that we were voting on.

[Knight]: So the question would then come from this council to the administration.

[Knight]: The administration would assign it to a council, to a staff member.

[Knight]: The staff member would report back to this council via the administration.

[Knight]: I haven't received any correspondence or communication relative to this subject matter.

[Knight]: I don't know if my colleagues have or if the clerk has.

[Knight]: Right, the question was whether or not it wasn't whether it wasn't allowed to use because a special permit right, it was allowed to use special permits before us the question was whether or not to go to the CD board before the council voted on it pursuant to 94.

[Knight]: 9481B of the Zoning Act.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Although I did not know Mr. Palmisano.

[Knight]: Well, he was a neighbor of mine grew up around the corner from him.

[Knight]: And he was always a gentleman that was well respected in the neighborhood.

[Knight]: If he's anything like his son Carmen, then we know that he's a great man.

[Knight]: His son Carmen and I have become friends over the years.

[Knight]: Carmen carries himself as such a gentleman that it's only fitting to say it's a reflection of his father.

[Knight]: And recently the city of Medford lost Mr. Parmesano, and I'd like to ask my council colleagues to join me in extending our deep and sincere condolences to the family of a lifelong Metro resident.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: And looking at section two of this paper that's before us this evening, this proposal, it says the charter commission shall be composed of one commissioner elected from each of the eight wards and one elected at large.

[Knight]: This paper also says that this charter review is being brought forward underneath chapter 43B of the general laws.

[Knight]: If we look at section six of chapter 43B of the general laws, it says the charter commission shall consist of nine registered voters of the city or town elected at large.

[Knight]: So it sounds to me like we have a conflict of language here right now, Mr. President, with the paper that's before us versus the plain language of the state law that governs charter review.

[Knight]: With all due respect, this council for three years has been beating our chest, screaming and yelling for legal representation, and now we're getting asked to schedule our meetings around the lawyers at KP Law that we haven't been able to meet with for two and a half years.

[Knight]: It's not about the license, it's about the process that we need to take as a body to be sure that we're compliant with the law.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Not one of my normal resolutions that I put on, but I did get a call from a number of concerned citizens who were out walking their little pups and they had questions and concern as to whether or not the salt mix that the city was using was pet environmentally friendly.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I said I'll get an answer for them.

[Knight]: This is the approach that I'm taking to get such.

[Knight]: So I'd ask my council colleagues to support this measure and hopefully the answer is yes, but thank you.

[Knight]: Very pessimistic about that being the case.

[Knight]: Relatively self explanatory Mr. President, this is a resolution that was put forward and passed by the previous council unanimously seven to nothing in April of 2021.

[Knight]: I'm at that time this council struggling with the effects of the pandemic, we provided a draft resolution to solicitors office and we asked them to craft a resolution that would fit Medford.

[Knight]: The reason we asked for this was because of the impacts.

[Knight]: that the pandemic was having on the youth in our community, their ability to interact, the mental health pressures that they're facing.

[Knight]: Today, we still have not seen a draft ordinance.

[Knight]: I'm hoping this is something that we can get in short order, Mr. President.

[Knight]: April, May, June, we're getting there, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: It's almost the year.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I ask my council colleagues to support the resolution.

[Knight]: Councilor Tseng.

[Knight]: Any further discussion, if I may, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Yes, I'd like to make a public service announcement.

[Knight]: There's gonna be two feet of snow, there's gonna be a snow emergency, all right?

[Knight]: So, temporary signs, we don't need them.

[Knight]: If two feet of snow is coming, we're gonna be in a snow emergency.

[Knight]: That goes without saying.

[Knight]: Yeah, winter starts in December, man.

[Knight]: Don't you live here?

[Knight]: But ultimately, there's one thing I think that a lot of people don't do anymore.

[Knight]: And it's this crazy thing, they pick up the phone and they call somebody and they ask a question, right?

[Knight]: Like call the police department and say, is it a snow emergency?

[Knight]: And what side of the street am I supposed to park on, right?

[Knight]: A lot of people are afraid to pick up the phone these days and call, but we have great resources here in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: The police department staff 24 hours a day.

[Knight]: We have somebody at the police department that's in dispatch that could always answer a question if anybody has a question about where I went to park.

[Knight]: And we also have the night watch.

[Knight]: The night watchman in the DPW is also available to address questions and concerns like that.

[Knight]: So there are resources out there for individuals in this community that have questions about where to park during snow emergencies.

[Knight]: The DPWs during snow emergencies is operating 24 hours a day.

[Knight]: So there's always someone that's available to answer a call and answer a question.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I hope that the individuals out there in the community that are having such difficulty

[Knight]: figuring out where to park, also take advantage of some of these old fashioned resources, like not signing up for alerts, but picking up the phone and asking the question.

[Knight]: Does that get you the same answer?

[Knight]: Mr. President, I think, if my memory serves me correctly.

[Knight]: This paper was put on in the council voted to request that the mayor write a letter to the Gaming Commission.

[Knight]: The mayor wrote a letter to the Gaming Commission reported back to the council that you wrote a letter to the Gaming Commission and suggested that we do so as well.

[Knight]: If we're going to send a letter to the Gaming Commission, after we just directed the mayor to send a letter to the Gaming Commission, I think we need to be sure that we're consistent in our message.

[Knight]: If we look at our agenda this evening, we want to send letters to every member of the State House, the Speaker, the Senate President, every member of our state delegation.

[Knight]: We want to send letters to the Mass Gaming Commission over here.

[Knight]: We're like letter-writing nuts right now, Mr. President.

[Knight]: At the end of the day, we need to have a concise and consistent message.

[Knight]: It should be delivered as a city, not as one body in the city, this body in the city, we need to take a look at what the mayor wrote and craft a letter that shows some consistency, so that we're not asking for two different things.

[Knight]: I think that's very important.

[Knight]: All right, if we're going to be sending letters to places, we need to be sure that our game is tight, and that what we're asking for is what we're asking for.

[Knight]: It's not for the cameras, it's for the policy, it's not for the politics.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: I mean, ultimately, that's what it comes down to, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I think that, you know, if we're going to be asking the Gaming Commission to take a stand, the stand that we're asking them to take can't be a stand of the city council, it can't be a stand of the administration, it has to be a stand of the city of Medford.

[Knight]: stand all of us together unified.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I have no problem sending a letter.

[Knight]: I just wish that we could probably work with the administration a little bit more cooperatively in addressing large issues like this that are impacting our community, especially when the mayor's action came at the directive of the council in the first place.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I support the intent of the paper, but I just want to be sure that what we're sending is a message of consistency.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Councilor Caraviello.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I certainly support the theory of the measure.

[Knight]: I certainly support the measure.

[Knight]: It's something that's very interesting.

[Knight]: I question whether or not it needs to be reviewed by the solicitor or whether this came from legal counsel.

[Knight]: Maybe the other sponsor of the resolution can offer that this has been worked on through legal counsel of some shape or form, maybe with UFCW.

[Knight]: Any further questions?

[Knight]: Mr. President, that highlights some of the questions that I had.

[Knight]: It's certainly an interesting theory that the council can tie licensure requirements to union membership.

[Knight]: It's very interesting.

[Knight]: I was referring to wasn't the peace agreement, but rather the requirement that a project labor agreement be in place.

[Knight]: Yeah, so I mean, Mr. Camacho I know you don't know me from a hole in the wall.

[Knight]: I came from the unions I worked at SIU for a number of years I negotiated over 40 contracts I represented close to 12,000 employees between Worcester and Essex County and Suffolk County and Middlesex County so I've certainly been familiar with the union world and it's something that I certainly want to support but like Councilor Behr said if we're going to do it let's do it right and if you like what you said if we're going to do it let's do it right so I just want to make sure that

[Knight]: We don't get challenged.

[Knight]: We're in a process right now where it's taken probably, we're probably the slowest community in all the world to license the marijuana facility in Massachusetts.

[Knight]: And we've gotten this far, and I'd hate to see the process stalled.

[Knight]: The administration's done a great job of doing that already.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I certainly support this.

[Knight]: I support working families.

[Knight]: And I always will.

[Knight]: If you don't know what you stand for, then you can't stand for anything.

[Knight]: This is certainly something that I stand for.

[Knight]: I stand for good wages.

[Knight]: I stand for health benefits, retirement benefits for workers.

[Knight]: I stand for a living wage.

[Knight]: I think that these are things that bring our community up, right?

[Knight]: If we have good wages in the community, then people can spend their ancillary money in the circular flow of our economy.

[Knight]: The discretionary funds go back into our economy.

[Knight]: It's a good thing.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I support this wholeheartedly and I have no problem seconding the motion by the council.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Because it's a zoning paper, Mr. President, and we have a zoning codification issue that's coming up, it doesn't have to be part of the codification.

[Knight]: It can go through as an amendment to the existing zoning ordinance for the cannabis licensure, right?

[Knight]: And it can go through the process itself.

[Knight]: In fact, we have to do it that way.

[Knight]: We don't have to tie it to the recodification and blow that thing up, you know what I mean, as we're going through the process, because we're at the Penn Yard line.

[Knight]: We're gonna have a motion to join it right.

[Knight]: And then we vote on the motion to join it.

[Knight]: And then the motion goes down.

[Knight]: You really can't bring it up.

[Knight]: We'll have the opinion.

[Knight]: Well, why don't we amend the paper to ask for a legal opinion on this language right here?

[Knight]: The senator has a solicitor now, she'll get that back to us.

[Knight]: That's fine, yeah, that's fine.

[Knight]: One major question.

[Knight]: If we want the solicitor to give us a legal opinion we need to ask the city.

[Knight]: That's not a legal question.

[Knight]: That's an operational question.

[Knight]: Mr. President, this gentleman works for the UFCW as a representative of a labor organization.

[Knight]: He's not an entity with the city.

[Knight]: I'm not sure- I assume.

[Knight]: The gentleman is a representative of a labor organization.

[Knight]: He's not a representative of the community.

[Knight]: He probably doesn't even know who is applied here in the city of Medford because he doesn't work for our community.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: I would just like to reiterate my concern that this council's focus should be on the items that fall within its purview and control.

[Knight]: We have a very, very responsible, receptive, and capable state delegation.

[Knight]: A very, very capable state delegation.

[Knight]: We're not the House of Representatives.

[Knight]: We're not the Massachusetts Senate.

[Knight]: Thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of bills are introduced every day in both parties.

[Knight]: This council is gonna sit here and spend our time weeding through those bills and not doing the job that we're doing.

[Knight]: We're doing something wrong.

[Knight]: We're elected to do the city's business.

[Knight]: This is State House talk.

[Knight]: For this reason and this reason alone, I'm not gonna support this measure tonight, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Week in and week out, send a letter to Karen Spilka, send a letter to Ron Mariano, send a letter to Karen Spilka, send a letter to Ron Mariano.

[Knight]: Enough's enough.

[Knight]: They're gonna think we're lunatics.

[Knight]: Every other week, they're getting a letter from the Medford City Council saying, Medford wants this now, Medford wants that now, Medford wants this now.

[Knight]: This guy in Medford, you know what I want?

[Knight]: More money.

[Knight]: There's one paper on this agenda this evening that I will support.

[Knight]: A paper asking for an increase in House Fund funds to this community.

[Knight]: I will support that paper.

[Knight]: But as for us, continuously, week in and week out, supporting this piece of legislation, that piece of legislation, this piece of legislation at the State House, it's not moving this council forward, it's not moving this city forward.

[Knight]: It's moving an agenda forward,

[Knight]: but it's not moving us forward.

[Knight]: Mr. President, from a procedural standpoint, there is a paper that's pending.

[Knight]: We'll kind of put the cap before the horse, this is why I raised the issue.

[Knight]: I don't necessarily agree with that.

[Knight]: It's our point of information is our point of personal privilege.

[Knight]: Ultimately, the paper that they have before me is asking whether or not the papers that we're going to be voting on that we just taken from the table are in compliance with the general laws.

[Knight]: So if this paper wouldn't be moved, and we take a vote, and then the vote says that we're not in compliance with the general laws, I think it was a situation.

[Knight]: And that's just my understanding of this.

[Knight]: And looking at the way that positions have been created and the way positions have been funded, I think we have a significant financial transparency issue, and I think we have a significant financial compliance issue.

[Knight]: especially with chapter 44 section 33a related to the human resource directors position and potentially these as well that are outlined in this paper and that's why I raised the question.

[Knight]: Everybody behind this rail took an oath.

[Knight]: Part of that oath was to uphold the rules of the constitution, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the ordinances of the city of Medford.

[Knight]: I don't think anybody behind this rail can answer the question as to whether or not the city of Medford is in compliance with chapter 44 section 33a.

[Knight]: Quite frankly, I don't think our CFO can answer that question.

[Knight]: But I do raise the question because if I'm going to be taking a vote and putting my name on it, I want that vote to be in line with the oath I took.

[Knight]: That's why I've asked for this paper to come first.

[Knight]: I won't be supporting the three papers that are before me this evening because this paper, I think, addresses a lot of the questions that have been raised over duration relative to the compensation adjustment factor system and the approach that the administration is taking.

[Knight]: This is an ordinance for third reading.

[Knight]: It will need five votes for passage.

[Knight]: Failure to pass will result in the paper being tabled for a period of 90 days and not being able to be reintroduced.

[Knight]: What role is that?

[Knight]: It's an ordinance.

[Knight]: An ordinance is required five votes.

[Knight]: So if this doesn't pass, then it fails.

[Knight]: And if the paper fails, it's been disposed of.

[Knight]: And if it's disposed of, the paper can't be reintroduced to the council for a period of 90 days.

[Knight]: It's 44.

[Knight]: Look at this chapter 44.

[Knight]: If we had legal counsel, it'd be like this.

[Knight]: You need four to take off effectively.

[Knight]: It's chapter 44.

[Knight]: It'd be around section 18 or 20.

[Knight]: I think section 22 has to do with the financial paper being tabled initially.

[Knight]: Section 134, administration of government.

[Knight]: Chapter 43 is for finance.

[Knight]: Off hand, no. But I know I'm right.

[Knight]: Would somebody like to call President Demeritus, Robert Mayorko?

[Knight]: I'm not challenging the ruling of the chair.

[Knight]: To permit a member voting present when the motion order resolution under consideration by the council forbid his or her participation as the conflict interest of law directs such members should do so should should so address the council in the chair and for me as to why the Councilor is voting president present.

[Knight]: I don't think there's anything in here that says you can vote present unless I think you have to vote unless you have a conflict of interest.

[Knight]: There's a rule in there and I think that that's not it, as I look at it, but from what I understand.

[Knight]: It happened again.

[Knight]: I'll be happy to move for reconsideration should the paper come back requiring five votes.

[Knight]: I will for reconsideration put it back on the table.

[Knight]: I have no problem with that, but you're saying that I lost the vote, so I can't.

[Knight]: I can only move for reconsideration if I won the vote.

[Knight]: Move for reconsideration on the paper and then ask that it be tabled and then we'd say yes and yes.

[Knight]: We move on.

[Knight]: It's a public information paper.

[Knight]: It's a public participation paper that has no number.

[Knight]: So the clerk has the authority to include it on the agenda next week.

[Knight]: The council doesn't take action on those papers anyway.

[Knight]: We just sit there and listen, right?

[Knight]: And then it's up to us to take an action on it the next week, the following week to comply with OML.

[Knight]: So the clerk can just reissue that.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much and I know that you and I was supposed to be co sponsors on this I apologize for leaving you off.

[Knight]: I know that you and I spoke about.

[Knight]: But it's the Sobato family are owners and operators of Expressos pizzeria on Boston Ave.

[Knight]: Mr. President, but just that just closed very recently.

[Knight]: And for 40 years they operated at that corner and they were one of the first businesses in this community to get an extended hours license.

[Knight]: And they really set a trend up there.

[Knight]: They serviced my neighborhood that I grew up in, as well as I'm sure Councilor Collins will tell us, Tufts University population for a great deal.

[Knight]: But they've always been a great neighbor and a great partner in the community.

[Knight]: And after 40 years, they're hanging up the aprons and the pizza wheel.

[Knight]: So I think it goes without saying that they deserve some recognition for the community building that they did here in this city.

[Knight]: And they've offered this community, Mr. President.

[Knight]: They're great people, a great family.

[Knight]: I had the opportunity to grow up with some nephews, some of our nephews in the Davises as well.

[Knight]: great kids, great people, all giving to this community now.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'd ask my council colleagues to support this resolution and send it to the administration for the request.

[Knight]: Councilor Scarpelli.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I've gotten a number of complaints recently from members of the community seeking copies of minutes or copies of meetings related to especially the Cannabis Advisory Commission as well as the Historic Commission.

[Knight]: And these documents or records are not available readily on the website.

[Knight]: So after multiple calls, I thought it might make sense for us to reach out to the administration and ask them to take the appropriate steps to ensure that this material gets posted publicly and transparently, and that the council take the appropriate steps to ensure that this is a standard and a norm, not an anomaly.

[Knight]: We certainly have no problem with that, sir.

[Knight]: Council night, Mister President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Yes, yet again, a nice personnel issue has made its way to the newspaper that's identified a number of issues that are going on here at City Hall.

[Knight]: One of those issues, I believe, would be an IP vulnerability.

[Knight]: It's my understanding that our IT director, after 24 years of employment in the city of Medford with an exemplary record, was removed from his position based upon some certain IT vulnerabilities that the council has not been made aware of.

[Knight]: This is very concerning to me, Mr. President, because of their IT vulnerabilities.

[Knight]: Similar to what we saw in the past, the administration wouldn't disclose to us when the number of personal information was taken from the city website maybe nine or 10 months ago.

[Knight]: It just raises cause for concern, number one, and it also raises cause for liability for the city.

[Knight]: And if there's going to be a liability that's placed upon the city, it's going to end up costing the city money, and the council should know about it, because we're the steward of the taxpayer dollar.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I'd ask that this motion to move forward that we set up an executive session with the city administration for us to discuss these it vulnerabilities to see what steps we need to take to ensure that the personal information and data of the taxpayers in this community is protected appropriately.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Litigation and representation has been the topic of discussion.

[Knight]: Most of those terms so far, Mr. President, for the last four or five weeks, that's all we've been talking about is litigation and representation.

[Knight]: And recently, this council passed a money bill to amend the fiscal year budget to allow the mayor's private legal counsel to really have an open checkbook for litigation.

[Knight]: And when we look at what's going on here in the community and you think about the litigation that's pending,

[Knight]: and the amount of money that's been appropriated, and whether or not that amount of money is going to be able to stretch to cover the issues that are in dispute right now, it raises some concern for me financially.

[Knight]: So when you think about the more than 25 labor charges that are against the city right now, when you think about the 340 developments that the city's fighting right now, that doesn't look like we're fighting a winning battle.

[Knight]: When you look at the potential

[Knight]: issue with the cannabis advisory commission in the conflict of interest concerning one of the members of the selection committee.

[Knight]: It just puts me in a position as the president to sit here and think about what we're doing with our money and whether or not we should be planning appropriately for future spending.

[Knight]: You know since this term started I think we've spent a lot of dough in 4 or 5 weeks and I'm hoping that you know we can kind of responsibly manage

[Knight]: our budgets, our plans, our finances.

[Knight]: And I think that by establishing a subcommittee on litigation, that will give the council a better idea going forward as to what steps we need to take to fund the law department in an appropriate fashion to ensure that we secure our legal representation moving forward, to be sure that we secure our zoning consultant moving forward.

[Knight]: So I think that this will help us address a number of the concerns and issues that we've raised, Mr. President.

[Knight]: May I ask for my council colleagues' support?

[Knight]: If I'm with me, I know that the president's strong pencil also has the power to strike and create the subcommittees as we discussed at the beginning of the session, but I personally have no objections.

[Knight]: What direction this council chooses to go with that direction, I want to go for transparency purposes.

[Knight]: So be it, I have no problem with that whatsoever.

[Knight]: Paper 22054 offered by Councilor Caraviello.

[Knight]: Be it resolved the Medford City Council will have the mayor start looking into purchasing vehicles for the Medford Police Department, most patrol cars are now four plus years old with high mileage.

[Knight]: Councilor Caraviello.

[Knight]: seven the affirmative zero and the negative the motion passes Council paper to to 055 offered by Councilor Caraviello be resolved the city council request the administration please provide the council with the findings of its review of the clerk's office along with all legal costs associated Councilor caveat.

[Knight]: Oh, this is an appropriation request that I support wholeheartedly I certainly have no problem with the appropriations that are requested here by the administration.

[Knight]: In particular, the walking clock project, I think we're very lucky to have Jeffrey Driscoll running the Metro Housing Authority, the premier housing authority director in the state of Massachusetts.

[Knight]: He's the housing authority director that trains the other housing authority directors across the state.

[Knight]: He's done an excellent job he's really.

[Knight]: moved our housing authority forward, very similar to the way that Mike Durham has moved that veterans office forward.

[Knight]: He's done a great job.

[Knight]: And I've been looking at this request.

[Knight]: I think this is what the CPA is really intended for.

[Knight]: It's a perfect use.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I support it wholeheartedly.

[Knight]: In terms of the Riverbed Park project and the accessibility improvements to Chevallier Auditorium, again, two items that we've been talking about for a long time, two things that I think are important to this community.

[Knight]: So without being said, I'd move for approval on the table.

[Knight]: Proposed hours of operation.

[Knight]: I'm sorry, what are the proposed hours of operation?

[Knight]: Your hours of operation.

[Knight]: Will there be any alcohol served on the premises, or is there an application for a license to serve any alcohol?

[Knight]: A license to serve any alcohol?

[Knight]: Is there a dining option, or is this exclusively takeout?

[Knight]: One last item, Mr. President.

[Knight]: 21561 on the suspension item offered by President Caraviello relative to Vernon Street construction.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Caraviello.

[Knight]: Chair recognizes Councilor Farquhar.

[Knight]: You're offering that in the form of a motion, Councilor?

[Knight]: Amendment, please.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor.

[Knight]: Is there anybody from the public that would like to speak on this issue?

[Knight]: Come right up, please.

[Knight]: Name and address for the record, please, sir.

[Knight]: Thank you, sir.

[Knight]: Chair recognizes Chancellor Caraviello.

[Knight]: Chair recognizes Sharon Kennedy on Zoom.

[Knight]: Resident storyteller sharing.

[Knight]: You can.

[Knight]: Thank you, Sharon.

[Knight]: Mr. President.

[Knight]: Chair recognizes Christopher Leary on Zoom.

[Knight]: Mr. Leary, if I may, can I just ask that you leave your address for the record with the clerk, please?

[Knight]: He didn't give his address, I'm sure.

[Knight]: Yeah, 40 Vernon.

[Knight]: Mr. President.

[Knight]: Chair recognizes Councilor Bears.

[Knight]: Chair recognizes Councilor Caraviello.

[Knight]: I think Chair and Kennedy gave a good explanation of what goes on at that park.

[Knight]: Not only kids go sledding up there, right?

[Knight]: Might be guilty of sledding up there in the last snowstorm as well with my children.

[Knight]: On the motion by Council car below as amended by Councilor Morell asking how often they switch out design specifications in the contract further amended by Council Mac marks asking for the job specifications versus the final product.

[Knight]: And whether or not this grant will be temporary this concrete will be temporary until granted is installed and what's the difference in price regarding the approved work order versus the current construction materials.

[Knight]: And we have a motion by Councilor Caraviello to ask that the construction stop until these questions be answered in granite curbing be acquired and installed, not to start to start but on the domestic street at the street, and Vernon not be paid.

[Knight]: So you're asking the reservicing aspects of the project.

[Knight]: Yeah, just the reservicing aspects.

[Knight]: Once we service, you're not going to be able to take those curbs out.

[Knight]: Well put councilor.

[Knight]: Mr. President, the chair recognizes John Anderson on zoom.

[Knight]: Thank you, John.

[Knight]: Appreciate it.

[Knight]: Motion for approval, Mr. President.

[Knight]: On the motion by Councilor Caraviello, as amended by Councilors Morell, Councilor Marks, and Councilor Caraviello.

[Knight]: Seconded by Councilor Marks.

[Knight]: On the motion.

[Knight]: All those in favor?

[Knight]: Aye.

[Knight]: Roll call vote, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Six in the affirmative, zero in the negative, one absent.

[Knight]: The motion passes.

[Knight]: Chair relinquishes the gavel to Councilor Caraviello.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This was a topic at last week's meeting.

[Knight]: We certainly discussed it at length.

[Knight]: resulting in this Council calling for a special emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the staffing levels in our veteran service office and what's going on down there.

[Knight]: I think we're all well aware of the circumstances and the situation that gave rise to this resolution.

[Knight]: I don't think we need to recreate history or beat a dead horse, Mr. President.

[Knight]: What we need to do is get Mike Durham back to work.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I offer this resolution this evening.

[Knight]: I ask my Council colleagues to support it, to reinstate Mike Durham to the position of veteran service officer.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: That's my Council colleagues to support the measure and I move for approval.

[Knight]: Questions?

[Knight]: One information, Vice President Knight, on that point, not only are they doing a disservice to the veterans in this community, they're doing a disservice to Mike Durham, the human being, a husband, a father, someone who served this country.

[Knight]: They're doing a disservice to him too, leaving him hanging out there like this, using him as a political pawn because they don't like the pressure he's putting on him.

[Knight]: Enough's enough with this, Mr. President.

[Knight]: It's time he gets back to work.

[Knight]: They're playing with a man's life.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Has the administration answered the question as to how Mr. Chimaya is getting paid?

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much, and I appreciate you co-sponsoring this resolution with me.

[Knight]: Paul McGillivray.

[Knight]: born and raised on Marion Street in South Medford, son of Harold McGilvery senior, a very, very, very recognized cop that served in the city of Medford on the NBC was injured in the line of duty and actually passed away very recently from the injuries that he sustained on that fateful night.

[Knight]: Following in his father's footsteps, Paul became a Metro Police Officer some 25 years ago, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And during that 25 years, Paul was so happy to say when I spoke to him the other day with a smile on his face that he had an unblemished record.

[Knight]: In 25 years of service as a Metro Police Officer, he had a perfect record, an unblemished record.

[Knight]: And for 25 years, he served his community.

[Knight]: But a number of years ago, he moved up to the town of Wilmington, where he and his wife, Andrea, began to raise their wonderful family.

[Knight]: And Paul had a great opportunity.

[Knight]: to transfer departments and to now work in the town that he lives in.

[Knight]: So born and raised in Medford, he had the opportunity to do 25 years here in the city of Medford, protecting the residents.

[Knight]: And now he's gonna have the opportunity to do that up in Wilmington, the town that he lives in.

[Knight]: So I wish Paul the best of luck to his health, to his safety, and most importantly, to his happiness, to have the opportunity to be close to his family, to be in his neighborhood and to work in his hometown is something that's great.

[Knight]: It's something that we all relish.

[Knight]: So I congratulate him and I wish him the best of luck moving forward.

[Knight]: He's a great individual, just a great person to be around.

[Knight]: A lot of fun, a lot of knowledge.

[Knight]: A cop's cop, as they like to say.

[Knight]: He gets out of the car, he does his job, he does the work.

[Knight]: He's someone that's gonna be sadly missed, and they're gonna have a big pair of boots to fill down there at Medford Police Department.

[Knight]: With Paul McGilvray leaving, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: I certainly disagree with that.

[Knight]: Diane McLeod did yeoman's work on this when it came to diversity and disability issues, especially.

[Knight]: Um, I mean, she would, she'd be in her office with blueprints on restaurants being made and making sure that there were accessible pathways for individuals.

[Knight]: Um, and it was a diversity and disability office.

[Knight]: Um, we've seen the focus of the office change.

[Knight]: Um, we've seen the office actually be proposed to be eliminated.

[Knight]: And that was the priority that this council made, to keep the diversity office alive, because that office was going to be gone entirely.

[Knight]: Entirely.

[Knight]: It was just going to be the office of human resources.

[Knight]: There was not going to be an office of diversity inclusion anymore.

[Knight]: It was going to be gone.

[Knight]: And that was the stand this council took.

[Knight]: We said, there's going to be a circumstance or a situation that comes up where the director of human resources is sitting on an interview panel, say, and an individual that's interviewed feels as though

[Knight]: There was some miss miss malfeasance or what we're giving a fair shake the civil rights of violate whatever it was, who do they go to the human resource officer to just sat on the panel just told them they don't get the job.

[Knight]: That was the conflict that we were talking about.

[Knight]: That was the first sign that we really saw that we need to make a commitment to this.

[Knight]: We can talk all we want to talk.

[Knight]: But at the end of the day, where do we put the money?

[Knight]: We put the money into the diversity office.

[Knight]: We made it a council priority to keep that diversity office alive.

[Knight]: And that's what happened.

[Knight]: I mean, I think when we look at the steps the administration's taken, we're seeing a lot of press releases.

[Knight]: We're seeing a lot of press releases.

[Knight]: We're seeing a lot of Facebook posts.

[Knight]: But we're seeing a lack of communication.

[Knight]: We're seeing a lack of communication.

[Knight]: We have a communications director that does a great job.

[Knight]: She has a great job.

[Knight]: She puts a great press.

[Knight]: But we need to get in the same room and sit down and talk about some of these things.

[Knight]: And it's not just related to issues of race and equity.

[Knight]: It's related to fiscal responsibility.

[Knight]: It's related to service delivery.

[Knight]: There's a real breakdown in communication.

[Knight]: My father was a great athlete.

[Knight]: He was the athletic director over at the city of Somerville for, I can't tell you, 25 years.

[Knight]: He always talked about athletes.

[Knight]: And he said that an athlete's number one ability is their availability.

[Knight]: If they're not available they can't play, right, if the mayor is not available to take these conversations with us and to come to our meetings when we ask her to be here to address issues of inequity, then how are we supposed to move forward.

[Knight]: How are we supposed to move forward?

[Knight]: We can all stand behind the rail, and we can bang the table, and we can give the good speeches, and we can talk for 20 and 30 and 40 minutes at a time.

[Knight]: Listen, everybody behind this rail can talk, and we can talk the dog off a meat wagon, every single one of us.

[Knight]: You've seen it before, and you'll see it again, right?

[Knight]: But at the end of the day, it's all smoke.

[Knight]: It's all smoke, unless, like Councilor Falco says, someone takes that document.

[Knight]: That's the mayor's roadmap.

[Knight]: That's what it says right on the top of it.

[Knight]: That's who's in charge of that document.

[Knight]: The mayor's in charge of that document.

[Knight]: That's the mayor's roadmap.

[Knight]: The mayor's roadmap, not the council's, not Neil Osborne's, not anybody else's.

[Knight]: That's the mayor's roadmap.

[Knight]: And that's who should be owning this.

[Knight]: In terms of the implementation of public policy and implementation of public policy.

[Knight]: We're not going to talk about all the service to the community, the housing authority, the city council, United States of America as a veteran, 75 years in this wonderful city, a West Medford guy over here.

[Knight]: Come on.

[Knight]: We got to give him a little bit of kudos on his birthday, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Both Ms.

[Knight]: General Lasky and Ms.

[Knight]: Murray have served on the Board of Registrars for an extended period of time, as long as I can remember.

[Knight]: They've both served this city diligently.

[Knight]: They've done a great job working with our election staff to ensure that our elections roll out smoothly, to ensure that our elections policy is fair and equitable, and to be sure that

[Knight]: We get the job done when it comes down to one of the most important functions of city government, which is conducting municipal and state elections.

[Knight]: So both members of the board have sought retirement after this recent primary election.

[Knight]: And I think that it's only warranted.

[Knight]: So I bring forward this resolution, Mr. President, congratulating them for their service and dedication to the community and ask them to council colleagues support the resolve.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Yeah, I agree.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: I think we're on.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: by the way.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: I like that.

[Knight]: Forward.

[Knight]: We're not stalling, we're working.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Present.

[Knight]: 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.

[Knight]: Councilor Bears.

[Knight]: Where Councilor Falco and Mr. McDougal were very close friends in high school, I'd ask that this matter be tabled for next week with Councilor Oakley participating.

[Knight]: Councilor Bears.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Falco is absent.

[Knight]: Vice President Knight.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Marks.

[Knight]: Councilor Morell.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Scarpelli.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: President Caraviello.

[Knight]: Yes, he is.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: President Caraviello?

[Knight]: Anybody?

[Knight]: Still waiting for them to reconnect.

[Knight]: Here they are.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: It's just to receive and place on file.

[Knight]: Councilor Bears.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Okay, so you amended by Councilor Scarpelli.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Vice President Knight?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Marks?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Morell?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Scarpelli?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: President Caraviello?

[Knight]: Councilor Bears.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Falco.

[Knight]: Vice President Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: And thank you for my two colleagues that preceded me on this topic.

[Knight]: I'm going to try to keep it short.

[Knight]: But ultimately, Mr. President, bottom line is people should have the right to know what health risks are associated with devices that are being affixed to poles outside the house by government entity.

[Knight]: I mean, that just

[Knight]: It's ludicrous to me to think that the federal government would not recognize health risk as a basis for denial of an application.

[Knight]: It's shameful.

[Knight]: But Mr. President, I think the understatement of the year was made this evening when Councilor Marks made his opening remarks.

[Knight]: The city of Medford was ill-prepared, ill-prepared for the 3/31 meeting.

[Knight]: Going back to April of 2019,

[Knight]: That's when the first 5G site meeting was scheduled.

[Knight]: April, 2019, two years ago, and it was canceled.

[Knight]: In August of 2019, then Mayor Burke came to us with this small cell ad hoc committee, and the council supported that.

[Knight]: In November, residents were notified of a site placement hearing, and that meeting was canceled.

[Knight]: In January of 2020,

[Knight]: An info session was held with Verizon and the members of this community here in this room.

[Knight]: That was a total and absolute failure.

[Knight]: Round tables, no question and answers.

[Knight]: It was more like a high school science fair than it was any type of symposium for residents to get questions or answers to their concern.

[Knight]: Which brings us to January of 2020 yet again, when this council passed a resolution unanimously with, I believe, a councilor that was sitting here.

[Knight]: No, no, she wasn't sitting here anymore.

[Knight]: Now she was across the hall.

[Knight]: We passed it unanimously asking the city call for a symposium where residents from this community could come and meet with the ad hoc small cell committee representatives from Verizon and the administration to talk about their concerns in the rollout of this project.

[Knight]: That never happened.

[Knight]: The very next week, Councilor Marks put forward a resolution because we haven't seen any movement that the small cell advisory committee implements stricter standards

[Knight]: on their application process to make it a little bit more difficult to walk into our community and do whatever they want.

[Knight]: So this is January 2020, February 2020, nothing.

[Knight]: March 2020, there was a 5G site meeting that was scheduled and canceled.

[Knight]: April, May, June, July, August, September, radio silence, nothing.

[Knight]: No movement, no activity, nothing.

[Knight]: November of 2020, the city administration calls for an executive session with this council to discuss a potential lawsuit from Verizon to the cities in action on the applications.

[Knight]: November of 2020.

[Knight]: December of 2020, nothing.

[Knight]: January of 2021, nothing.

[Knight]: February of 2021, a correspondence from the mayor's chief of staff indicating

[Knight]: that they're going to move forward with the site hearing for 5G with the Ad Hoc Small Cell Committee.

[Knight]: March of 2021.

[Knight]: Scheduled, canceled, and rescheduled.

[Knight]: March 31st, the meeting was held.

[Knight]: We are two years, two years from the initial date that these applications became an issue in this community.

[Knight]: Two for 24 months.

[Knight]: And we are no further ahead today than we were on August 28th, 2019.

[Knight]: No further ahead.

[Knight]: I commend my colleague to doing his homework for raising the questions and bringing these issues forward, Mr. President.

[Knight]: They're serious issues, serious issues.

[Knight]: And to think that one of us behind this rail is gonna take a vote not knowing if one of those devices can cause cancer to just one person in this community is insane, is insane to think that we're gonna take that risk.

[Knight]: We're going to take that risk, and it's shameful for the federal government to put us in that position.

[Knight]: I'll stay with my colleagues all day on this one.

[Knight]: I'm not taking a vote that's going to hurt people and put the health at risk if we don't know.

[Knight]: If we don't know, we shouldn't be taking the vote.

[Knight]: And I stand with my colleagues on this, and I thank you both for bringing this forward.

[Knight]: My name is Anthony D'Antonio.

[Knight]: I live at 24 Hicks Avenue.

[Knight]: brutal.

[Knight]: This is to consolidate all the papers and amendments.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Bears?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Falco?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Vice President Nights?

[Knight]: Councilor Marks?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Morell?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Scarpelli?

[Knight]: President Caraviello?

[Knight]: Councilor Bears?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Falco?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Vice President Knight?

[Knight]: Councilor Bears?

[Knight]: It seems like we're talking a little bit more about national politics and state politics than we are about local stuff.

[Knight]: Having worked in the legislature for a number of years, I've witnessed firsthand the fact that nothing ever comes out the way it goes in.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I share Councilor Falco's concerns wholeheartedly.

[Knight]: As a matter of fact, this is a topic that I've brought up in the past as well.

[Knight]: And when we look at this month's Warren article, this previous month's Warren articles, we'll see that we've received

[Knight]: seven bills of $5,000 to the tune of 30K, Mr. President, for what is labeled as, I'm sorry, six, I'm sorry, six, 30K.

[Knight]: Monthly legal retainer, it says, monthly legal retainer.

[Knight]: So six months, monthly legal retainer.

[Knight]: And this is being paid, Mr. President, out of the professional services legal line item.

[Knight]: Now, if we go to the previous year's budget,

[Knight]: We'll see in the previous year's budget, underneath the law department, if we look for professional and technical services, other, that line item was funded at $1,500.

[Knight]: Now my assumption, Mr. President, is that this line item was not approved in the next year's budget at an amount that would be four or 500 times that amount.

[Knight]: So with that being said, it appears to me that they're doing some deficit spending and come the end of the year, there are gonna be some

[Knight]: little fuzzy math transfers that we're gonna be doing over here to figure out how we're gonna pay for this, Mr. President, because quite frankly, I don't see that it's being paid for out of an account that's funded to the level that it's being built.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I thank my council colleague and I support his resolution and I second it.

[Knight]: We're not going down that road.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Knight]: Tony Pujol, I'm in Tanger Street.

[Knight]: Thank you for listening to me.

[Knight]: Thank you all for being in this beautiful chambers tonight to hear us.

[Knight]: I'm not going to beat up a dead horse.

[Knight]: That's okay, you've been waiting long enough.

[Knight]: I also believe that because it's a 40B project, there's some sort of contingency that would say that all the units that are developed can be considered underneath the safe harbor, as opposed to just the affordable units.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: He was a dear friend.

[Knight]: He was very committed to American Legion Post 45 and the fundraising efforts and the volunteer and charity work that they do up there.

[Knight]: He was a Verizon employee that worked at Verizon for a number of years.

[Knight]: But most importantly, Mr. President, he was one of those guys that would sweat blue and white.

[Knight]: So Mr. President, I'm asking that my council colleagues join in and expressing their deep and sincere condolences to the family of McDougal, of Alan McDougal.

[Knight]: He was someone that certainly made a difference here in this community, certainly someone that touched the lives of many youth in this community, and certainly someone that has a legacy that deserves to be remembered.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I rest my case and ask my council colleagues to support the resolve.

[Knight]: Councilor Bears?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Pears.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Tocco.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Vice President Nights.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Marks.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Morell.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Scarpelli.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: President Caraviello.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Marianne, it sure sounds like there's a lot going on in your office.

[Knight]: You're pretty busy, isn't that correct?

[Knight]: A little bit.

[Knight]: So how many I guess you're putting in on average, you and your staff.

[Knight]: So 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

[Knight]: And then how many how many members do you have in your staff up there?

[Knight]: Plus this new permitting thing, huh?

[Knight]: With LaConti and home.

[Knight]: So you think your office has the capacity based upon the number of hours that everybody's putting in right now to do these?

[Knight]: pre-screenings of applications for people that are looking to rent the Hormel Stadium on the Coffey Rink?

[Knight]: We've been doing that.

[Knight]: We've been doing that since the beginning.

[Knight]: No, it was never a pre-screening before you could apply or get placement.

[Knight]: It should have been.

[Knight]: It should have been.

[Knight]: So so how's this going to work now can you just explain to me based upon you know the fact that your office is going to be handling the majority of these requests how this permitting is going to work for home Ellen my look on it.

[Knight]: The fact that we got an email this morning saying that they've made.

[Knight]: a number of changes to the way that two of our revenue-generating properties that we have here in the community are gonna be conducted.

[Knight]: Now, previously the way it worked would be that the applicant would seek placement at La Conte O'Hamel, they'd be provided placement, they'd be put in the schedule, they'd then have to go through a screening process.

[Knight]: And now it looks like that process is backwards or different, it seems like, from what I understood from this email that I got from Mayor Ungo, that she's taking control of some of the authority that the O'Hamel Commission has.

[Knight]: relative to how they're supposed to be, you know, scheduling and booking events.

[Knight]: And where these are two revenue generating facilities that we have here in the community.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, they're very successful.

[Knight]: If it ain't broken, don't try to fix it.

[Knight]: Is that what happened with Ellington Catholic?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: It makes sense, though.

[Knight]: I mean, if they have a plan that's in place, I mean, the CDC guidelines are going to be controlling it.

[Knight]: You know,

[Knight]: we're really... They weren't following the guidelines.

[Knight]: That was the problem.

[Knight]: Let me tell you what, every single event that took place down there.

[Knight]: So I'm pretty sure, you know, they may or may not have.

[Knight]: I think that that's a blood accusation.

[Knight]: In any organization that hasn't followed the CDC guidelines, I'm sure that your office has taken the appropriate steps to find them and document such, right?

[Knight]: Wouldn't it make it more sense from a number one, a consistency of government standpoint, number two, an operational standpoint that- No, not in a pandemic, I'm sorry.

[Knight]: I'm done talking, Rick.

[Knight]: I'm done.

[Knight]: I'm not going to be able to finish, Mr. President, so I'll just stop right now.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I'm just taking a look at the zoning use chart.

[Knight]: And I certainly don't have any issue with Millett Automotive taking over this Fantasia Automotive location.

[Knight]: I live in West Medford.

[Knight]: I know Mr. Millett, I see the type of business he's done down there for a number of years.

[Knight]: He's done a great job over there.

[Knight]: He keeps his lot clean.

[Knight]: He is a good neighbor.

[Knight]: So I have no issue or concern whatsoever about his ability or whether or not he'll be a good neighbor at the Fantasia site.

[Knight]: But in looking at the zoning use chart, it says that under use 27, the accessory storage conducted entirely with an enclosed structure, the sale of rental motor vehicles, exclusive abuse car sales in a C1 district would be required for a special permit of the council, but it would also be required to be referred to the community development board first for review, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I certainly don't have any issue approving this license this evening,

[Knight]: However, if there is a requirement that it has to go before the CD board for hearing of some sort, I do want to make sure that the council is in compliance.

[Knight]: So I guess the question would lie as to whether or not Mr. Moki designates this application as a use 27 on the principal use chart.

[Knight]: So we'll refer it to, if there's an issue, we'll refer it over to Mike and step out and call him even Mr. President, because I don't want to hold Mr. Mullet up.

[Knight]: This is more of a technicality and formality than anything.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Yes, the Lawrence Memorial Hospital was kind enough to forward all the correspondence this morning.

[Knight]: The correspondence would provide us with an update as to the status of the ongoing construction of the ambulatory care center.

[Knight]: This email goes on to read that beginning on Monday, March 22nd, we will begin planting trees and plants in the parking lot, islands, and surrounding buildings.

[Knight]: This work should be completed by Friday, March 26th.

[Knight]: So that looks like that was last week, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Landscaping work will be taking place on the corner of Governor's Avenue and Lawrence Road.

[Knight]: and crews will be placing loom to prep for seating.

[Knight]: Following the completion of the landscaping work, the repaving of the parking lot is scheduled to take place during the week of April 5th.

[Knight]: All work is weather dependent.

[Knight]: Mr. President, also in their correspondence, if you bear with me for one moment where I can find the other section of it, I will tell you that at 5.30 PM, the caffeine inside lobby lights will be reduced to 30%.

[Knight]: At 7 PM daily, the exterior bulbs and canopy lights will shut off.

[Knight]: And at 8 p.m.

[Knight]: the ambulatory surgical care centers lights will shut off as well as the PACU, which faces the lot.

[Knight]: Also the landscaping work was what the major activity was on the corner of Governor's Avenue, Winthrop Street, that was such a concern.

[Knight]: I'm not Winthrop by Governor's Avenue and Lawrence Road, which was such a concern, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So that's the latest update from the Lawrence Memorial Hospital based upon the correspondence that they were so kind to forward to us.

[Knight]: Mr. President, that'd be 90 days after it opens, correct?

[Knight]: Okay, thank you.

[Knight]: Vice President Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I remember this bus line is how all the kids from the Heights got the public skating when we were kids growing up and Kenny Phillips would be driving the bus and bringing everybody up and down the hill and putting up with kids to watch around.

[Knight]: But no, in all seriousness, it's not just kids.

[Knight]: It's not just seniors.

[Knight]: It's not just commuters that are using this bus.

[Knight]: This is really one of the,

[Knight]: only bus lines that we have here in the community that connects certain portions of Fulton Heights to the rest of the city.

[Knight]: You know, the MBTA talks about how they wanna restore service to pre-pandemic levels, but they're not gonna.

[Knight]: The MBTA talks about how they want to see increases in ridership as the Metropolitan Area Planning Council has all the communities surrounding us stop more and more people into high rise luxury condominiums.

[Knight]: The MBTA continues to cut service, cut lines,

[Knight]: You know, with the 326, the 325, the 710 commuter rail hours are being cut back.

[Knight]: The service that's being provided to this community, Mr. President, in my opinion, does not add up to the amount of money that we're paying on our assessment.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, I feel like Medford is somewhat always the heel because of where we are geographically located between that crux of rail service and bus service.

[Knight]: We get beat up on both ends.

[Knight]: You know, we look at the issues that we've had over time with the Salem Street car bond,

[Knight]: and other facilities here in the community.

[Knight]: And when we raise concern, they fall on deaf ears.

[Knight]: But when the MBTA wants to come in and cut service, it's pat on the back and, you know, take your lumps kid.

[Knight]: It's getting kind of old, Mr. President, quite frankly, and I'm tired of the attacks that we're seeing the MBTA take on our community.

[Knight]: The MBTA raises that green flag, the Green Line extension, and they say, well, we're giving you the Green Line.

[Knight]: Well, I'm going to tell you right now, I know a lot of people in the Fulton Heights that are never going to see that Green Line extension, they're never going to step foot on it.

[Knight]: But I'll tell you what, the 710 bus does a lot.

[Knight]: So I thank you and I thank Councilor Falco for putting this resolution forward.

[Knight]: It does bring back some great memories of taking that bus as a child being from West Metro.

[Knight]: And there was no other way to get up to the heights.

[Knight]: I certainly wasn't walking that hill.

[Knight]: That's for sure.

[Knight]: And as a child, Cow Park was one of the most active parks in the city.

[Knight]: There was no other park where you could find a better pickup basketball game besides Carr Park and Duggar Park.

[Knight]: Two parks that always had kids playing, Harris Park.

[Knight]: The three parks that always had kids playing, all geographically located in the community that are real far apart from each other, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So this connectivity is important.

[Knight]: We talk about wanting to take cars off the road.

[Knight]: We're putting bike lanes in, bus lanes in, and everything else.

[Knight]: How can we put bus lanes on Mystic Avenue and then take away a bus in the community?

[Knight]: Don't we want to promote bus use?

[Knight]: So with that being said, I thank you both for putting this resolution on.

[Knight]: I just ask that it also be sent copies to our state delegation so that they're aware of this correspondence going out.

[Knight]: I do think it's important to point out, Mr. President, that when this matter came before the council,

[Knight]: The vote that the council was asked to take was to whether or not they were going to allow the administration to enter into a contract that exceeds 36 months.

[Knight]: Pursuant to state law, a municipality can only enter into a contract with a maximum term of 36 months.

[Knight]: So the issue that was before the council wasn't whether or not we wanted to have pocket meters or no pocket meters, have pocket enforcement officers, but not have pocket enforcement officers.

[Knight]: The issue before the council at the time was whether or not we wanted to authorize the administration the opportunity to negotiate a contract that exceeded three years.

[Knight]: So that was the matter that was before us.

[Knight]: I certainly have the same concerns that I had

[Knight]: Um, for previously when it comes to Republic packing and the accounting methodology that's being used with the president.

[Knight]: Um, but that's neither here nor there.

[Knight]: The administration is the entity that's responsible for the chief negotiation of the contract.

[Knight]: And these three air extensions are going to be incumbent upon her purview, not us.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: As we're all aware, I think that it's safe to say the streets in the city of Medford are in some pretty bad condition, probably the worst we've seen in a bit of time.

[Knight]: And with that being said, we have to start somewhere, Mr. President, to determine how we're going to address the road surfaces in this community, the streets, the roads.

[Knight]: And in looking at certain areas in the community, I feel as though there are thoroughfares that are labeled emergency thoroughfares.

[Knight]: I think the meeting before this, they talked a lot about priority sidewalks and emergency roadways and connectivity.

[Knight]: And I think it's very important, Mr. President, that we look at our emergency arteries as the main roadways here in the community.

[Knight]: The stretch of Boston Avenue being one of those emergency arteries.

[Knight]: And looking at what it's going to cost and what we need to do to begin to get a roadway resurfacing plan in place, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So I bring this paper forward to start a discussion.

[Knight]: about what it's going to take and what it's going to cost for us to start providing services in the form of local services, like sidewalks, streets, stumps, tree removal, and the like, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I offer this resolution.

[Knight]: I ask my council colleagues to support it.

[Knight]: Motion to adopt.

[Knight]: the provisions of general law chapter 64 and section three and impose a local excise tax on the sale or transfer of marijuana products for adult use to anyone other than a marijuana establishment at a rate of 3%, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Second.

[Knight]: I did, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I do believe that this council during budget time requested that we'd have a quarterly meeting relative to where we were with forecasts and receipts.

[Knight]: And then the council did vote on a resolution asking that this meeting take place relative to the state of the city's finances for the second Tuesday in October.

[Knight]: That never happened.

[Knight]: And here we are this evening with a request for appropriation before us, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So, you know, I know that these funds are through the surcharges around those Uber and Lyft rides that originate in the community.

[Knight]: And looking at the appendix that's attached, I certainly see no issue with the appropriations.

[Knight]: I'd like to see them maybe

[Knight]: distributed a little bit more equitably across the community.

[Knight]: However, I feel as though it's important, Mr. President, that we sit down and schedule a time for us to talk about the state of our finances here in this community.

[Knight]: During the budget, we were talking about a fiscal crisis.

[Knight]: We took $5.5 million from our reserves and we appropriated that much money from our reserves to balance the budget.

[Knight]: The question is, are we doing better now?

[Knight]: Do we have the ability to restore some of those funds back to our reserves if our forecasts are showing that our receipts are up well above anticipated returns?

[Knight]: So Mr. President, it was very important.

[Knight]: discussion that took place during the budget, and this was one of the items that came out of that, was that we'd meet quarterly to determine what the current and ongoing state of fiscal affairs is in this community.

[Knight]: And that needs to happen, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And we have a paper before us asking us to appropriate $136,000, but we still haven't had that meeting to recap the last quarter.

[Knight]: So that's concerning to me, Mr. President, and I'm hoping that the finance director would be able to coordinate with you.

[Knight]: to determine a time where we'll be able to do that before the next quarter is over.

[Knight]: So with that being said, here we are almost one month into the next quarter, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So we're going to get a skewed perspective of what's going on if we don't meet as close to the close of the quarter as possible.

[Knight]: So I'd ask that that meeting be scheduled.

[Knight]: I did want it during the regular session, yes, Mr. President.

[Knight]: If this was a free cash appropriation, I'd be much more concerned about taking a vote this evening on it, but where it's coming from a dedicated accountant that has a dedicated purpose, that's another thing.

[Knight]: So that being said, Mr. President, this will be the last money paper I vote on until we have that quarterly meeting.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I rest my case.

[Knight]: Move approval, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: It's with a heavy heart that I offer this resolution this evening, offering condolences to the family of William J. Gay on his recent passing.

[Knight]: Mr. Gay was a long time resident down on Elmhurst Street.

[Knight]: World War II veteran and a proud father, grandfather, and husband, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And he was recently called to his maker.

[Knight]: And I'd like to extend my deep and sincere condolences to the Gay family.

[Knight]: And I'd like to ask my council colleagues to join me in offering such.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Yes, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Noah started this, and you gotta keep in mind now, Noah's what, 20 years old?

[Knight]: Three, four years ago, he started this mission where he began collecting World War II artifacts, World War II uniforms and the like.

[Knight]: And that morphed into this veteran's preservation project where Noah goes,

[Knight]: all across Massachusetts, all across New England, showing off his wares at various town hall meetings, veterans meetings.

[Knight]: Along with the artifacts that he has, he also has many stories that go along with it.

[Knight]: And it's just very impressive, Mr. President, that a kid at such a young age has shown such a commitment.

[Knight]: to furthering the memory of veterans here in Massachusetts, in Medford, and beyond.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I do think it might make sense for us to invite Noah down and honor him with a citation based upon the success of the Veterans Preservation Project.

[Knight]: And I'd offer that in full of a motion.

[Knight]: Mr. President, motion to revert back to the regular order of business to take care of paper 20-476.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Mr. President, motion to table the next regular meeting.

[Knight]: City solicitor was requested to put some language together last week.

[Knight]: She's not in receipt of that quite yet, so she needs another week to put that together.

[Knight]: I'd move for approval to a date certain next regular meeting.

[Knight]: Second.

[Knight]: Mr. President, if I may?

[Knight]: Mr. President, I just want to take an opportunity to thank Sue and her team from Melrose Wakefield Hospital, the Newton name that they're going by now.

[Knight]: But they've done a great job in responding to the council's inquiries, the council's concerns, and always being ready and available to come here to address this body when we have issues.

[Knight]: So I do want to thank them and commend them for the work that they've done.

[Knight]: And I look forward to working through some of the design issues that we have and the construction issues that we're having in the neighborhood between now and our next meeting.

[Knight]: You read the update, didn't you?

[Knight]: Do these phase three, part two updates that you just gave us relative to capacity extend to the Medford City Council Chambers?

[Knight]: So there's no limit on the capacity of people, it's just we're exempt from that, you said?

[Knight]: Okay, so we could have more than 125 people in the council chambers provided that we could maintain safe space?

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Ms.

[Knight]: O'Connor, based upon the statements that you've made tonight, what is the position of the administration on sending our children back to school, number one, and what role has your office played in determining safe air quality standards in our public school buildings?

[Knight]: They're well aware of them.

[Knight]: Are you aware if the school department is using the recommendations of any medical professional in terms of their moving forward with the air quality examinations and the determination of safe standards?

[Knight]: And what is the position of the administration relative to returning our students back to school?

[Knight]: In your professional opinion, do you feel as though the school will be held in an in-person fashion at all this year, or do you think it will be hybrid and remote?

[Knight]: You obviously don't have a child at home.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: So as of right now, we really don't know.

[Knight]: And Mr. President, I'd like to also offer a C paper because Councilor Caraviello beat me to the punch on the B paper.

[Knight]: But this C paper would be an ordinance, Mr. President, an emergency ordinance that would say that any school department or city employee who is required to quarantine due to occupational exposure to COVID-19 be placed on paid administrative leave.

[Knight]: as opposed to having to use their sick time or their vacation time or their recruiting time, Mr. President.

[Knight]: It's an occupational exposure.

[Knight]: It's something that's happened because they're trying to perform the duties of their job.

[Knight]: And if that case happens, I don't think it's fair that these individuals should be punished by having to use their sick or vacation time in order to quarantine during these periods of time.

[Knight]: So I'd ask that that C paper be forwarded to the city solicitor for her to draft up.

[Knight]: No.

[Knight]: Any school department or city employee required to quarantine due to occupational exposure to COVID-19?

[Knight]: Okay, hang on.

[Knight]: Seems like it's a public policy initiative that's generally accepted by the administration, Mr. President, so I see no harm in memorializing that by way of an emergency ordinance.

[Knight]: Just administrative leave doesn't have to be rather than anything else.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I'd like that to go to the city solicit of a legal review and drafting, you know.

[Knight]: That does it for me, Mr. President.

[Knight]: The thing that's taking place- The information that the speaker is requesting is not under our scope and purview, so we don't have the ability to provide that.

[Knight]: The information that the speaker is requesting is not under the scope and purview of the council.

[Knight]: That information is under the scope and purview of the school department.

[Knight]: And I know that the teachers union has a lot of concerns and a lot of questions.

[Knight]: And maybe it would be more appropriate for the union to meet with the director of health in a side meeting on this, because I think- So Adam, I hear what you're saying.

[Knight]: Councilman, are you all done?

[Knight]: That was it, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I just thought we were kind of going off a little away from a council meeting and a little bit more into negotiation at that point in time.

[Knight]: Motion to receive and place on file.

[Knight]: Second.

[Knight]: Actually, Mr. President, I'm sorry.

[Knight]: Motion to report the questions out, receive the paper, and place on file.

[Knight]: Still second.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Mr. President, can I ask the petitioner, the council that made the motion to explain the reasoning for the reason to sever?

[Knight]: I'm looking at Chapter 48, Section 51 right now, and it looks to read the same to me under Amendment 1.

[Knight]: We want to table the issue so the gentleman can take a look at the legislation, Mr. President?

[Knight]: The current zoning ordinance?

[Knight]: Is that necessary?

[Knight]: I mean, you made the motion.

[Knight]: I'm comfortable with the motion as is.

[Knight]: It looks to me, Mr. President, like actually- It looks to me like it actually takes away the mapping requirements as outlined in the establishment of the district under 4851A.

[Knight]: This is only an amendment to- Bounded as respectively shown on the map entitled versus under the authority of 40C, the following districts bounded respectively in which are on file in the city clerk's office.

[Knight]: and made part of this article reference to hereby established.

[Knight]: It takes away the mapped district.

[Knight]: It takes out the word map entitled.

[Knight]: I'd be happy to re-insert them.

[Knight]: So you want to re-insert the same language that's in the existing ordinance to separate?

[Knight]: I don't have a problem with that.

[Knight]: So we're going to strike

[Knight]: Amendment 1 and replace it with the existing language in 48-51a.

[Knight]: Is that the motion?

[Knight]: And the map entitled the hillside historic Avenue district and the mom Simmons historic district.

[Knight]: It's because I didn't understand it.

[Knight]: I didn't understand why we needed the motion to sever the two.

[Knight]: However, Mr. President, I'll rest my case.

[Knight]: I'll just vote no.

[Knight]: I don't think he's the city solicitor, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Can I just ask them to repeat that?

[Knight]: They want what?

[Knight]: Over the building?

[Knight]: Is it the role of the Historic Commission or the Historic District Commission to establish historic districts?

[Knight]: So why would Mr. Haywood be the expert on these questions?

[Knight]: Is the gentleman a structural engineer?

[Knight]: And the architects have the...

[Knight]: professional knowledge and expertise to determine whether or not a structure is salvageable based on the building code and the like?

[Knight]: So, Mr. President, so- Counts on eight.

[Knight]: Mr. Haywood was present at the walkthrough as the chairman of the Medford Historic Commission.

[Knight]: The issue that was before us was whether or not October or something was going to come and go and a demolition permit was going to be issued.

[Knight]: From what I understand, based upon the history that we've all discussed ad nauseum at this point concerning this project, was that he applied for a demolition permit.

[Knight]: He got his property deemed preferentially preserved.

[Knight]: He had his engineer come and say the place can't be salvaged.

[Knight]: Where in the process does this design review come into play for the historic commission?

[Knight]: And if the gentleman said, hey, look it, my engineers say the place can't be salvaged.

[Knight]: Why did the historic commission wait 17 months to send this to historic district commission?

[Knight]: And then Mr. Haywood from the historic commission is the one that made a representation that I believe if we look at the committee report that this shouldn't be deemed a historic district and

[Knight]: the compromise would be satisfactory and that would be the direction that they would move it.

[Knight]: Now, last night, they go before the historic district commission to have the plans looked at.

[Knight]: I'm totally confused by this process, Mr. President.

[Knight]: It's an absolute mess.

[Knight]: It's an absolute mess, in my opinion.

[Knight]: So I'm a little confused as to

[Knight]: The historic district commission doesn't have any design review authority until it becomes a historic district.

[Knight]: And by statute, the historic commission has no design review authority.

[Knight]: And we discussed that at the committee of the whole and the chairman of the committee, the commission acknowledged that they don't have design review.

[Knight]: They're not enabled, those powers on the ordinance that they're operating under.

[Knight]: So I'm very confused as to how this is working.

[Knight]: It seems to me like it's somewhat being weaponized against the developer or against the builder because he didn't agree that the building could be saved and present plans for them to look at during a 17 month period where there's no real statutory authority for them to have design review.

[Knight]: The part that's confusing me is why is it before your board if it's not a historic district commission yet?

[Knight]: Why is it at the Medford Historic District Commission?

[Knight]: Why is he going to a meeting there presenting plans when it's not a historic district commission?

[Knight]: And the negotiations took place between the historic commission, not the historic district commission.

[Knight]: Is the administration going to offer that paper to the council?

[Knight]: Because the paper that's before us is the paper that the mayor gave us on September 3rd.

[Knight]: Paper 20541 is the paper before us offered by Mayor Lungo-Curran to the Medford City Council September 3rd, 2020.

[Knight]: Correct.

[Knight]: 33 days ago.

[Knight]: So I'm confused by this.

[Knight]: So the historic commission sent their paperwork to the historic district commission to establish a single home historic district at 16 Foster court and August 28th.

[Knight]: The historic district commission took a vote at that August 28th meeting that passed three to zero to move forward with the creation of the district.

[Knight]: Correct?

[Knight]: Okay, so then the mayor sends to us this language on September 3rd?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: You guys only passed it August 28th, that's pretty good if you ask me.

[Knight]: You guys passed it August 28th, the mayor sent it to us September 3rd.

[Knight]: I don't think that's too bad, five days.

[Knight]: Now, the language that the mayor sent us is the language that you guys never looked at.

[Knight]: Is that what I'm understanding?

[Knight]: So you voted for the principle, but you didn't vote for the language.

[Knight]: As to what it is that you seek?

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: But until this 16 foster court is deemed a local historic single home district, what authority does the Medford Historical District Commission have over it?

[Knight]: In theory, then, Mr. Goldschneider had no obligation whatsoever to appear before the Historic District Commission.

[Knight]: Where he really should have been would be before the Medford Historic Commission, because that's where the rub lies, right?

[Knight]: I mean, that's what it sounds to me.

[Knight]: So, I mean, absent... So for 17 months, the applicant

[Knight]: sat saying, you know, my engineers say it's a total teardown.

[Knight]: My structural engineer says that, you know, there's nothing I can do.

[Knight]: I have to rip it up.

[Knight]: I have to pull it down.

[Knight]: My structural engineer, my expert, who I hired and has paid the money, told me that this is what's going on.

[Knight]: So he has an expert opinion.

[Knight]: OK.

[Knight]: So at that point in time, when

[Knight]: he notified the historic commission of that.

[Knight]: Don't you think it would have made sense that maybe then you moved it forward to the historic district commission instead of dragging it out for 17 months?

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: I mean, I feel like it's being weaponized.

[Knight]: Do what we say or else we're going to cost you a ton of money.

[Knight]: Sorry to hear that.

[Knight]: Can you just tell me what the terms of service are for all the members?

[Knight]: No, in terms of how long they've served.

[Knight]: I'm you.

[Knight]: I know that your term is three years, but you've probably been on there for 12.

[Knight]: So how many years have you served on the commission?

[Knight]: 18.

[Knight]: All right, how many years has the next most senior member served?

[Knight]: You're 11?

[Knight]: because that raises some concern, too, when the representative from the historic commission says, well, no one has been paying attention to this for 20 years.

[Knight]: And then we look at the terms of service of the members that are on the board, and we look at the council resolution from 2014, which asked that single home historic districts be sought after and be proactively identified prior to the request for a demolition permit.

[Knight]: And that was something that...

[Knight]: It happened at the budget when you were there asking for money.

[Knight]: So we were given the money.

[Knight]: So that was six years ago.

[Knight]: Can you tell me how many single home historic districts you've identified in the past six years, absent the demolition permit or a request from the MCD?

[Knight]: So in 6 years there's been one.

[Knight]: Well, this wasn't proactively identified.

[Knight]: This was as a result of a demolition permit being pulled and then well, that was this was.

[Knight]: By what?

[Knight]: I know it's hard to sell a building if nobody knows about it.

[Knight]: All right, thank you.

[Knight]: They own it, aren't they allowed to?

[Knight]: I think that's something we'd all appreciate, Mr. President, through you to Mr. Bader.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I do have a last question, and I'll rest my case at this.

[Knight]: At the council meeting when this issue was brought up and at the subsequent subcommittee meeting, I did ask a question to the city solicitor as to whether or not the criteria

[Knight]: the circumstances of this particular property could constitute a regulatory taking, opening up the city of Medford to financial or other liabilities.

[Knight]: And I'm wondering if you've received a response, or the city clerk maybe has received a response relative to that question of law that we asked the city solicitor.

[Knight]: The consensus by the four members of the Historical District Commission, the consensus of a land court judge, the consensus of whom?

[Knight]: You said it was the consensus that this is not a regulatory taking.

[Knight]: So the district commission conducted a three-prong test to determine whether or not it was a taking?

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: So I think that opinion might be important, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: I think I believe that the last meeting I asked for a copy of the letters that was sent to Mr. Goldschneider, inviting him to these 17 consecutive meetings that had him on the agenda that said we're asking you to come and present.

[Knight]: Because the way that I see their agenda is that everything that they have going on, they just throw on the agenda and put it out every week and whatever comes up, comes up.

[Knight]: So although it might have been on the agenda for 17 months, I don't believe that the gentleman was invited to appear to any of these meetings over that period of time but for one or two.

[Knight]: Can the gentleman please provide me with the information that he just received and what expert provided it to him?

[Knight]: A multi-million dollar contract, a multi-million dollar project, a multi-million dollar property?

[Knight]: I think that that's not what I said.

[Knight]: Could the clerk provide a record of such communication?

[Knight]: Adopted by the city council in the form of minutes and forwarded to the proper authorities, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Did it happen?

[Knight]: That's obviously not.

[Knight]: Point of information, Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: That sounds an awful lot like deliberation to me, Mr. President, absent a public meeting notice.

[Knight]: And I think that that's something that we better be very careful of.

[Knight]: Individual members of a board of commission passing private notes to the chairman of the commission to be passed on to another board of commission that reflects their opinion, that's done behind closed doors, not in the open sunset of day, I think is a problem, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And I think that that might rise to

[Knight]: the level of violation.

[Knight]: And as public employees, we need to be very careful in that regard.

[Knight]: Did anybody from the Historical Commission appear before the Historic District Commission and give an opinion as to what they felt?

[Knight]: Was that opinion reflective of the board or the individual?

[Knight]: A member, a chair, same thing.

[Knight]: There's deliberation that's going on behind closed doors, Mr. President, that's a problem.

[Knight]: OK.

[Knight]: Mr. President, with all due respect to the councilor, the gentleman's going to have to seek legal advice if he's willing to make that type of commitment.

[Knight]: All right, that's fine.

[Knight]: I did, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Is Mr. Moki available?

[Knight]: He's not available.

[Knight]: Is the city solicitor available?

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: So I guess my question's to this.

[Knight]: Number one, say that a rendering, say the rendering that we looked at tonight was suitable to both commissions.

[Knight]: And they said, move forward and do what you got to do.

[Knight]: The gentleman would still be subject to site plan review.

[Knight]: through our office of community development, which is an open notorious process.

[Knight]: During that site plan review process, because his parcel is an apartment two zone district, and there's a single family home there right now, or a two family home right there right now, it's being underutilized land use, number one.

[Knight]: Number two, because it's a site plan review project, he's gonna be responsible to pay linkage, Mr. President, on top of going through the site plan review.

[Knight]: He's also gonna have to pay linkage to the community.

[Knight]: So we're looking at a parcel that's being underutilized, all right?

[Knight]: If an apartment building gets built there, which is it's zoned use,

[Knight]: The tax revenues are going to increase, we're going to be able to get linkage, and we still have two more processes in the review of the design that the city has the ability to take a bite at the apple on.

[Knight]: I think that the gentleman has,

[Knight]: taken a lot of wax in terms of this whole entire process.

[Knight]: And he's maintained his cool a lot better than I would have been able to with the level of frustration that I think he's met.

[Knight]: But ultimately, Mr. President, I don't think any of us behind this rail got in the business to hurt people.

[Knight]: And the gentleman's being hurt by the process.

[Knight]: The gentleman's being hurt by the process.

[Knight]: And regardless of whether or not the process is what it is, it's not a good process.

[Knight]: It needs to be fixed.

[Knight]: All right?

[Knight]: We took a bad vote when we changed the demolition delay from six months to 18 months, in my opinion.

[Knight]: I think it was a bad vote.

[Knight]: I really do.

[Knight]: I also think it was a bad vote when we changed it to any building that was built in the last 75 years.

[Knight]: I think it was a bad vote, Mr. President, because I feel like what we're doing is not really looking at historic preservation, but what we're looking at doing is a board that's trying to flex its muscles right now.

[Knight]: All right, we see a board that's trying to increase its level of influence and power in the community because the corner office, we don't have the strongest leader right now.

[Knight]: So I think, Mr. President, looking at this, you know what I mean, and the way that it's going, there's two more opportunities for design review.

[Knight]: The parcel's a strange shaped parcel.

[Knight]: It's going to have to go before the zoning board.

[Knight]: It's already been noted in the meetings and noted in the discussions, and based upon the plan that's been presented, it's been determined.

[Knight]: So this is nothing more, I think, than a power play at this point, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And I certainly thank the Council if I'm moving it to a vote, and I'll be happy to vote against it this evening.

[Knight]: Mr. President.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, if I could just offer an amendment to that paper, a re-paper to that amendment, that the administration provide us with a list of whether or not these contracts are being negotiated by internal counsel or external counsel, and the amount of money that they've spent on external counsel, if they have to do such.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: And that can be in the form of a B paper.

[Knight]: Is that correct?

[Knight]: It can be in the form of a B paper or an amendment based upon the preference of the sponsor or the person.

[Knight]: Mr. President, the snow and ice account is the only account that we can run a deficit in here in the city of Medford and across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

[Knight]: We heard Marsha this morning, it feels like this morning, earlier in the evening when we were talking about the Lawrence Mural Hospital and she gave us a figure of 20% of the community residents are senior citizens.

[Knight]: I know, I just realized.

[Knight]: I'm maybe a little high, but close.

[Knight]: You know, the city in the past has had a practice of removing the snow in our business districts.

[Knight]: We've had a bombardier that's gone down the street and down the sidewalks and removed the snow in front of St.

[Knight]: Joseph's all the way down into Medford Square.

[Knight]: And that's a practice that we've

[Knight]: Had in the past, and it's a practice that should continue, when we look at the Department of Conservation and Recreation and we see the roadways that are under their control, they have a bombardier that comes out and clears their sidewalks.

[Knight]: The Department of Conservation and Recreation, a state agency, Mr. President, goes out and does all of their property.

[Knight]: I see no reason why the city of Medford should take steps to hold their citizens to a higher standard than that of their DPW and the contractors that they're hiring to pave the streets.

[Knight]: We can either pass an ordinance that's going to require the citizens to perform the DPW's job, or we can focus on the delivery of services here in the community for the residents and the taxpayers.

[Knight]: And the way that we do that is by investing in our DPW, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And that's an area that we've historically not invested in.

[Knight]: We say, buy this piece of equipment because you're not going to have the manpower.

[Knight]: We're getting to the point now, Mr. President, where we've got more pieces of equipment than we do people.

[Knight]: All right, so we're not going to be able to get anything done if we don't look at what's going on, reallocate funds, and refocus what our priorities are.

[Knight]: Because our DPW is failing right now, and they're failing because of one reason, manpower.

[Knight]: Manpower, Mr. President, manpower.

[Knight]: We can have over 100 police officers, over 100 firefighters, but not even 50% of that is part of our DPW?

[Knight]: That's a problem, Mr. President, and I don't think that penalizing residents and homeowners because we're making poor decisions in terms of how we allocate funds is going to be the answer.

[Knight]: So moving forward, Mr. President, I think it's very important that we look at the reasoning behind why fines for commercial properties have doubled.

[Knight]: When we look at commercial properties, they pay a higher tax rate than residential properties here in the community, as do industrial properties, because we have a bifurcated tax rate.

[Knight]: And we have that tax rate for a reason, to keep residential property taxes low.

[Knight]: But at the same time, snow removal, snow removal.

[Knight]: Why are we punishing a commercial property owner double what we'd be punishing a industrial property owner or a residential property owner?

[Knight]: I don't understand what the importance of singling out a commercial property for double fines is, when the commercial properties are the ones that actually bring jobs to this community.

[Knight]: They actually allow people to go to work, who live in Medford, can work in Medford, can play in Medford, can spend their ancillary money in the circular floor of our local economy, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So I think it's very important we recognize the role that commercial properties play in our community, and we shouldn't be singling them out.

[Knight]: Every time we talk about zoning, we talk about the fact that we're losing commercial properties left and right.

[Knight]: We're down to 7 or 8% of the total number of parcels in our community is going to be commercial industrial.

[Knight]: Well, if we keep doing stuff like this and penalizing properties for being commercial when instances arise, then we're going to be in a situation where we're going to see less and less of that, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So I think that the fine should be uniform and across the board.

[Knight]: It shouldn't matter what type of parcel you own.

[Knight]: The fines should be the same.

[Knight]: That coupled with the fact that I really feel as though we should be investing our efforts and our energies in delivering services as a city and as a community, in addressing some of the issues that Councilor Marks brought up about prioritizing our sidewalks and our roadways and ensuring connectivity.

[Knight]: But at the same time, not doing it in a punitive fashion so that our residents are being penalized.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I do think this needs a lot of work, and the paper remains in the subcommittee.

[Knight]: So we could take a vote on this, or we could just say call the subcommittee.

[Knight]: I mean, the paper's in the subcommittee already from last term.

[Knight]: It is what it is, but I'd move for approval on the paper and the amendments, and I'd like to ask that they be consolidated so that we can vote once.

[Knight]: I don't know if there's one in public works or public safety.

[Knight]: It was in public works.

[Knight]: If this is really a priority, Mr. President, last week we asked the city clerk to post three meetings, second Tuesday in October, November, and December, for the purpose of the city solicitor appearing before us to talk about ordinances in the ordinance subcommittee.

[Knight]: This is an ordinance, this is also a venue that we could take it up in.

[Knight]: I know Councilor Beals wants to maintain control of it, so he probably wants it in the committee that he chairs.

[Knight]: I don't want to speak for him, but you know what I mean, it is what it is.

[Knight]: So either way is fine with me, Mr. President, but those meetings are already going to be posted.

[Knight]: The clerk's already been directed to do such.

[Knight]: So if we want to talk about existing ordinances, then that's a committee that can be referred to as well.

[Knight]: I don't have a horse in the game, Mr. President, one way or the other.

[Knight]: It's going to have to go to a committee of the whole before it comes to the council floor, pursuant to council rules anyway.

[Knight]: Point of information, Mr. President, just before we start.

[Knight]: I'm sorry, point of information, Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: It's 20 past 11 at this point in time.

[Knight]: We have about 17, 18 other items left on the agenda.

[Knight]: This matter is going to subcommittee to be vetted.

[Knight]: It's going to go to committee of the whole to be vetted further, and then it's going to come back to the council floor.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: We're all going to vote in favor to send this thing to the subcommittee to be discussed.

[Knight]: We've already all spoke on it, and we've already all said that.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, there'll be ample opportunity for individuals to provide public participation on the topic that's before us here.

[Knight]: They're going to have a subcommittee meeting or multiple subcommittee meetings, a committee of the whole meeting, and then it's going to come back to the council floor.

[Knight]: Right now, the vote we're taking is only to send it to subcommittee.

[Knight]: I know there are individuals in the community that support this piece of legislation.

[Knight]: But I think in the interest of time, Mr. President, it might make sense for us to say, OK, we're going to send it to subcommittee.

[Knight]: The subcommittee is going to be scheduled, and the matter is going to be deliberated.

[Knight]: And then it's going to go to the committee of the whole.

[Knight]: It's going to be scheduled, deliberated again.

[Knight]: Then it's going to be put on the council agenda, and going to move forward again.

[Knight]: So everybody's going to have an ample opportunity to speak.

[Knight]: We would have been done by now.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: In review of the common practice of the council, it's always been that the special permit for extended hours would be granted to the business and not the property.

[Knight]: And the business is changing hands, which would require an application for a second

[Knight]: An application for a permit for extended hours, if I'm not mistaken.

[Knight]: So I guess, can the city clerk clarify or confirm whether or not when this initial permit was issued, it was issued to the property or to the business?

[Knight]: And if it was issued to the business, then I believe they'd be required to come back before us for extended hours permit for any operation before 7 a.m.

[Knight]: or after 11 p.m., right?

[Knight]: And I don't want to hold it up, Mr. President, so I have no problem moving for approval, provided that the clerk gives us the information that we're requesting.

[Knight]: And if an extended hours permit is necessary, he contacts the business owner prior to their opening and informs them of the process that they need to go through to obtain an extended hours permit.

[Knight]: It's an operation of government.

[Knight]: I mean, if the permit was issued, what they're asking for right now, they can't get if they're not grandfathered in.

[Knight]: If they are grandfathered in, they can get it.

[Knight]: Yeah, let's confirm what's going on.

[Knight]: We'll move for approval.

[Knight]: The license is going to be, I'm under the impression it's going to be 7 to 11, unless otherwise with the restrictions.

[Knight]: And if not, then the clerk will notify them and have them come back before us.

[Knight]: Along with the review, Mr. President, I'd like to ask that the permit go with the business entity and not the address.

[Knight]: If in fact we need to address the extended hours permit going forward, whether or not there's a way that we can put a mechanism in place so that it now goes with the business and doesn't stay with the process, whether that requires a rescinding of a vote, previous vote or not, but to protect the neighborhood.

[Knight]: I am all set, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So does this mean they're not going to change the direction of South Street like they were talking about three years ago?

[Knight]: We're going to get the speed bumps instead?

[Knight]: One phone call, Councilor Marks.

[Knight]: Great job.

[Knight]: No, Mr. President, you know,

[Knight]: I think it's important also that because this is an issue of funding coming from partners in state government that we make sure that Representative Donato's informed every step of the way on what efforts we're making as a council.

[Knight]: This money didn't get released or given to us because we're good people and we're a nice community.

[Knight]: They got released because we were sending them letters once every two months asking them to look at it.

[Knight]: We were bringing our chief of police down there and we were telling them do something.

[Knight]: We were looking at statistics.

[Knight]: So I think it's very important, Mr. President, that in order to keep the momentum going, that we have our partners in government at the state level involved in this.

[Knight]: And Representative Donato's been a champion on this issue.

[Knight]: He's been very outspoken in his support for it.

[Knight]: So I just ask that any time a correspondence goes out relative to the furtherance of this initiative that Representative Donato's offered.

[Knight]: He's in a very powerful position, Mr. President, so I think that it's important that he be involved in these conversations as well.

[Knight]: As the assistant majority leader, he's going to have the ability to control some purse strings and get us some money, and he's done a great job of that in the past, and I'm sure he'll continue to do so.

[Knight]: So I'd ask that he be involved.

[Knight]: Again, Mr. President, the way that things have gone down with the Historical Commission in the past, oh, eight, nine months would lead me to believe that I don't want them to do anything other than what they were doing before what they were doing the last eight or nine months ago.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'm opposed to Councilor Caraviello's measure this evening.

[Knight]: I feel as though the Historical Commission is exceeding their authority underneath the statute and the efforts and endeavors that they've undertaken in recent months.

[Knight]: And for that reason, I will be opposing this this evening.

[Knight]: One more information, Mr. President.

[Knight]: It's problematic, Mr. President, when everybody that you talk to says they're having some sort of problem getting a permit, some sort of problem getting a permit, unless they know somebody.

[Knight]: They call a city councilor and then they get, oh yeah, it's no problem, I'll get you in a half an hour.

[Knight]: If they don't know somebody, though, they're held up for 17 months.

[Knight]: All right, that's a problem, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I feel as though that's a very big problem.

[Knight]: I also think it's a problem that, you know, there's no guidance from the administration as to how this process is supposed to work.

[Knight]: So now Paul Moky's supposed to notify someone or the building commissioner, right?

[Knight]: The building department's supposed to notify residents which have had their buildings permit.

[Knight]: permits reviewed by the historical commission within 72 hours after the review has been completed of the decision.

[Knight]: Nothing prompts the historical commission to notify the building commissioner within a defined period of time when they get the application or after they make their decision to tell the building commissioner when it is that they can pull the trigger on this.

[Knight]: This is a flawed process from the start.

[Knight]: The changes that have been implemented over the last year, Mr. President, are detrimental to the growth in this community.

[Knight]: I mean, if your application is before a board or a commission and they vote on it, the board of commission should be the one telling you what's going on.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: There needs to be, someone needs to define who's responsible for issuing a building permit in the community.

[Knight]: I think that's the building commissioner.

[Knight]: It always has been in the past, just like he's always been the person responsible for zoning, right?

[Knight]: So I think that although the council feels as though I'm comparing apples to oranges, I don't think that's necessarily the case.

[Knight]: I feel as though I'm comparing overstep and overstep based upon the statutory guidelines and the ordinance that's in place.

[Knight]: Mr. President.

[Knight]: Mr. President, but again, the mechanism is when is the building department getting notified when the determination is being made?

[Knight]: And is there a criteria or a timeline for when that determination needs to be made from the ancillary secondary body?

[Knight]: So can I get a building permit and go give it to Paul Moki and he says, OK, yeah, this has to go to Historic.

[Knight]: He gives it to Historic.

[Knight]: Historic has a meeting on it.

[Knight]: Neva tells him about it.

[Knight]: Or Historic doesn't have a meeting on it.

[Knight]: It has a meeting on it in 45 days.

[Knight]: Are there any defined parameters or timelines?

[Knight]: That's the concern, Mr. President.

[Knight]: There's a breakdown.

[Knight]: Point of information, Mr. President, I think it's been made clear by the council is that as long as you know a Councilor and pick up the phone, there is no breakdown.

[Knight]: But if you don't know a Councilor and you can't pick up the phone, then there is.

[Knight]: Motion to receive and place on file.

[Knight]: It's a move point, Mr. President.

[Knight]: We took the vote.

[Knight]: Is there a committee report?

[Knight]: Is there one?

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Motion to take papers in the hands of the clerk.

[Knight]: No, we have two more.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This is a very important paper to the membership of American Legion Post 45.

[Knight]: And in full disclosure, I've been a Sal in the past, a son of the American Legion member there.

[Knight]: And what this paper does is it allows them to operate underneath the governor's guidelines.

[Knight]: The post has been shut down now since about St.

[Knight]: Patrick's Day.

[Knight]: And they haven't had the ability to generate any income whatsoever.

[Knight]: And that coupled with the fact that this veteran's organization does provide great support services for young and old veterans here in the community of Medford and beyond.

[Knight]: That coupled with the fact that the American Legion Post 45 and its membership are always the first ones to step up when the city of Medford needs something, Mr. President.

[Knight]: If you look to election day on September 1st.

[Knight]: When the Lawrence Memorial Hospital was unable to host us for our election proceedings, the first people to step up to the plate were Richard Mott and Bobby Miller in American Legion Post 45.

[Knight]: And when we celebrate our Memorial Day ceremonies, Mr. President, and we all go down to

[Knight]: Oak Grove Cemetery and we sit there and we listen to the beautiful presentations put on by our veterans organizations and as we sit there we see those flags all across the cemetery.

[Knight]: American Legion Post 45 is the group that coordinates.

[Knight]: The placing of those flags on our veterans' grave markers.

[Knight]: So it's very important, Mr. President, that we recognize the work and the partnership that the American Legion has provided the citizens and the residents in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: And I think it's very important for us to adopt and embrace this opportunity for them to get a common victuals license so that they have the opportunity to reopen and generate some revenues.

[Knight]: And also allow the membership, the opportunity to come back in and to continue their mutual support relationship that they have.

[Knight]: When we look at the agenda later on this evening, we have a paper talking about substance abuse and addiction recovery services and the ability to have meetings.

[Knight]: And veterans organizations, although they don't necessarily hold meetings per se, are a great spot for veterans to congregate, to get together, and to talk about their shared mutual experiences and how to go through some of the struggles that they're having.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, this is a paper that I support wholeheartedly, and I'd ask my council colleagues to also join me in supporting it.

[Knight]: Okay, why don't we try that?

[Knight]: Mr. President, at the end of our packet, there's a letter by Mr. Paris, and I think it's a very good explanation of what's going on.

[Knight]: Dear members of the city council, regarding our sign request for Liv's Juice and a Kai bar located at 56 Stations Landing, my understanding is that we're allowed two feet of projection.

[Knight]: Since our 24 inch sign is circular, the total square foot is just 3.16 square feet, as opposed to the total four square foot sign that's allowed by the ordinance.

[Knight]: The mounting of the sign is flush to the building and would look very funny.

[Knight]: And as a result, we're asking for four additional inches of projection for the standoffs to make it fit within the neighborhood and uphold the great look there.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I personally find a circular sign more aesthetically pleasing than a big square or rectangular sign sticking off the side of a building.

[Knight]: I think Mr. Paris has given us a great explanation, and although it doesn't present a significant hardship, it certainly does present some curb appeal issues that this council has discussed in the past, and I support this paper wholeheartedly.

[Knight]: I know our ordinance speaks to the signs not being illuminated after 10 p.m.

[Knight]: Anyhow, what are the hours of the gentleman's operations?

[Knight]: But whatever the practices at stations landing, I mean, I'm not opposed to the measure at all, Councilor.

[Knight]: I thank Councilor Marks for raising the issue.

[Knight]: Yes, Mr. President, again, at the end of this application, there's also a letter dated March 3rd, 2020 from Mr. DeSilva at the time.

[Knight]: I guess March 3rd is when he requested his appeal.

[Knight]: And it reads, the purpose of these proposed awnings is to provide protection from the environment, enhance the appeal of the car wash, and instruct customers of free vacuum services in an attractive way.

[Knight]: Despite the weather conditions, customers will be comfortable vacuuming their vehicles under the shade and shelter of the awning.

[Knight]: And the awnings are not only to benefit the customer's comfort, but also create a more attractive facade.

[Knight]: Finally, the awnings instruct the customers where the free vacuums are located and create a clear space to park.

[Knight]: So Mr. President, it seems like they're seeking 13 awnings, one over each vacuum that look like to be canvas awnings that aren't internally illuminated.

[Knight]: But I do believe that they would have certain public safety benefit instructing

[Knight]: where the free vacuums are in a location like that.

[Knight]: I believe this is the old Randy's Car Wash on Middlesex Ave, if I'm not mistaken.

[Knight]: They've always done a pretty good job over there at Randy's, and I don't think that the new operator would be any less successful.

[Knight]: And I can certainly support a reversal on the sign denial, but is 13 really the number that we want to approve, I guess is the question.

[Knight]: Second.

[Knight]: I would second that motion, Mr. President.

[Knight]: For it's often in the form of a I guess it would be a restriction correct counsel, right?

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: It says that these signs would be internally illuminated.

[Knight]: Does any of these internally illuminated signs face a residential structure?

[Knight]: Right, because you got the old margaritas on one side, the other hotel, right?

[Knight]: So they're not facing any of the, because they're pretty big, 150 foot square feet.

[Knight]: All right, sounds good.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: Mr. President, in the past, if I may.

[Knight]: In the past, Mr. President, when a circumstance like this has arose, what we've done is put a 30, 60, or 90 day review on it.

[Knight]: I don't know if that's something we wanna do in this situation or circumstances.

[Knight]: I haven't gotten any complaints

[Knight]: from anybody regarding the sign at 75 stations landing to date.

[Knight]: So I don't find it to be a big issue.

[Knight]: However, if it does become an issue because of the action of this council, I think that we should absolutely have the ability to give it a review to make sure that we're not disrupting anybody's quality of life that resides in the community.

[Knight]: Well, at the same time, still supporting the application of the Fairfield Marriott Hotels.

[Knight]: We all understand the benefits that having an additional hotel in our community is going to bring to us financially.

[Knight]: And historically, they've been a good partner.

[Knight]: Our other two hotels have been great partners here in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: So I don't want to, you know.

[Knight]: I don't want to claim nefarious intent, but at the same time, I think it's important that we protect the residents.

[Knight]: So I would offer a 30 and 60 day review on the paper and move for approval.

[Knight]: For the sign only facing 75 stations only.

[Knight]: I'm sorry, I don't know if 75 is the address, but the north facing sign abutting the residential property.

[Knight]: Correct.

[Knight]: I

[Knight]: So Mr. President, just to be clear, this application before us is just for the permit to reverse the sign denial.

[Knight]: And any type of relief sought by the applicant relative to hours of operation outside of the ordinance and its 7 AM to 10 PM requirements would have to be sought under a different cover.

[Knight]: That's not going to be covered under the aspect of the vote that we're taking this evening.

[Knight]: Mr. President, through you, I was wondering if the petitioner could tell me on what side of the retaining wall on Broadway is this trench going to be dug?

[Knight]: Is it going to be on the northern side of the retaining wall or on the southern side?

[Knight]: If you're familiar with the area and you're driving up from Winter Hill and Somerville along Broadway, you'll come to the intersection of Medford Street.

[Knight]: There at that intersection, by way of history, is Paul Revere Park, which is the smallest park in the United States of America.

[Knight]: But I digress, Mr. President, as you go past Paul Revere Park, Broadway splits in two, and you can go up Broadway and travel along the Medford border.

[Knight]: Some of that is Medford.

[Knight]: Or you can stay on Broadway proper and go straight.

[Knight]: So I was wondering exactly where this trench was going to be dug, because there is a Broadway in Medford.

[Knight]: And it's the roadway that runs parallel to Broadway in Somerville, right where that split is, where it goes up and over the ridge and comes back down and brings you out where the old Salvation Army used to be.

[Knight]: right at Winter Hill.

[Knight]: So I was wondering if the applicant could tell us where the trench is actually going to be dug.

[Knight]: Is it going to be dug on Broadway proper or is it going to be dug on that one-way access road?

[Knight]: So do we know which side of that retaining wall it's going to be on, I guess, is the question.

[Knight]: Nor do I. So if you're looking at Medford Street at the intersection, you see that little park?

[Knight]: Right?

[Knight]: If you go past the little park,

[Knight]: There's a line with a little square.

[Knight]: And that line with a little square, I think that's a street that comes right through there.

[Knight]: So I just don't know what side of the wall that proposed gas main is going to be on.

[Knight]: Is it going to be on Broadway proper, or is it going to be on the access road?

[Knight]: I would much rather prefer it to be on Somerville.

[Knight]: I'm not in Medford, personally.

[Knight]: My colleagues are following me with what I'm talking about, right?

[Knight]: You guys know what I'm saying?

[Knight]: Dexter Street is Big Bundle.

[Knight]: I'm sorry, Mr. President.

[Knight]: That's Main Street, the little park, not Medford Street.

[Knight]: Main Street and Medford Street split.

[Knight]: Main Street goes further to the, I guess it would be east, and Medford Street goes up past those parks.

[Knight]: So I was confused.

[Knight]: I had, because Dexter Street threw me off, because Dexter's

[Knight]: Dexter runs through Maine to Medford, so this is further down.

[Knight]: Creative Science is on the corner here of Dexter and- You are correct.

[Knight]: So this will be going, there is no retaining wall, so this is all going in front of- Trump Field.

[Knight]: The pizza place, Dacos Tavern, the Chinese food restaurant coming around the corner.

[Knight]: Okay, yep, I second the motion to approve.

[Knight]: This is a service call.

[Knight]: I know that there's some discussion in here about an SOP.

[Knight]: So SOP means that the applicant

[Knight]: would provide the city with the funds to then go and perform, no, that's a street opening permit.

[Knight]: That's a different program.

[Knight]: I guess the question is, is the 60 feet of roadway that's being torn up in Medford going to be replaced curb to curb?

[Knight]: Where this is creation of new service, we're tearing up a couple of roadways 60 feet.

[Knight]: Are we going to be able to get curb to curb restoration?

[Knight]: Yes, I see it there.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: Yep.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: From my brief calculations, it looks like this application seeks for about a half a mile of a ground opening permit.

[Knight]: Does that sound correct, sir?

[Knight]: That sounds about right, yes.

[Knight]: 2600 feet or something like that?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: And it goes right through our central business district, Mr. President, one that we've been talking about for as long as I can remember in terms of what we're going to do to revitalize it.

[Knight]: The lack of commitment to revitalize Medford Square coupled with

[Knight]: the impacts of the Kranich Bridge closure for such an extended period of time, along with the COVID-19 situation that's happened.

[Knight]: We have a number of restaurants and places that provide food services along this stretch, and the impact that they've

[Knight]: The financial impact that they've had to put up with through a variety of different reasons over the course of the last five years is troublesome, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So I guess this is a long way of asking a question, and the question is, how long will this construction take?

[Knight]: Okay, so you think you guys can do 100 feet a day?

[Knight]: More than 100 feet a day?

[Knight]: Easily.

[Knight]: OK.

[Knight]: What are the plans in terms of the storage of equipment and materials during the construction period?

[Knight]: Is everybody at home getting this in case they have a problem during the construction?

[Knight]: Will the public way be used for the overnight storage of equipment and materials?

[Knight]: No.

[Knight]: Can we put that as a condition?

[Knight]: Okay, excellent.

[Knight]: So I'd like to offer that in the form of an amendment number 18, Mr. President, as a condition that there'll be no storage of any equipment or materials on the public way.

[Knight]: Second.

[Knight]: With that being said, I rest my case.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I personally couldn't agree with Councilor Bears more.

[Knight]: I'm very glad to see the property owner and the historic commission sitting down trying to make compromise.

[Knight]: We have ample opportunity and time to still address this matter.

[Knight]: We have another meeting before the deadline.

[Knight]: I'd ask that the matter be tabled to a date certain to allow the homeowner and the historical commission to continue their deliberations and discussions.

[Knight]: But with that being said, Mr. President, we do have, I believe, representatives here from the owner that have been working on a plan or are ready to make some commitments to a plan.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I'd ask that the property owner be given an opportunity to speak.

[Knight]: I got a question if you're ready to give it to me.

[Knight]: I have no problem.

[Knight]: I'm sorry, provided it passes.

[Knight]: But if, okay.

[Knight]: Is the city solicitor available as requested by the president from the meeting yesterday?

[Knight]: I'm just looking at the committee report from last night where President Falco said that the council needs the city solicitor present.

[Knight]: And then the next sentence says Mr. Howard suggested holding off on a historic district.

[Knight]: So that's what I'm referring to is the conversation we had last night.

[Knight]: No.

[Knight]: But with all due respect, Mr. President, I had a conversation with the solicitor as well.

[Knight]: And from what the solicitor told me in my conversation with her was that

[Knight]: The issuance of the demolition permit is told when the paper is advertised.

[Knight]: So it doesn't matter if 18 months pass after the paper is advertised.

[Knight]: And there's case law on this.

[Knight]: And she and I spoke about it at length today.

[Knight]: I did too.

[Knight]: So I'm not sure if the information that you're getting from her and the information that I'm getting from her are the same.

[Knight]: But I'm pretty confident in the conversation that I had with her where she said, you're absolutely right, Adam.

[Knight]: I don't know why this is so hard to understand.

[Knight]: First reading happens, then it gets advertised, and then advertisement controls.

[Knight]: If advertisement goes out, the demolition permit can't get issued, regardless of whether or not October 8th comes and goes.

[Knight]: So second reading is the advertisement.

[Knight]: And that is what tolls the demolition delay.

[Knight]: And we can toll the demolition delay on October 7th if need be.

[Knight]: So I don't understand the need to take this to a vote right now when you yourself had suggested that the city solicitor needs to be present in order for us to make this vote properly, number one.

[Knight]: And number two, when the representative of the historic commission who was with us at the meeting suggested we hold off on it.

[Knight]: The Herald runs every day.

[Knight]: The Globe costs $1,500.

[Knight]: Pay it.

[Knight]: The House is so important.

[Knight]: Why don't we want to spend the money to advertise for it?

[Knight]: I mean, more people read the Globe than the transcript.

[Knight]: I can't tell you a person that ever bought the Medford transcript in the last 15 years.

[Knight]: I don't know one person.

[Knight]: I buy it.

[Knight]: I get it every week.

[Knight]: God bless you.

[Knight]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Between 7 o'clock last night and this morning?

[Knight]: I'm glad Ryan gave you approval.

[Knight]: Mr. President, before we table the matter, there is a committee of the whole report that's before us that's going to have to get put into the agenda for next week's meeting for us to vote on.

[Knight]: But last night at the site visit, we did vote on a motion to ask a question of the city solicitor.

[Knight]: And that question that we asked to the city solicitor was, can this process constitute a regulatory taking, opening up the city to financial or other liabilities?

[Knight]: And I'd like to offer that question to the city solicitor as a B paper this evening, so that we can get that to her for an answer as well before next week.

[Knight]: Opening the city up to financial or other liabilities.

[Knight]: October 6th, right?

[Knight]: Sounds right to me, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Motion to revert back to regular order of business.

[Knight]: Should I be asked to withdraw my motion?

[Knight]: I'd be happy to.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Certainly.

[Knight]: Mr. President, if the legislation doesn't pass by the close of the end of the legislative session, then the bill needs to be reintroduced for the next legislative session.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor.

[Knight]: The question would come as to whether or not we need to pass another home rule petition to reintroduce the bill in the next legislative session.

[Knight]: And that I can't answer.

[Knight]: Is that a question you'd like to ask the solicitor?

[Knight]: I, for one, will not be supporting this paper this evening, Mr. President.

[Knight]: We're in the middle of a global pandemic.

[Knight]: We had a meeting for two hours today talking about how we're unable to conduct regular city council business right now.

[Knight]: One out of five adults in Massachusetts are unemployed.

[Knight]: We have a 20% unemployment rate.

[Knight]: We're seeing the worst economic time since the Great Depression.

[Knight]: People are restricted in their ability to get about the community, to speak with people, to talk to people.

[Knight]: It's going to impact the ability to run a grassroots campaign.

[Knight]: and inform the residents in this community what's going on, number one.

[Knight]: Number two, in times of uncertainty, we need stability.

[Knight]: In times of uncertainty, we need stability.

[Knight]: We should be focusing on getting our kids back to school.

[Knight]: We should be focusing on getting our economy locally back up and running.

[Knight]: I think that's what our priority should be right now during this global pandemic, things that actually make the community and the city run, the services that we deliver.

[Knight]: You know, I've stated and I've been opposed to this process in the past, doing it with the homework petition.

[Knight]: I feel as though this is something that should come from the voters, that should come from the ground up.

[Knight]: And now is not the time to promote a ground up effort when the activities of people are so hamstrung.

[Knight]: And where our government is operating under such stringent restrictions.

[Knight]: So for those reasons, I'll be voting against the paper this evening, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I rest my case.

[Knight]: I do think it's also important to point out, for those that are so supportive of the measure, that if it goes forward tonight, you get two bites at the apple.

[Knight]: because if it doesn't pass by January, then it gets refiled again.

[Knight]: And if it does get passed before January, then you get charter commission.

[Knight]: But I don't support the paper, but from an operational standpoint, if it got held until the end of the year or

[Knight]: or tabled or whatever it may be, and it can't come back up for 90 days, so be it.

[Knight]: The next session's in session.

[Knight]: So you can send the paper to legislation now.

[Knight]: If it doesn't get taken up for a vote, it doesn't get taken up for a vote.

[Knight]: Then you want to do it again in January anyway when the circumstances change, you get another bite at the apple with a new legislature.

[Knight]: So that's something to think about.

[Knight]: But either way, I'm not going to support it this evening.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I'm glad that we're finally getting to the finish line on this proposal.

[Knight]: It's been long overdue.

[Knight]: I can remember filing the initial resolution asking Mayor Burke's staff to craft an ordinance some three and a half years ago, I believe.

[Knight]: And in looking at the final product that we have here before us, I think it looks great.

[Knight]: I do have concern, and one of the concerns, the only concern I have about it is the enforceability of the seven barrels and the ambiguity of the seven barrels.

[Knight]: In the Seawind District, breweries operating with seven barrels or under would be allowed by right, and breweries operating with more than seven barrels would be allowable by special permit of the Board of Appeals.

[Knight]: Well, who's the barrel police and what's the parameter?

[Knight]: Is it seven barrels a day, seven barrels a week, seven barrels a month, seven barrels a year?

[Knight]: I guess is my question.

[Knight]: It's not going to prevent me from voting on the ordinance this evening, Mr. President, but I certainly think it's food for thought.

[Knight]: I don't think that we're going to have somebody out there that's going to be the barrel police that's measuring liquid to see who serves seven barrels versus seven and a quarter or seven and a half or eight.

[Knight]: And I just don't see how that aspect of the ordinance is enforceable and what precludes somebody from

[Knight]: applying for a special permit by right at seven barrels, but then going over the seven barrel.

[Knight]: limit how are we going to know, how are we going to enforce, what's the parameters and standards that are going to be put in place.

[Knight]: That's the only issue that I have, Mr. President.

[Knight]: But this is taking too long for us to come to this point.

[Knight]: So with that being said, if it does pose a problem, we can always take it up at a later date.

[Knight]: But I do think that that's a deficiency in our ordinance here this evening.

[Knight]: I certainly can appreciate the gentleman seeing through the trees to see the forest.

[Knight]: It was about taxation and how we were going to recuperate money.

[Knight]: And I'm confident that we'll be all right moving forward with the languages here.

[Knight]: So with that being said, but it was more about how we're going to be able to monitor it because it's a revenue generating issue as well.

[Knight]: So his astute business mind picked up on that relatively quickly.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Mr. President, a motion to sever the CAC ordinance from the zoning ordinance.

[Knight]: Mr. President.

[Knight]: In review of the selection committee ordinance, I see that our esteemed counsel from KP Law has failed to include the local 3% tax option language that was requested of him on multiple occasions.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I'd make a motion to amend the CAC ordinance to have the city solicitor, not KP Law, as previously asked multiple times, but our city solicitor,

[Knight]: to draft language to include the local 3% tax option to generate revenues for the city as an impact.

[Knight]: Second.

[Knight]: As previously directed to KP law on multiple occasions and it never got in there.

[Knight]: Yes, that's correct.

[Knight]: Mr. President, can I be so bold as to offer a motion to waive the reading of the paper?

[Knight]: Ultimately, Mr. President, just a brief synopsis on this paper authorizes marijuana dispensaries to be located in industrial and commercial two districts.

[Knight]: It adopts the state statutory buffer zones and has a number of requirements and restrictions in place relative to border health, fire, police, security, safety, and the like, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I think we've all talked this thing to death at this point, and I'd move for approval of the paper.

[Knight]: Second.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Here we are, what, ten months into the year, and we have a number of ordinances that we've requested drafts of.

[Knight]: We've gotten some back, we haven't gotten others.

[Knight]: With the craziness that's going around with how government operates these days, with City Hall being half open and half closed, with the council being half open and half closed, I thought this would be a good opportunity for us to keep some of the items that this council's concerned about on the forefront, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I know in the past, we've had situations where

[Knight]: Papers get filed and then they kick around for quite a bit of time.

[Knight]: For example, the marijuana ordinance that we just talked about that took five years to come to fruition.

[Knight]: So with that being said, this is an effort as the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. President, to get our work product out and get it out in an expedient fashion.

[Knight]: I think ten months to wait is plenty of time for us to request an update.

[Knight]: And if we can sit down with the city solicitor and go over where we are and the progress that we've made on some of these items, I think we'll be able to put out even a better work product.

[Knight]: This council's shown that it's been able to put out ordinances and has quite a vision for what the legislative body should be doing and for what legislative process should look like.

[Knight]: And I just want to make sure, Mr. President, as the chairman of the subcommittee, that we're living up to the expectations of the residents here in the community.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'd ask my council colleagues to support this measure.

[Knight]: It would be three meetings, October, November, December, and the second Tuesday of each of those months for us to get a better handle on where we're at in the draft ordinance process.

[Knight]: I've had the opportunity to speak with Solicitor Scanlon, and she's started to do legwork for some of this stuff.

[Knight]: It's no reflection on the work of her office or that of the clerk.

[Knight]: What it is, it's a reflection on this body and our willingness and desire to put out a favorable work product to the residents in this community.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I ask my council colleagues to support the resolution.

[Knight]: Councilor Layton.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Since the C-Click Fix program has been implemented, I have offered this resolution annually.

[Knight]: I feel as though it's very important that the council be provided with a breakdown of what types of requests are being made by our citizenry and whether or not they're being brought to a resolve that meets their satisfaction and expectation.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I'm requesting this data because data drive decision making.

[Knight]: And when we can take a look at these C-Click fix requests, we might also be able to identify where our deficiencies lie in the deliverance of services here in the city.

[Knight]: And then when the budget process rolls around, we have a better idea as to where we need to invest our funds to be sure that the taxpayers are receiving the level of services that they're so duly.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I ask that my council colleagues support the measure.

[Knight]: What it is, is it's a tool for us to gather data to be more informed.

[Knight]: So when the budget process starts, we can have the opportunity to reallocate funds to those areas where we feel as though we can do better.

[Knight]: Mr. President, on that, I remember sitting back and we were talking about C-Click fix.

[Knight]: And I believe it was a request that was made on DCR-owned property.

[Knight]: been two previous administrations ago, maybe a previous administration ago.

[Knight]: And the discussion was issue resolved, and the response was, that's state property, call the DCR.

[Knight]: And that's the issue isn't resolved, the buck was passed.

[Knight]: And I remember Councilman Marks bringing that up, because he got a call from a resident that wasn't too satisfied with the answer that they got.

[Knight]: And it was mocked as resolved, but it really wasn't resolved, it was closed.

[Knight]: So I certainly share your position on this, Council.

[Knight]: And I'll be happy to amend the paper any which way that meets that objective.

[Knight]: I don't, I thank Councilor Marks for bringing up the point there.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: The condition that our public utility providers and others that are offered street opening permits leave our streets in is something that's been a topic of conversation before this board for a number of years.

[Knight]: Earlier this evening, for example, we had several grants of location and some of the things that we talked about were curb to curb.

[Knight]: Paving, how long the project's going to take, where the project's going to be located.

[Knight]: But I think, Mr. President, a lot of these times when we issue a street opening permit, and maybe it's not for a half a mile of roadway like we issued earlier today.

[Knight]: Maybe it's only for 50 linear feet.

[Knight]: It gets forgotten about.

[Knight]: And that final restoration never happens.

[Knight]: And we've seen places all over the community where we see trenches and patches and road work that's just fallen apart that our public utilities have performed.

[Knight]: We've done a great job holding them accountable when they're coming before us for grants of location and things that are in our scope and our authority.

[Knight]: But I think we can step it up a notch, Mr. President, and begin to look at the street opening permits when they're issued and what the follow-up protocols are to be sure that the taxpayers in the community and the residents in the community

[Knight]: are afforded the opportunity to have their streets restored to the same condition that they were in prior to these construction and ground opening permits.

[Knight]: When these ground opening permits are issued, it's usually for the purpose of underground utility work and underground utility upgrades.

[Knight]: And these underground utility upgrades allow the city to generate

[Knight]: the ability to assess a personal property tax on the underground infrastructure that's being placed.

[Knight]: But this underground infrastructure that's being placed along with the personal property tax that the city can get also provides the utility provider with the ability to have more efficient operations and in turn increase their profits.

[Knight]: So when we talk a lot about what's going on in the community and community benefits, we look at public utility providers that are very protected and very insulated through state law.

[Knight]: That aren't leaving our streets and our roadways in a condition that a lot of us feel would be suitable and satisfactory.

[Knight]: And this is an effort to make sure that this stays in the forefront, Mr. President, with the monthly report letting us know what roadways have been ripped up, when the construction took place, when the construction was completed, and what the plans are in the future.

[Knight]: After six months, when they're going to get out there and get it done if they have to go there and do it.

[Knight]: It also allows us the opportunity to monitor the list and make sure that after the six months is up that these roadways get restored.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I ask my council colleagues to support the paper.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I've gotten a number of calls surrounding accounting, billing, and collections practices in the Treasurer-Collector's office.

[Knight]: When we sit there and we look at what's going on, we have no assistant Treasurer-Collector.

[Knight]: We have a temporary Treasurer-Collector, a part-time Treasurer-Collector that's a retiree that's been brought back.

[Knight]: So in the interest of financial transparency, Mr. President, and to address some of the concerns that have been raised by those in the community, I'd request that an audit be conducted for the first 10 months of the year.

[Knight]: When we look at where we were this time a year ago, we had very, very, very aggressive collections under the previous administration.

[Knight]: A lot of money came in through the collections process, Mr. President, and I just want to make sure that we're doing the best that we can to ensure that these dollars are being captured and spent wisely.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I'd be happy to amend the paper to get three years of the last three years of the audits in that department to take a look at that.

[Knight]: And then if there's any concern, I can pursue this paper at a future time.

[Knight]: I'd ask the Councilor if that would satisfy his question and maybe allow him the opportunity to support this paper with that amendment.

[Knight]: So often as a motion to amend Mr. President.

[Knight]: Last three years of the auditor's reports to the Treasurer-Collector's Office.

[Knight]: I don't want this to turn into a referendum on the qualifications or the abilities of Mr. Pompeo, but Mr. Pompeo is also limited to the number of hours that he can work as a retiree.

[Knight]: So as a retiree in the public pension system, he's limited to 960 hours a year.

[Knight]: If there's no assistant, then he's limited to 960 hours a year.

[Knight]: That's why I raised the concern, Mr. President.

[Knight]: But it's not a reflection of the duties or the work that he does down there.

[Knight]: It's a reflection of the staffing levels down there and the level of productivity.

[Knight]: But with that being said, I've amended the paper.

[Knight]: I just don't want this to be turned into a referendum on Mr. Pompeo because that wasn't my intention in any way, shape, or form.

[Knight]: Big picture of Mr. President would be the way that I'd like to look at it.

[Knight]: Three years, 12 months in a packet, you know what I mean, is the way that I'd prefer it.

[Knight]: Then we can take a look at those monthlies afterwards and see, you know.

[Knight]: I'd be happy to support that amendment, Councilor.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Councilor Caraviello, thank you as well.

[Knight]: And Richie, thank you for everything that you do to the City of Medford, for the City of Medford, in the City of Medford.

[Knight]: Richard has been a great business owner.

[Knight]: He's the type of business that we want to have here in the City of Medford.

[Knight]: When the pandemic hit, you saw what he did.

[Knight]: He put out jersey barriers, he put out a tent, he has live entertainment.

[Knight]: He's trying to keep

[Knight]: the sense of community going here.

[Knight]: He does a great job, as Councilor Caraviello said, the countless, countless, countless deliveries of food to people's homes when their loved ones pass away, unsolicited, unwanted.

[Knight]: In some instances, Mr. President, Richie goes above and beyond.

[Knight]: And not just in terms of being a business owner, but in terms of being a community partner and someone that really loves the city of Medford, cares for the city of Medford, and wants to make it a better place.

[Knight]: So with that being said,

[Knight]: through you to Richie and to his staff, Peter and Jason and everybody else.

[Knight]: Thank you very much for all you do.

[Knight]: Again, I defer to the senior member, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Yeah, as Councilor Caraviello mentioned, Teresa was the wife of former city manager John Glioni.

[Knight]: And when John was here running the city, Teresa was running the show.

[Knight]: As they always say, behind every good man is a better woman, and this is no different.

[Knight]: What a great family the Glioni's raised.

[Knight]: My dear friend, Janine McGonigal, Teresa was her mother.

[Knight]: And she will be sadly missed.

[Knight]: I'd just like to offer my condolences to the family and ask that my council colleagues join Councilor Caraviello and I in doing the same.

[Knight]: Relatively self-explanatory, Mr. President, in the September 8th packet, we did receive a draft ordinance that we requested.

[Knight]: I believe it was at the direction of Councilor Caraviello, and based off a previous paper that was issued in the previous session, Mr. President.

[Knight]: But with that being said, the solicitor's office has put out a work product for us to review.

[Knight]: And I'd ask that a COW be scheduled so that we can have the opportunity to do such.

[Knight]: Yes, Mr. President.

[Knight]: The Knight Early Education Academy over on Woburn Street has been up and running now for almost a week.

[Knight]: And it's a trying experience, to say the least.

[Knight]: But with that being said, Mr. President,

[Knight]: One thing I'm noticing is that there's a need for us to be sure that those that don't have the same opportunities as others are still being provided the access to a quality public education.

[Knight]: And truancy is one of those.

[Knight]: one of those situations that's something that needs to be addressed.

[Knight]: And our surrounding communities, some of them have multiple full-time truancy offices.

[Knight]: I believe at one point the city of Somerville had three full-time truancy offices.

[Knight]: I'm not saying or alluding to the fact that truancy is a problem in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: But what I am saying is that based upon the new times that are before us and the expectations that have been expressed through our school committee and through that of DESE.

[Knight]: the direction of the superintendent, ultimately our goal is to get kids back in school.

[Knight]: But until then, we're going to be relying on remote learning or hybrid learning.

[Knight]: And my

[Knight]: concern is that certain subsects of our population are going to slip through the cracks and not be provided with the same opportunities that others are being provided during this time, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So as the parent of a first grader and understanding that during these formidable years, the importance that education plays in the long-term development of

[Knight]: an academic student raises concerns.

[Knight]: So I'd ask that the school committee just provide us with a report as to what their plans are and how to address truancy during the pandemic and during the hybrid learning, during from home learning, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I think it's very important that we understand what's going on so that we can ensure that all the students across the board are being provided with an ample opportunity to be educated properly.

[Knight]: I'd like to further amend the paper to Mr. President and request a report from the school department indicating how many students we've lost to private schools between last year and this year due to the school closures.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'd ask my council colleagues to support the paper.

[Knight]: Mr. President, although the committee does not report to the council in terms of policy, the buck does stop here.

[Knight]: The buck stops here.

[Knight]: So if we're seeing a problem with truancy and we have one part-time truancy officer here in the community, maybe the council says it's time to kick it up a notch.

[Knight]: Maybe you gotta hire a couple more people.

[Knight]: And if you don't, then maybe we're going to have to hold back some funding over here until you do that.

[Knight]: So there's an opportunity in a way for us, Mr. President, very similar to the way that we were able to

[Knight]: broker a deal with the historical commission and the property owner to promote and push for certain aspects of a better quality public education.

[Knight]: And where the council controls the purse strings, and truancy is a concern, and there's a school department policy and a city policy.

[Knight]: I do believe that surrounds some of this stuff.

[Knight]: I think it's important that we know.

[Knight]: I guess my question is this.

[Knight]: Why don't we want to know what their policy is on truancy?

[Knight]: And why wouldn't we expect them to have one?

[Knight]: It's not so much that we want to force something down their throat.

[Knight]: All we're doing is asking them to report back to the council with a report on what its plans are to address truancy.

[Knight]: It's not a request to tell them to make a plan.

[Knight]: It's not a request to tell them how to do it, where to do it, or when to do it.

[Knight]: It's a request to fill us in and give us information as to what you're doing to make sure that this situation doesn't happen.

[Knight]: I can certainly appreciate the council's position.

[Knight]: However, knowledge is power and the more knowledge we have, the better off we're going to be and the better job we're going to be able to do for the people and especially the students.

[Knight]: As a parent, Mr. President, this is very concerning to me.

[Knight]: Two young children at home, a six year old and a four year old.

[Knight]: The day before school was supposed to start, my four year old lost his daycare.

[Knight]: So people are struggling through this, and the more information that we have, the better.

[Knight]: And the other thing that's important, Mr. President, is if we do see a truancy problem, usually the truancy problem isn't necessarily rooted in anything other than things going on at home.

[Knight]: And while the school committee does have certain authority, the city has far more resources.

[Knight]: when it comes down to family issues.

[Knight]: So that's another opportunity, Mr. President, for us to gain some more information and then maybe modify or amend the types of services that we deliver to the residents here based upon the data that we're receiving to see what makes sense to be sure that the taxpayers are getting the level of services that they so deserve.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I do remember, maybe, was it five weeks ago?

[Knight]: You sent an email out to the administration talking about $250,000 that was part of our agreement with cable, our cable agreement.

[Knight]: And I don't believe we ever got a response as to whether or not those funds were going to be appropriated or how they were going to be utilized, did we?

[Knight]: It was a form letter.

[Knight]: Similar to a form letter, if I'm not mistaken.

[Knight]: May I be so bold to suggest, Mr. President, that a portion of the $250,000 from the cable agreement be allotted for the purpose of hiring an election coordinator for the November general election?

[Knight]: And can I be so bold as to suggest that in the form of a amendment?

[Knight]: Second.

[Knight]: I don't want to steal your thunder.

[Knight]: You're the guy that found the money, John, but let's spend it.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: The idea was raised as part of a committee report during our budget discussions, something I brought up when we were looking at the projections during the COVID-19 circumstance and the budget deliberations relative to the anticipated forecasted revenues that were going to be coming in through the various departments that are revenue generating.

[Knight]: the building department and their building permits, for example.

[Knight]: And when we sat down with the finance director and we saw what the trends were and what the projections were, we took a vote.

[Knight]: And that vote was to have quarterly meetings.

[Knight]: with the finance director to update us on where we are currently in terms of collections and where our projections are.

[Knight]: And this is a follow-up to that recommendation that was made during the budget hearings back in June.

[Knight]: I'd ask my council colleagues to support it as the first quarter was July, August, and September.

[Knight]: And September is going to be closing at the end of the week.

[Knight]: Our next meeting is October.

[Knight]: Sixth is it?

[Knight]: You are correct.

[Knight]: And the meeting after that I'd ask that the finance director be prepared to appear before the council at a council meeting and give us an update as to where we are on forecast and projected revenues.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I thank the councilors for bringing this resolution forward.

[Knight]: I'd also, I think it's very important that we recognize the work of our Substance Abuse and Prevention Office and where they've come in such a short time since being created.

[Knight]: The office has only been in effect now for maybe what, five years, six years?

[Knight]: And the strides that they've made in this community in terms of education and outreach have been

[Knight]: enumerable compared to where we were before to where we are today, the level of services that we offer as a city.

[Knight]: But I think it's also important, Mr. President, to recognize that in the spirit of National Recovery Month, that this is a resolution that we must support this evening.

[Knight]: And I wholeheartedly will vote entirely in favor of it this evening.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Motion to table the committee reports.

[Knight]: Mr. President, on the records of August 25th, I'd like to move for approval.

[Knight]: If we table these, any further 30 days will pass.

[Knight]: The open meeting law says that it's best practice to have them approved within 30 days of passage, of completion of the meeting.

[Knight]: So I'd move for approval of the August 25th- Second.

[Knight]: You have 15 minutes.

[Knight]: This is a public hearing in favor or against.

[Knight]: It should be ended.

[Knight]: We have 35 items on the agenda.

[Knight]: If we allow the dialogue to continue for four or five minutes on every item on the agenda this evening, we're going to be here until tomorrow morning.

[Knight]: I appreciate what Mr. Anderson has to say and I agree with him.

[Knight]: I'm not going to be supporting the zoning amendment this evening.

[Knight]: I'm going to vote to reject it.

[Knight]: for the reasons that I stated when it was introduced.

[Knight]: However, in the interest of getting through the agenda, Mr. President, I think it might be important for us to maybe limit the time of public participation this evening.

[Knight]: We have 35 items on the agenda.

[Knight]: Motion to close the public air.

[Knight]: Was that opposed, Mr. President?

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Motion to reject the zoning amendment, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yeah, so I'm following a meeting of the Committee of the Whole.

[Knight]: I would assume that can be done between now and our next regularly scheduled meeting, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Or representative thereof, whoever wants to go over these changes, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I would move to name the date as the next regularly scheduled city council meeting, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Or you can add it as part of the main motion, so we don't have to vote on it twice.

[Knight]: As amended by Councilor Marks.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Mr. President, this is the public hearing portion.

[Knight]: It's either opposed or against, right?

[Knight]: This is a public hearing.

[Knight]: It's either we're in opposition or we're in favor of the project.

[Knight]: We go, again, I understand we're coming from Marion, but we have 35 items on the agenda.

[Knight]: If we continue down this road, we're going to be here all evening.

[Knight]: The common practice that's always been with the council has been public hearing in favor or opposed.

[Knight]: When we've had people come to the podium in the council meetings, we've told them,

[Knight]: Stop, public hearing in favor or opposed.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I do believe granted locations and personal property tax are attached to any type of grant location in the underground infrastructure that they put in through the assessor's office.

[Knight]: And I do believe that that itemization is determined after they complete the work and construct what it is that they need to construct so that we can tax it appropriately.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I do believe Councilor Scarpelli has a question.

[Knight]: He's muted.

[Knight]: Good luck.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I do think it's important to point out that this measure has been recommended by the city engineer.

[Knight]: And as part of the Eversource project, I do believe that that area will be resurfaced curb to curb on the completion of the Eversource project.

[Knight]: So I think that's something that's important to point out.

[Knight]: If in fact there is any disruption or trenching that's done in that area, come completion of the Eversource project, it will be resurfaced curb to curb.

[Knight]: I can certainly confidently vote for this paper this evening in approval.

[Knight]: However, I would defer to the rest of the council as to what direction they want to take, whether they want to receive them at a table of matter or a table of matter until the applicant comes back is fine with me.

[Knight]: That's been a normal practice in the past, but I'm comfortable voting on it this evening.

[Knight]: I wish you good luck.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I find this is a rather self-explanatory resolution.

[Knight]: What I'm asking for is a committee of the whole meeting with the administration and representatives of the fire department and the fire union to discuss the future of our fire headquarters, fire training tower, and the like, Mr. President.

[Knight]: We've had many discussions over the past three or four years relative to these projects, and many commitments were made.

[Knight]: And I just would like to see where we stand in this process.

[Knight]: I know we face very trying and scary financial

[Knight]: times right now, the picture isn't beautiful.

[Knight]: However, I think it's important that we maintain some of the commitments that we made, and at the very least communicate with friends of the fire department as to where we stand, what's going on, and what commitments still remain on the table moving forward.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'd ask my council colleagues to support the resolution.

[Knight]: This is really just an effort to get more information, to find out where we are from a capital planning standpoint related to fire safety services, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Yes, Mr. President, this is just a resolution providing a directive to the city clerk to forward us certain informations that come to his office.

[Knight]: All too often, as a city councilor, you know, when you're down at CB Scoops getting an ice cream, someone will come up to you and say, hey, what's going on at this address or this location?

[Knight]: You say, what are you talking about?

[Knight]: I have no idea.

[Knight]: And they say, well, there's doing construction over there.

[Knight]: What's the story?

[Knight]: Well, I've never received a paper on that.

[Knight]: Pursuant to the way that projects are filed through site plan review, they have to be submitted to the clerk's office, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So what this is is just directing the city clerk when any item that's subject to site plan review comes across his desk to include it in our council packets so that we're aware of it and then we can do our due diligence to be well informed about the certain projects that are going on.

[Knight]: So what this is is asking the city clerk to provide us with information

[Knight]: The city clerk was never directed to do this in the past, so what we're doing is just taking a step to ensure that we receive this information.

[Knight]: I think Adam's doing a great job.

[Knight]: This is no reflection on the work that he's doing.

[Knight]: This is a new responsibility that we're tasking upon him, like we do probably every other week.

[Knight]: We give him something else to do.

[Knight]: I think pretty soon we'll have to look at giving this guy a raise or some more vacation time, Mr. President, if he's able to take it.

[Knight]: being said, this is just an opportunity for us to gain information and gain certain documents related to projects that are being performed in our community that are subject to the site plan review.

[Knight]: Those are the same projects that are also subject to our inclusionary housing ordinance.

[Knight]: So I think it's very important, Mr. President, that we're aware of that before the shovel goes in the ground.

[Knight]: Resolution does nothing to change the existing ordinances.

[Knight]: It does nothing to change the approval process.

[Knight]: All it does is allow us to be informed with documentation.

[Knight]: It's really a request for public records that's an ongoing request for public records that when they come into the clerk's office, we get a copy of it, but it's not doing anything to change the existing ordinance or the existing approval process.

[Knight]: That's not the intent of this piece of legislation, and it's not something I'm willing to amend to reach that fire at this point in time.

[Knight]: I'd offer a motion to sever.

[Knight]: I don't want it to be any paper, but the councilor is adding it.

[Knight]: So I'm asking that it be severed.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes, Mr. President, it's been brought to my attention.

[Knight]: I think it's been brought to all of our attention.

[Knight]: All of us in the community are well aware that a series of unfortunate events occurred on the night of July 4th down along Willis and Conger Street, I do believe, Mr. President, where there was an assault on police officers, shooting of fireworks, throwing of M-80s, quarter sticks of dynamite at our police officers under their cars.

[Knight]: Just a scene of unrest.

[Knight]: in violence, Mr. President, against our police department, against members of our public safety community.

[Knight]: Our fire department, our police department, we're on the scene.

[Knight]: So I'd just like to get a report, Mr. President, because unlike some people in this community that feel as though Facebook is the gospel of news, I don't.

[Knight]: I feel as though if we're going to find out what's going on in this community, we should get official reports from the people in the department heads that are responsible for that.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'm bringing this initiative forward so I can have a better understanding of what happened down there, Mr. President, because I really don't know.

[Knight]: The information that I've received about this has all been from media outlets and fake news outlets.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'm hoping that we can get a report directly from our chief of police.

[Knight]: But as of right now, the issue that's before this council is the issues and events that happened on the evening of July 4th.

[Knight]: And I would move for approval on that paper, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: For those of us that have been around the community, we're all well aware of the Honeycutt family and the contributions that they've made to MedFed.

[Knight]: We look at Bill Honeycutt and the work that he does with John Brewer's Tavern and the volunteerism and the donations that he makes to the community.

[Knight]: We look at Steve Honeycutt and the work that he did on the Disability Commission before his passing.

[Knight]: And here we have

[Knight]: Mrs. Honeycutt, who recently passed away, who's done such a great job raising children that had such a focus on community and such a focus on giving back.

[Knight]: It's just very sad to see her leave.

[Knight]: She was an integral part of this community.

[Knight]: She did great work raising her children, and she's raised them to be great participants in social capital and the social fabric I mentioned, Mr. President, and she will surely be missed.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I'd ask my council colleagues to join me in expressing deepest condolences and sincere condolences to the Honeycutt family in their time of loss.

[Knight]: I second the motion, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I second the motion.

[Knight]: Mr. President, it's my understanding that this issue has been resolved, that Arlington Catholic has decided to take their business elsewhere.

[Knight]: However, I do find it quite unfortunate the series of events and circumstances that led up to Arlington Catholic having to go somewhere else to hold their graduation.

[Knight]: The O'Melle Commission granted a permit, Arlington Catholic wrote a check, and they were unable to hold their graduation due to concerns around COVID-19.

[Knight]: However, at the same time, Medford High School, who has a class that's twice the size, is holding graduation ceremonies at Homel Stadium.

[Knight]: So for the interest of just fairness, Mr. President, I don't understand why this happened or how this happened.

[Knight]: I just find it unfortunate that the number of children that graduated from Island and Catholic that have Medford roots or are Medford residents are probably up to 30% or 40% of the senior class.

[Knight]: And to have them want to hold their ceremonies here in Medford

[Knight]: This shows what a great relationship we have with Huntington Catholic and the amount of people in this community that believe in faith-based education and that send their children to Huntington Catholic but also remain members of our community that contribute quite a bit.

[Knight]: So I just found that unfortunate, Mr. President.

[Knight]: It's about the kids.

[Knight]: And I'd like to get a report back from the city, but after filing this resolution and after the agenda was published, I did receive a lengthy response from the chief of staff that I admittedly glanced over and haven't had the opportunity to really get into and to read, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So I will be offering to receive and place this paper on file until I can perform my due diligence and read the report that Chief of Staff Rodriguez forwarded to my email account and all of ours earlier in the week.

[Knight]: But with that being said, I do find it unfortunate that, you know, things had to turn out this way.

[Knight]: And I think that, you know, as the months and days go by,

[Knight]: we need to come to grips with what's going on in the world, but also what's going on in this community and how we can continue to better provide services under whatever they want to call this new normal or whatever it is.

[Knight]: I don't think there's anything normal about it, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I think it's craziness.

[Knight]: You can go into Target, but you can't go into City Hall.

[Knight]: You got to wait in line to go in City Hall, but you can't go into Target.

[Knight]: It's getting nutty.

[Knight]: I think that it's time that we figure out what course we're going to take, what direction we're going to go in.

[Knight]: get a game plan together and let's stick to it.

[Knight]: I know that there's a lot of uncertainty, there's a lot of dynamic pieces and moving pieces and moving parts, Mr. President, but for us to not be able to provide for those families and those kids a graduation ceremony after all that they've had to put up with since St.

[Knight]: Patrick's Day is a little bit unfortunate and I would have liked to see it handled a little bit differently.

[Knight]: But with that being said, Mr. President, I will take the time

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I will offer to receive and place this item on file.

[Knight]: However, there was a lot of concern about it that was brought up over the last several weeks.

[Knight]: So I felt it was warranted to place it on the agenda this evening.

[Knight]: Will the resurfacing be done in a curb-to-curb fashion, or is this going to be grounded inlay in a trench?

[Knight]: The chief of state will have a comment on that as to what the street restoration plan would be for this.

[Knight]: Dave, do you have any idea around Mr. Rodriguez?

[Knight]: Excellent, thank you.

[Knight]: No, it's just, it's always been a common question we've always asked about, you know, ground opening permits and restoration.

[Knight]: And when, you know, our roads get reopened, what happens is we get a trench and the trench ends up being garbage in 18 months.

[Knight]: And you know, the contractor is supposed to come back and let it sit for six months and replace it, then it'll be good as new, but that never happens.

[Knight]: So we've been pushing for curb to curb restoration on projects like this.

[Knight]: Yeah, Mr. Fleming, I'm just, I'm explaining to the Comcast petitioner.

[Knight]: and why I ask, you know, but I understand, you know, the need for the project.

[Knight]: I don't like why they ask this here.

[Knight]: And I apologize for interrupting, but I just figured it would be easier to ask the question while it was on the table, as opposed to going back to it after you're finished voting.

[Knight]: So thank you.

[Knight]: I just would recommend, Mr. President, that if night work is going to be discussed, we take the appropriate steps.

[Knight]: We do have two senior buildings right across the street from that location, and we don't want to disrupt.

[Knight]: that elderly population that live in our senior buildings, if in fact we can avoid that.

[Knight]: So I certainly appreciate Councilor Mark's position on this and I too will support the paper this evening and await the report of the city engineer relative to the curb-to-curb repayment.

[Knight]: It is pretty much curb to curb because it's going across the street.

[Knight]: Mr. Rodriguez, that's plenty.

[Knight]: I'm no engineer.

[Knight]: So any other information you give me that you want me to read, I'm not going to understand anyway.

[Knight]: Sounds good.

[Knight]: Excellent.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: I appreciate it.

[Knight]: But I think just a few years ago, the only changes that we made to the demolition delay ordinance was homes that were constructed within 75 years and expanding the demolition delay from six months to 18 months.

[Knight]: But the legislative body made no other changes other than that.

[Knight]: So that's what I think is

[Knight]: making this confusing to us.

[Knight]: You know, when we made those changes to the demolition delay ordinance, that was it.

[Knight]: It was just those two items.

[Knight]: It wasn't this broad sweep to say, you know, start changing the way that you practice.

[Knight]: I think that that's what the issue is.

[Knight]: But I just wanted to correct what you said there, that when we changed the demolition delay ordinance, all we did was change from houses built before 1900 to houses built within the last 75 years.

[Knight]: expanding the demolition delay period from six months to 18 months.

[Knight]: So I think that's very important that we point that out.

[Knight]: There's been no passage of an ordinance that changed anything that we did here, other than the amount of time that the demolition delay was in place and the age of the home that was subject to demolition delay.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: So it's my understanding that under the current application that the

[Knight]: historic commission is using for a demolition delay.

[Knight]: If someone wanted to change the windows out on their home, maybe move them six inches to the left, six inches to the right, they'd have to go before the historical commission in order to get an approval to do that?

[Knight]: Let me ask you, if someone came today to your office and said, I want a permit to not take these windows out, blow them out and put a huge picture window in, would they be allowed to get that permit or would they have to go to the historical commission?

[Knight]: Mr. Moki, through the president, Mr. Moki.

[Knight]: Underneath the new standards that are trying to be implemented now, interior work would also have to be, certain interior work would also need to have to be approved by the historic commission.

[Knight]: Am I understanding that correctly?

[Knight]: So in essence, if somebody wanted to make their house handicap accessible after a tragic event that happened in their family, they'd have to go before the historic commission to make the house handicap accessible as well?

[Knight]: A circumstance could arise in that?

[Knight]: It could potentially arise, yes.

[Knight]: Somebody wanted to rip down a deck and put a ramp in, move a door so that they can meet the requirements of making a wheelchair pass through, they'd have to be subject to these requirements?

[Knight]: And is this commonplace in other communities that the Historical Commission goes this far and gets this far involved in building and development?

[Knight]: And also, Mr. Mochi, can you answer, or maybe we'll offer this as a B paper?

[Knight]: I know you can't answer off the top of your head, but can we get a report back from the administration?

[Knight]: Since amending the demolition delay ordinance, how many homes that have been subject to demolition delay have actually been restored to the historic state?

[Knight]: Because I mean, we have an operative ordinance in there, but if it's not meeting the objectives, and now it's turning into this second layer of a building department, I don't know if that's good public policy, Mr. President.

[Knight]: If we haven't saved any houses or restored any houses, and all this is doing is creating another layer of bureaucracy and another layer of government, the government within a government, for individuals to get permitting to make home improvements on the largest purchase that they make in their life, their kingdom, their castle, their home.

[Knight]: I think this might have to be looked at.

[Knight]: This certainly doesn't fall within the scope that I feel as though would be the intent of the legislation at the time it was passed or at the time that it was amended.

[Knight]: So I'd like to offer that as a B paper.

[Knight]: If we can find out how many homes since amending the resolution have actually been saved and restored, as opposed to how many wanted to demolish an old and decrepit building like Pacelli's

[Knight]: and do something that might add some substantial community gain and also some tax revenue to the community.

[Knight]: You know, how many of those projects just went to the wayside, and the building's still the building that it was, and the demolition delay, all it did was kill the sale, or kill the redevelopment or repurposing of a property.

[Knight]: I think that's important to look at, Mr. President, because, you know, if the goal is to restore historic homes, and our demolition delay ordinance isn't meeting that goal, then why do we have it?

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: And through you to Mr. Mochi, and I apologize if you mentioned this earlier.

[Knight]: Is there some sort of standard that the commission is referring to or using or utilizing that would put them in a position to expand

[Knight]: the application of the Demolition Delay Ordinance this far?

[Knight]: Is there a federal document, a state document, some sort of guideline that they're going by?

[Knight]: Or is this just kind of willy-nilly, you're going to figure it out as we go along type of stuff?

[Knight]: Yes, that's right.

[Knight]: Don't you think that would be more applicable to log cabins in the woods than it would be about an urban environment with 60,000 people?

[Knight]: And since, you know, you've been around for quite a bit of time, Mr. Mochi, and you've seen, you know, how this process works.

[Knight]: I mean, is demolition delay being used as a tool to preserve housing or is demolition delay being used as a tool to control development in the community?

[Knight]: I mean, do you feel as though the application is appropriate?

[Knight]: Do you feel as though, you know, we're really going down a street that we're looking at preserving historic houses?

[Knight]: Or do you really think that we're going down the street saying, oh my God, this guy wants to do something.

[Knight]: Why are we letting this happen?

[Knight]: Let's go make it historic.

[Knight]: Because I feel like everything we're doing is reactionary, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I don't feel like there's any proactive work on establishing what houses in this community would be historic until the day they get an application that they want to knock it down.

[Knight]: And I think that that's problematic, you know, if we're going to create historic districts and historic commissions, I got a phone call today from somebody who had purchased a home that I applied for a demolition delay permit.

[Knight]: And, you know, they deemed the home historically significant, and they're moving to create it as a single home historic district.

[Knight]: So now here we have a person that invested a ton of money in a home, you know, he was ready to move in one direction.

[Knight]: as it goes down that street, the game changes.

[Knight]: So I don't think it's fair to people, Mr. President, quite frankly.

[Knight]: You know, I don't mind having people come into the community and make investments in our community and play by the rules.

[Knight]: But I think it's unfair to people that are trying to invest and improve our community to have to be scratching their head and wondering what the certainty and uncertainty is going to be.

[Knight]: That coupled with the impacts this has on our homeowners, you know, I'm having a very difficult time with this.

[Knight]: And I think, you know,

[Knight]: be inclined to support Councilor Mack's amendment to the existing ordinance, you know, should this thing not be worked out appropriately.

[Knight]: So this is a reactionary response to lack of enforcement as opposed to a necessity?

[Knight]: Correct.

[Knight]: So there really is no need to change the existing protocols.

[Knight]: There is a need to invest in more rigorous enforcement.

[Knight]: I don't know.

[Knight]: That doesn't sound like it really aligns with the legislative intent, Mr. President, when it was passed or amended.

[Knight]: But again, I will let the chips fall where they may and see where this leads us after Mr. Mulkey provides us with his comprehensive report.

[Knight]: I don't know.

[Knight]: It gives me a bad taste in my mouth, Mr. President.

[Knight]: It doesn't feel right to me that someone can invest eight, nine million dollars in a home.

[Knight]: and then be bound by so many restrictions and levels of bureaucracy.

[Knight]: You know, especially with all the discussion that we're having about how government operates and the problems that we've seen in Medford relative to its housing and reports that have come out.

[Knight]: You know, I think that sometimes less government is better than more government.

[Knight]: And if in fact, you know, there is this, you know, belief that there's, you know, systemic racism that's going on in Medford,

[Knight]: then maybe we should have less bureaucracy, not more, right?

[Knight]: Because if government's the problem, then why is government gonna be all over everything?

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I rest my case.

[Knight]: I support Councilor Marks' commentary.

[Knight]: And I thank Mr. Mochi and Ms.

[Knight]: Kena for being here this evening to explain.

[Knight]: As the legislative body, these things come to us and we're asked what the intent was when it was passed and what are we trying to accomplish?

[Knight]: preserving and restoring historic homes is what we're trying to accomplish.

[Knight]: And if we're not doing that, then we need to take a better how to look at this.

[Knight]: So thank you very much.

[Knight]: I appreciate it.

[Knight]: I rest my case.

[Knight]: make a mistake, Mr. President, and through to Mr. Mulkey, that this was no criticism on the work that your office does.

[Knight]: Quite frankly, I think you're probably the best run office that we have in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, you're also overburdened as it is right now.

[Knight]: And like Councilor Mack said, to add another layer of

[Knight]: you know, duties and responsibilities and bureaucracy that you're going to be responsible for, you know, might not make sense.

[Knight]: But I want to be clear that this was no reflection on the job that you do or your office does.

[Knight]: I think you guys do a wonderful job.

[Knight]: And I've always said that you're my favorite department in the city because you guys are unbelievable responsive to the things that come up.

[Knight]: So please, I hope you didn't take that the wrong way.

[Knight]: Historic commission, yes.

[Knight]: What do banks do when you want to get financing for a project and you go into a community that has an 18-month demolition delay?

[Knight]: What's it like to get financing on a project?

[Knight]: That's my opinion.

[Knight]: And Mr. President, through you to the gentleman, as a small business owner, can you tell us a little bit about the business you're doing, how many employees you employ?

[Knight]: And again, Mr. President, through you to the gentleman, so you're saying that you probably create on one gut renovation, 20 jobs, 10 jobs?

[Knight]: Let's see, I was at 15 or more.

[Knight]: 15 or more, okay.

[Knight]: And these jobs all pay a living wage, I would assume?

[Knight]: I wish I did.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: I appreciate you taking the time, sir.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: This isn't necessarily particularly about one project, the Park Street project, number one.

[Knight]: Number two, Somerville also wants to charge a person that's selling their home, I think, a 2% surcharge to move out of the community.

[Knight]: So if we're using Somerville as a reference point as to what to do here in Medford, I think we're really going to be in big trouble.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I appreciate the speaker, but I did want to clarify that.

[Knight]: Some of the methodologies that they practice in the city of Somerville come from outer space.

[Knight]: How many homes that were subject to demolition delay were restored?

[Knight]: Was it last week or the week before, maybe, that the city administration announced a pilot program?

[Knight]: And this pilot program, I believe, was called the Shared Streets Initiative, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And the Shared Streets Initiative, the goal was to close certain streets to vehicular access, except for those that require local access only, to allow for some relief

[Knight]: during the COVID-19 crisis to ensure that people can participate in recreational activities while also remaining socially distanced.

[Knight]: If we look at where Pine Ridge Road is located, it's right along the Mystic Valley Parkway by the lake.

[Knight]: This is a recreational area and a recreational destination spot.

[Knight]: So it might make sense, Mr. President, for us to look at Pine Ridge Road as one of those streets that we limit to local access only so that the residents in the neighborhood can

[Knight]: partake in recreational activities while also being safe and also protecting the neighborhood.

[Knight]: We see a lot of out-of-towners and a lot of people come to Medford to utilize the many amenities and resources that we have.

[Knight]: And one of the best resources that we have are the Mystic Lakes, a ton of open space, a ton of protected land that our surrounding communities don't necessarily have.

[Knight]: So people come here as a destination to partake in these amenities.

[Knight]: But in the process of that, we are seeing an impact in our neighborhoods.

[Knight]: So I think that expanding the shared street or piloting the shared street program along Pine Ridge Road is something that would be worthy of exploring, Mr. President, and I'd ask the administration to do such in the form of an amendment.

[Knight]: I know Councilor Caraviello mentions in his paper that Pine Ridge Road could potentially be a private way.

[Knight]: It is a private way.

[Knight]: It is a private way.

[Knight]: I know in the past the council had requested

[Knight]: a paper from Ben City Solicitor Rumley relative to private ways.

[Knight]: And I do think that document will be very helpful.

[Knight]: So I'd like to point out that the council is going down the right track and trying to come up with a solution, I think.

[Knight]: I do believe that the residents of the private way do have the right to implement certain controls, like we've seen in other areas, Momola Way comes to mind.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I just wanted to clarify that.

[Knight]: So thank you.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Mr. President, this has been an ongoing problem for

[Knight]: Gene, let me see.

[Knight]: I think I started working with Charlie Shannon in 1999, and this was a problem then, and it's been an ongoing problem since.

[Knight]: And working with Representative Donato over the last several years and looking at this issue, I think one of the major hurdles that we're facing is the DCR and their engineering division feels as though

[Knight]: The gradient in the sight lines at this location by Wright's Pond are inappropriate for a crosswalk.

[Knight]: They don't meet the standards that have been established.

[Knight]: So while it'll create some pedestrian safety for crossing, I guess it creates some other problems relative to traffic flow and safety of stopping and the like.

[Knight]: So this is an issue that's been ongoing for a number of years.

[Knight]: I thank the Council for bringing it up and I also want to recognize the fact that you know this is something that Mr. Donato has been working on for quite a bit of time.

[Knight]: It's something that needs to be addressed.

[Knight]: The DCR has, you know, done a mismatch of

[Knight]: enforcement applications up along the Elm Street area, whether it comes to parking along the fog line and the like for homes that don't have driveways and some other material movements to, you know, keep the pond safer, keep the area around the pond safer, and also address traffic infrastructure needs.

[Knight]: But right now we're seeing some changes down at the Highland Ave intersection, Mr. President, along the Felsway, which is right down the street as well.

[Knight]: And I think these traffic improvements should help our case in moving forward.

[Knight]: If they can get a traffic study done over in the city of Malden and address some of the concerns that they have over there, right down the street from us in an area that's not abutting one of our most popular recreational centers, then I think it's important that we pursue this.

[Knight]: I think Councilor Marks was on the right track when he spoke about a traffic study and the need for a traffic study over in the Glenwood area or Medford over in Mr. Serino's house and the like.

[Knight]: And I don't think we're going to be able to accomplish the goals that we want to accomplish in this area without our own.

[Knight]: So I'd like to amend the paper and request that our traffic engineer conduct an independent traffic study or conduct an informal traffic study on behalf of the city of Medford to begin to formalize arguments against the state's rejection that's been

[Knight]: well publicized in the past.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I offer that in the form of an amendment, Mr. President, and I thank the sponsors for bringing this matter forward.

[Knight]: Is there a policy in place that the administration abides by or goes by relative to the signing of the hanging of signs and banners on City Hall?

[Knight]: I just, I support, you know, what Councilor Bears is saying.

[Knight]: I say, you know, black lives do matter.

[Knight]: I have no problem saying that.

[Knight]: But I do have a concern when what happens when the next group comes down and says we want to hang our sign on City Hall too.

[Knight]: What are the parameters?

[Knight]: What are the guidelines?

[Knight]: What are the criteria that the administration is going to put into play?

[Knight]: Ultimately, we're not the body that's in charge or control of hanging anything on any city building.

[Knight]: We're the legislative body.

[Knight]: We're responsible for money and zoning.

[Knight]: ordinances.

[Knight]: So in looking at how this is going to play out and going forward, so what are we doing?

[Knight]: We're telling the mayor, hang the sign, and the mayor's going to go, well, I have a policy that says I will.

[Knight]: I have a policy that says I won't.

[Knight]: There is no policy.

[Knight]: We're working on a policy.

[Knight]: I think it's important to know what the rules of the game are.

[Knight]: Yes, Mr. President, you know, it's not the subject matter of the sign that's the issue.

[Knight]: It's whether or not the City Council wants to be the repository for all the requests of what signs you want to hang on City Hall absent the policy, right?

[Knight]: So, like I said, when's it going to stop?

[Knight]: If it's this today, you know, I'm telling you right now,

[Knight]: We're going to have the police here in a week saying that they want to, uh, police lives matter, sign up there.

[Knight]: And a week after that, they're going to be another organization that says that they want to sign up there.

[Knight]: Um, you know, so it's a slippery slope to go down, Mr. President, you know, um, his city hall is a beautiful historic building.

[Knight]: Uh, what we should be focusing on beautifying it.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: Not hanging abandons from it.

[Knight]: In my opinion, um, black lives matter.

[Knight]: I have no problem saying it.

[Knight]: Um, but Mr. President, you know, we're a government organization.

[Knight]: We're a government entity and we have to operate like one.

[Knight]: I personally don't wanna sit here every week and debate the merits of what sign they're gonna hang up next on City Hall.

[Knight]: That's a function of the administration and there should be a policy that goes to that effect.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I support the motion made by Councilor Mux.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: The city of Medford will hang a banner reading Black Lives Matter on the front of Medford City Hall.

[Knight]: Zach, would you be willing to amend that?

[Knight]: I do believe the informal policy of previous administration was only city-sponsored events.

[Knight]: if I'm not mistaken, but that might need to be clarified, but I think that was the ad hoc policy that was adopted by the previous administration.

[Knight]: Mr. President, we do have 15 additional items on the agenda as well.

[Knight]: I do believe it would be pertinent if we allowed everybody who hasn't had an opportunity to speak once to speak before we allow people to speak twice on the same issue.

[Knight]: We're now at 11.30 and we still have 15 items left on our agenda to go through, one of which is a financial paper.

[Knight]: The chair is the parliamentarian.

[Knight]: The chair runs the meeting.

[Knight]: None of the members have objected to the way that the point of information was handled.

[Knight]: As such, I believe that this is an operational issue, no more, no less.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, at this late hour, and based upon the direction that this conversation is going, and very far off course from whether or not we should hang signs on City Hall, it has now really turned into something, I think, a little bit more than that.

[Knight]: I think it might be prudent for us to take a deep breath maybe and refocus where we are and move on with a vote.

[Knight]: I'm sure the city clerk has recorded the notes accurately as he does every meeting.

[Knight]: Maybe we shall refer to the city clerk as to what order these operations were made in.

[Knight]: The chair is the parliamentarian of the meeting.

[Knight]: The chair has relied on the opinion of the city clerk.

[Knight]: The city clerk has made that.

[Knight]: Now, if the gentleman wants to question the ruling of the chair, then he would have to make that motion and question the ruling of the chair.

[Knight]: here on the floor at which time we would vote as a council as to whether or not we support the decision that the city, that the council president made or not.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes, Mr. President, this paper has been something that's been a long time in the works.

[Knight]: I do believe in 2018, a resolution was filed that I sponsored requesting that we expand recreational opportunities in the community, especially passive recreational opportunities at public parks and playgrounds and other open space.

[Knight]: And one of those recommendations that was made was bocce courts.

[Knight]: And through the leadership of Mayor Burke at the time, we were able to start a bocce court project.

[Knight]: And this funding right here is going to allow us to complete that project, more portions thereof.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I move for approval of the paper.

[Knight]: This is something that's been long in the works for a number of years, and it's something that I wholeheartedly support.

[Knight]: Motion to table until the administration can provide us with the dates and locations, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Mr. President, this is a paper that's been two years in the making, two years in the works.

[Knight]: It's gone through a very lengthy vetting process.

[Knight]: I believe we started this in August of 2019.

[Knight]: It went to the Community Development Board.

[Knight]: It came back to the Council.

[Knight]: The Council failed to act in the specified timeframes that are outlined in Chapter 48 of the General Laws.

[Knight]: So as such, this paper is going to be required to be referred back again to the Community Development Board.

[Knight]: because I do not believe we completed that task within the requisite 180 days from when the paper was introduced.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I respectfully request my colleague withdraw her amendment to the paper that's gone through such a lengthy vetting process, and that we send the paper to the Community Development Board for their review and recommendation, at which time it will be reported back to the council, and then we'll have a public hearing.

[Knight]: And that public hearing will take place after which then we'll be able to allow, be allowed to vote on the paper for a third reading.

[Knight]: I think that it might be important for us to get the solicitation from the Community Development Board on what they think about this change in the definition.

[Knight]: The paper that we were working off of was based upon their previous recommendations.

[Knight]: So I think that it's very important, Mr. President, if we want to keep this thing moving through the process, that we do so with post haste.

[Knight]: And amending it at this level in the game I don't think is a necessary requirement.

[Knight]: Number one.

[Knight]: Number two, I think that when you look at the state regulations that define what a restaurant is, the Architectural Access Board has put out regulations that define what a restaurant is.

[Knight]: It's 521 CMR 17.

[Knight]: Restaurants shall be included, but not limited to cafeterias, lounges, bars, and other places open to the public where food and beverages sold.

[Knight]: So I don't think that any place that serves food or beverage in there would be classified otherwise based upon the standard that's been established by the state.

[Knight]: And we all know that the state statute would supersede any local ordinance.

[Knight]: If we look at chapter 138, which is the liquor laws in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the liquor laws in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts create three definitions for breweries.

[Knight]: And those three definitions are a farmer's license, a brewer's license, or a manufacturer's license, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So when we're creating,

[Knight]: certain definitions.

[Knight]: I think that it's important that we, number one, have legal counsel be advising us and helping us draft these items.

[Knight]: Number two, that we have the building commissioner present to discuss with us the impact and application.

[Knight]: So at this point, I think that it's premature to amend the paper.

[Knight]: I think the appropriate step that would be in line with past practice would be to refer to the community development board prior to amendment, and then we have the ability to address it going forward.

[Knight]: But that's my position on it.

[Knight]: I respectfully

[Knight]: request that the councilor make that change, but I understand if she does not want to, and I support her opinion either way.

[Knight]: So thank you very much for indulging.

[Knight]: So if we classify breweries as restaurants or brew pubs as restaurants, then they'd fall outside the brewery ordinance because they'd fall under the restaurant ordinance, which looks like it's used number 56 on a table of use chart.

[Knight]: which would be retail sales and consumer services.

[Knight]: So by right, by right, as a restaurant, in C1, C2, you're allowed.

[Knight]: In industrial, it's a special permit by the council.

[Knight]: In an office, it's a special permit by the council.

[Knight]: In a mixed use, it's allowed.

[Knight]: In an apartment, too, it's a special permit by the council.

[Knight]: So you're confused as to what the amendment does.

[Knight]: I mean, if we're defining that a brew pub is a restaurant, then it would operate outside the scope of the brewery ordinance.

[Knight]: Are we amending the brewery ordinance to define brew pubs as restaurants?

[Knight]: If we do that, are we amending the table of use chart to require that they fall under the new draft that's been put out, or are we asking that they be addressed under use 56 in our existing zoning use chart?

[Knight]: What is it exactly that we're amending here to allow for this to happen?

[Knight]: And if in fact we do amend the ordinance and change this definition, are we allowing brew pubs in areas that we've already vetted prior that would require a special permit or require certain restrictions on brewing?

[Knight]: In the C-1, for example, there's restrictions on barrels and the number of barrels you can brew without a special permit and by right.

[Knight]: But if we look at the use chart for restaurants, there is no restriction.

[Knight]: So I'm confused by the amendment probably because I haven't been able to see it in writing and to see what exactly it does mechanically or operationally.

[Knight]: So I'm not comfortable supporting it this evening, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And I was the sponsor of bringing the brewery on the first paper I filed at the beginning of this term was to give CP out of the brewery ordinance and bring it back to life.

[Knight]: But I mean, I think that if we're going to do it, we got to do it right.

[Knight]: And we've gone through a process here that's taken almost a year, 11 months, and we've made great progress.

[Knight]: And I am very uncomfortable voting on this

[Knight]: at this late with these amendments.

[Knight]: I'm just not comfortable doing it because of the questions that I just raised.

[Knight]: You know, legal counsel has to vet the language to make sure we're not doing anything contrary to law.

[Knight]: If we are, we've got to go back to the drawing board.

[Knight]: If we are, you know, we're put in a worse position, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So I'd ask that the amendments be introduced after maybe they're referred to legal counsel and then we can introduce them or attach them at a later date.

[Knight]: I just do think it's important to point out, Mr. President, that the unamended paper before us is the paper that the council had reported out favorably and has to be placed on the agenda.

[Knight]: The legislative process allows for amendments to be made, but the paper that's before us is the paper that the council voted on.

[Knight]: The amendments weren't adopted through the committee of the whole process or the proper vetting process that's been established previously.

[Knight]: It's for those reasons that I will be in.

[Knight]: The uncertainty as to how this amendment will impact the zoning use chart and the application of the special permit process, for those reasons, I'll be voting against it this evening.

[Knight]: I support breweries, I was the sponsor of the resolution, but I didn't understand when I got emails today, I didn't understand what they were talking about.

[Knight]: Support the Medford brewing,

[Knight]: amendment.

[Knight]: I didn't know what that meant.

[Knight]: I thought we were making an ordinance for breweries in the city of Medford, and apparently this is an amendment for Medford brewing, which was my misconception.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I'll rest my case, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I'm not comfortable voting for it this evening for the reasons that I stated, and so be it.

[Knight]: But it's definitely a worthy endeavor and just something that, you know, once it gets through the process for a third reading, you know, I'll be happy to vote for it after I understand it a little bit better.

[Knight]: But as of right now, I'm not comfortable doing so.

[Knight]: No more than a procedural difference, Mr. President, that's all.

[Knight]: Mr. President, this isn't a licensure hearing.

[Knight]: This isn't a hearing on your licensure.

[Knight]: This is a hearing on the ordinance that's before us.

[Knight]: We understand what you're trying to accomplish.

[Knight]: Can I ask a question?

[Knight]: What in the existing ordinance prevents you from doing that?

[Knight]: What in the existing ordinance prevents you from doing that absent an amendment?

[Knight]: What I'm saying is, what in the existing ordinance prevents you from calling, from opening a brew pub?

[Knight]: I mean, I think that there's three type of brewery license that you can get, right?

[Knight]: A farmer's, a farmer brewer, a pub brewer, a manufacturer brewer, right?

[Knight]: Those are the three types of brewery license that you can receive, and those are all defined by state law.

[Knight]: And a restaurant is also defined by state law, right?

[Knight]: So underneath the existing ordinance, what is it that you're not able to achieve?

[Knight]: What's the district zoned at now that your potential location is in?

[Knight]: Is it non-conforming use or is it something like that?

[Knight]: That's why you're looking for this amendment?

[Knight]: That's what I'm trying to figure out.

[Knight]: He's much more intelligent than I am as well, Nick, not you.

[Knight]: He's good.

[Knight]: I know Sean for a number of years.

[Knight]: He's great.

[Knight]: So ultimately, what we're doing is we're not moving this out of the brewery ordinance.

[Knight]: What we're doing is putting a definition into the brewery ordinance that would allow them

[Knight]: to also sell bottles of vodka that they don't make on site if they get the proper license for it.

[Knight]: Budweiser, Bud Light products if they want to serve those products because those are products that are provided by a distributor and not manufactured on site.

[Knight]: And then the limitations on the production or the sale is capped at 25%.

[Knight]: Can you clarify that?

[Knight]: Now we'll come down to what state license you obtain, right?

[Knight]: And I do understand that in the licensing process, you know, like you said, you have to go through the, at the federal level, the, the ATB, the Alcohol Tobacco Firearms Bureau, and at the state level, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

[Knight]: So there is, you know, some levels of bureaucracy, yeah, because you know, the stuff can blow up and everything else.

[Knight]: And you know, I mean, it's, it's not easy to make.

[Knight]: Okay, I understand this a little bit better now.

[Knight]: You know, I still would like legal review.

[Knight]: So, you know, this evening I probably will not support it.

[Knight]: However, in the future, once I get my clarifications from council and I feel comfortable, I will.

[Knight]: So thank you very much for allowing me at this late hour to take up more time than we needed to.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Yes, sir.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: One more paper, one more paper, one more.

[Knight]: The election day stuff.

[Knight]: Mr. President, after this, can we wrap it up and table everything and go to bed?

[Knight]: I got to be up at five for work.

[Knight]: This is ridiculous.

[Knight]: Motion to waive the reading, Mr. President, and allow a representative from the administration please provide us with a brief synopsis, including the dates, times, and locations.

[Knight]: So it's just kind of like peapod, but it doesn't go to your door.

[Knight]: You got to run up to the car and pick it up.

[Knight]: So it's pretty much, it's like Grubhub that cooks it in the car on the way to your house?

[Knight]: Okay, I get it.

[Knight]: And, you know, so say that the truck is coming to a neighborhood,

[Knight]: Does the truck stop and stay there though?

[Knight]: You know, I mean, is the truck blocking the street, but you know, do they need street closure permits or anything like that?

[Knight]: Is it like a block potty type of deal or like a picnic or something?

[Knight]: Or is it more like the thing pulls on the sidewalk and you go up to the ice cream truck?

[Knight]: And they'd only be able to come five times to the city and that's it based upon what this is saying?

[Knight]: All right, so this is almost like a trial program to see if this works?

[Knight]: Oh, it's gone too long?

[Knight]: The motion was to take the National Grid permits, Mr. President, to grant the location.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Going forward, Mr. President, as a practice, I feel as though it might be appropriate for us to not hold public hearings at 1 o'clock in the morning.

[Knight]: And I think that, you know, when looking at the way that things have been going and the length of our meetings as of recent due to this wonderful technological advancement that we're using here to promote transparent government, that, you know, we might have to adopt a rule of some sort or amend our rules, Mr. President, to keep these meetings to be within a reasonable timeframe.

[Knight]: You know, I think all the studies that we've ever read will show that meetings aren't productive if they last more than two hours.

[Knight]: And we're going on about six now and it's

[Knight]: 1.30 in the morning.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I have no problem with the paper.

[Knight]: I'll move for approval this evening.

[Knight]: But it does raise concern that we're having a public hearing at 1 o'clock in the morning that was advertised for 7 o'clock in the evening yesterday.

[Knight]: I'm just saying, as a practice going forward, I think that this might be not the best of them.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Mr. President, you're the chair you can pick what you want so it doesn't matter to me.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: So Tim, as I understand the project that's before us this evening, the only matter that the council really has the purview to vote on this evening would be whether or not we authorize the land taking.

[Knight]: Is that correct?

[Knight]: And I did hear in your presentation that a hundred percent of the property owners that are impacted by this have signed off on the project There's there's no actual sign off Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: So, but you've, so have you had, has their personal contact been made with 100% of the people that are going to be impacted by this?

[Knight]: Yes, that is correct.

[Knight]: I just, you know, I don't want to see this thing, say we vote on it tonight and then tomorrow someone saying, what the hell are they doing on my front lawn?

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: I want to make sure that everybody's well aware.

[Knight]: Communications have been a strong suit in the city of Medford when it comes to certain aspects of construction projects.

[Knight]: So based on the current financial state at the federal and state level, is that commitment for those funds still there?

[Knight]: OK.

[Knight]: And the last question that I have, and I promise it's my last question, would be, what's the estimated cost to the taxpayer for the completion of this project?

[Knight]: You said it's about $83,000 in Chapter 90 funds that we're going to be using from our budget that would go to roadway repairs for this project.

[Knight]: Is there any other expenditure that would have to come out of the city's coffers in order for us to complete the project?

[Knight]: You know if there's any water valves that need to be replaced we replace them things like that In terms of just the scope of the grant, you know, I mean, I'm not worried about other structure projects that might come along with it I mean if we're planning smartly, I would hope that that's what we do I would hope that if we're gonna up the street that we go on the ground and we fix the underground infrastructure to Yeah, but in terms of the funds Yeah, okay

[Knight]: All right, great.

[Knight]: But it wouldn't exceed $100,000 is what you're telling me based upon the 83,000 from the Chapter 90 funds and then any ancillary costs.

[Knight]: Right.

[Knight]: It's already been

[Knight]: That money's out the window already.

[Knight]: Right, okay.

[Knight]: All right, so in terms of the overall investment that the city's made in the return on the investment, we're looking at making an investment of maybe somewhere around $150,000 for the total cost to the community, and we're getting a million point two back?

[Knight]: Yeah, that's a good way to put it, yep.

[Knight]: Okay, excellent.

[Knight]: Thank you, Mr. McGiven.

[Knight]: I appreciate it.

[Knight]: You always do come prepared.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I think based upon what I'm hearing from my colleagues that this thing's ready for a vote and I'd move for approval of the paper.

[Knight]: Second Mr. President.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: I'm getting an unstable connection right now, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Motion to receive and place on file.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: And I thank you for going through that very long history that was outlined.

[Knight]: in the resolution that Councilor Caraviello and I have put together.

[Knight]: Ultimately, it was a long resolution because there's a longstanding history of the allowance of a use variance here in our community.

[Knight]: And if you look at the history, Mr. President, you'll see that in 2016, an opinion was asked of the solicitor.

[Knight]: The solicitor produced an opinion that said use variances were authorized in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: In 2017, we had a proposal

[Knight]: that was made by a Councilor to deauthorize use variances in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: If, in fact, use variances weren't authorized in the city of Medford, there would be no need for a Councilor to file a paper requesting that they be deauthorized in 2017.

[Knight]: In 2018, Mr. President, another paper was offered before the council by a Councilor to deauthorize the use variance.

[Knight]: Again, this paper failed to pass.

[Knight]: If use variances did not exist in the city of Medford, there would be no need for the legislative body to bring a proposal forward to deauthorize the use variance in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: Mr. President, then we have a roll call vote that passed by super majority, adopting the city solicitor's opinion of August 12th, 2016, which states that use variances are allowed and authorized in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: The solicitor's opinion went on to say that the codified ordinances in the city of Medford do not reflect such.

[Knight]: There was a Scribner's error that has been made and that we can correct this Scribner's error by passage of resolution.

[Knight]: The council passed paper 18376, which called for adoption of the city solicitor's opinion and amendment to the codified ordinance to reflect such.

[Knight]: Allowing the use variance has been a longstanding policy in the city of Medford, Mr. President.

[Knight]: It is the public policy established by the council, the legislative arm of this community.

[Knight]: It is the job of the boards and commissions in this community not to establish public policy, but to execute it.

[Knight]: When applicants before the Zoning Board of Appeals are being told inaccurate information that use variances are prohibited, when they clearly are allowed,

[Knight]: as supported by the opinion of the solicitor, the lack of a legal challenge, and the action of the legislative body in the community, this irresponsible action opens up the city to vulnerabilities and liabilities.

[Knight]: Applicants before the Zoning Board of Appeals have the right to be heard.

[Knight]: The Zoning Board of Appeals has applicants before it that are requesting use variances.

[Knight]: The Zoning Board of Appeals is raising the question,

[Knight]: Do use variances exist in the city of Medford?

[Knight]: That question has been answered.

[Knight]: It's been answered and it's been time-tested, Mr. President.

[Knight]: The Zoning Board of Appeals is in a position right now to take a look at this issue, to reaffirm the opinion of the city solicitor or to challenge it.

[Knight]: But applicants that come before the Zoning Board shouldn't be turned around, turned away when someone makes a statement saying, I don't have the authority to issue use variances.

[Knight]: They're not authorized in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: when the legislative history clearly indicates that they are.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I ask my council colleagues to support this resolution as before.

[Knight]: Yes, Mr. President, ultimately,

[Knight]: The city solicitor came up with an opinion.

[Knight]: The opinion has gone unchallenged.

[Knight]: In 2018, this council by a super majority vote adopted that solicitor's opinion.

[Knight]: If we look back at the lawsuit from 2016, one thing I think that we're failing to talk about is the fact that we got thrown out of court by the judge by having no standing.

[Knight]: The issue has never been decided.

[Knight]: It was never challenged because it was never decided.

[Knight]: Ultimately, the question before this council is, have we adopted

[Knight]: The city solicited his opinion based upon the research that he performed, which would be the law of the community that says use variances are allowed.

[Knight]: This council has adopted that opinion.

[Knight]: That is the legislative history.

[Knight]: The Zoning Board of Appeals is authorized to move forward on the...

[Knight]: To change that, there's a process to go about changing that.

[Knight]: When Papers 17007 and Papers 18354 came before the council, they failed.

[Knight]: In 2016, we challenged the local street development, and there was a discussion about use variances.

[Knight]: In 2016, the solicitor also put an opinion, and it said use variances are authorized.

[Knight]: In 2017, a paper was filed to deauthorize use variances.

[Knight]: In 2018, a paper was filed to deauthorize use variances.

[Knight]: If use variances didn't exist, there'd be no need to file the papers.

[Knight]: In 2018, the council then went on to say, look it, use variances do exist.

[Knight]: It is the legislative intent of this body, the legislative body responsible for the implementation of the Zoning Act to clarify that this does exist.

[Knight]: And we want to pass this

[Knight]: clarification on to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

[Knight]: That's what this paper is.

[Knight]: You know, use variances are allowed because that's been determined by the city solicitor.

[Knight]: And that's the law of the land.

[Knight]: You're the point.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I do believe that I've presented quite a bit of documentation relative to the fact, and that documentation was produced by the administration and produced by the city's lawyer, the city solicitor.

[Knight]: Ultimately, I think we need to keep the facts straight.

[Knight]: What the council appealed,

[Knight]: was whether or not we had standing, not whether or not use variances exist in the city of Medford or anything else.

[Knight]: What we appealed was whether or not we had standing.

[Knight]: And then we went through that appeal and we negotiated a settlement.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: So ultimately the history is there.

[Knight]: The legislative history clearly shows what the intent is of this council.

[Knight]: And we have a solicitor's opinion that comes well before the council took these votes.

[Knight]: So I leave it up to my council colleagues.

[Knight]: I move for approval of the question.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I don't think that, you know, presenting facts to the Zoning Board of Appeals based upon the legislative history of this body and the opinion of the city solicitor does anything other than reaffirm our position on use variances and let them know where we stand so that moving forward, we're all working in concert with the intent of the Zoning Act.

[Knight]: Actually, to clarify, Mr. President, I'm referring to the council vote that was taken on paper 18376 by roll call, which passed with supermajority.

[Knight]: You know, um, the legislation passed, this body passed a resolution, that resolution reaffirmed the solicitor's opinion and corrected the scriveners that were in the codified version of our ordinances.

[Knight]: I mean, I don't know how much simpler it has to get than that.

[Knight]: Um, that action took place.

[Knight]: It hasn't been undone.

[Knight]: That action hasn't been undone.

[Knight]: So just because there's been turnover on the council.

[Knight]: doesn't mean that the action's undone.

[Knight]: That's like saying, because we passed an ordinance five years ago and the body's changed, the ordinance doesn't count anymore.

[Knight]: That's not the way it works.

[Knight]: The body acted, the body passed it.

[Knight]: That was the legislative intent at the time, and that should carry through until it's changed.

[Knight]: Because the Zoning Board of Appeals doesn't create public policy, they execute it.

[Knight]: The Medford City Council creates and establishes public policy.

[Knight]: That policy's been established and the Zoning Board of Appeals is using their discretion.

[Knight]: to say, no, you can't bring an application before us when they can't.

[Knight]: Are they a violation?

[Knight]: I think that the Zoning Board of Appeals made an error, an error in judgment that's opened the city up to liabilities by refusing to hear an application for an individual that's applied for a use variance based upon the legislative history and the solicitor's opinion.

[Knight]: Yes, I do.

[Knight]: I feel as though they made an error.

[Knight]: And that's why I put this resolution forward.

[Knight]: And that's why I took the time to research the legislative history so that we'd all understand that this is how it went down.

[Knight]: Yes, it clarified the situation.

[Knight]: The solicitor gave us an opinion that said that there was a scrivener's error in the codification of the ordinances that happened in 2001.

[Knight]: The city solicitor has produced a document from August 12, 2016 that includes history of his research.

[Knight]: Part of that history is an email exchange between the solicitor and the MuniCode company that we use to codify our ordinances.

[Knight]: And if you go through that email, you can see the history and the back and forth, MuniCode even saying that it's an error, that use variances are allowed and never should have been changed.

[Knight]: So there's plenty of documentation backing up the fact that the codified ordinances that were done in 2001 contained a Scribner's error relative to use variances.

[Knight]: We asked for clarification, we got it.

[Knight]: We've adopted the clarification as law in the community.

[Knight]: I just want to make sure, Mr. Not taken that way at all, Councilor.

[Knight]: No, it's not.

[Knight]: We've actually moved to correct the language.

[Knight]: However, the codification last occurred in 2001.

[Knight]: Based upon the meeting that we had just an hour or two ago, the next step that this council is going to take going forward with our zoning reform would be a recodification.

[Knight]: At that time, I think that this error would be addressed anyhow.

[Knight]: However, in the meantime, we have applicants that are applying for use variances.

[Knight]: They're not given their day in court.

[Knight]: They deserve the right to a hearing.

[Knight]: Whether they get denied or not, they shouldn't be told they can't apply and that they can't present their case.

[Knight]: They should be given the opportunity to present their case.

[Knight]: Well, it's up to the Zoning Board of Appeals insofar as whether or not they have the authority to issue the use variance.

[Knight]: With the zoning board saying we don't have the authority to issue the use variance if we had the legislative body is saying no you do Because our legislative history and the intent of the acts they should do there's a problem.

[Knight]: By way of the vote on paper 1 8 3 7 6 we addressed it those we addressed those two conflicting sections We adopted the list of his opinion.

[Knight]: There's no longer two conflicting sections.

[Knight]: Mr. President, based upon the conversations that we had last Wednesday evening, the financial picture in this community is grim.

[Knight]: I think it's incumbent upon us as city councilors to make sure that we are informed as best we can be when it comes down to the current financial circumstances that are facing this community.

[Knight]: We've seen our private outside

[Knight]: can help you get revenue forecasts of what to expect for the next fiscal year.

[Knight]: One of those things is an $8 million budget shortfall at this point in time.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I put several resolutions on this evening on similar subject matter.

[Knight]: And what they are is to get information to this council so that we can sit back and begin to craft an informed decision that we need to make on whether or not we're going to pass a budget this year and what that budget is going to include.

[Knight]: On top of that, Mr. President, we need to take a look at certain aspects of our service delivery and identify what's important and essential to us.

[Knight]: And I think that based upon the circumstances that we've all faced, no one can shake a stick at the fact that our public safety personnel are going above and beyond during these trying times right now.

[Knight]: They're essential workers that have been out there on the front lines.

[Knight]: So, I'd just like to see what it is our current staffing levels are, our budgeted staffing levels are, and our minimum staffing levels are to ensure that as we move forward and we face these trying fiscal times, that we do our best to secure as many positions as we can in the public safety realm so that moving forward, we know that the residents in this community are protected.

[Knight]: I think that, you know, we've all said it before, the number one priority and the number one goal and objective as an elected official in this community is making sure our streets are safe and our community is safe, and we can't do that without

[Knight]: public safety personnel.

[Knight]: I ask my council colleagues to support the results.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I would say paper 20345, paper 20346, paper 20350, and paper 20351 are all of similar subject matter and can be consolidated.

[Knight]: I'd ask that you wait for read paper 20350 last Mr. President.

[Knight]: When we go back to last Wednesday evening's meeting and we met with our private outside consultant responsible for auditing here in the city of Medford, he also provided us with some revenue forecasts.

[Knight]: And I was very impressed with the presentation and the level of preparedness that Mr. Roselli brought to the table.

[Knight]: Mr. President, one of the things that he said that I took away that evening was that he is confident that we can start a budget discussion by

[Knight]: June 1st and have a budget by June 30th.

[Knight]: He's given us revenue forecasts that are very conservative.

[Knight]: And moving forward, I think it's important that we work as hard as we can to put together an annual fiscal year budget, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I know there's been a lot of talk about a one-twelfths budget or a quarterly budget.

[Knight]: And I don't think that that's the way to go, Mr. President.

[Knight]: In these discussions that we had on Wednesday evening, we talked about what approach we were going to take.

[Knight]: And there's a question as to whether or not we want to take a wait-and-see approach Wait and see if we're going to get bailed out by the federal government wait and see if we're going to get bailed out by the state government We have revenue projections from private outside consultants that we're paying money to to give us revenue projections.

[Knight]: We have them I feel as though it's important.

[Knight]: Mr. President that we take the bull by the horns That we move forward and we control our own destiny and don't wait for a bailout

[Knight]: If, in fact, we're going to be facing trying fiscal times, then we need to take the bull by the horns.

[Knight]: We need to do things the Medford way, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And sitting back and playing the wait and see who's going to bail us out approach is not the Medford way.

[Knight]: If that were the Medford way, Mr. President, we wouldn't have been the first community in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to have a transit-oriented smock growth development.

[Knight]: If waiting to be bailed out was the method way, Mr. President, then we certainly wouldn't have been able to purchase the grounds where Homel Stadium is for $1 and a land transfer.

[Knight]: If waiting to be bailed out was the method way, Mr. President, then we wouldn't have been able to get our applications in early enough to get a 90% reimbursement on the construction of our schools.

[Knight]: If waiting to be bailed out was the method way, Mr. President, then we wouldn't have been the first community in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to establish a linkage fee

[Knight]: So I think, Mr. President, as we move forward, what we need to do is put together a budget, a 12-month annual budget, where we make hard decisions.

[Knight]: God forbid we have to go forward with those projections that have been presented to us.

[Knight]: God forbid.

[Knight]: Because there's going to be a lot of cuts, and those cuts are going to cut deep.

[Knight]: But we have revenue forecasts right now that give us a worst-case scenario.

[Knight]: So we should be putting together an annual budget based upon the worst-case scenario.

[Knight]: If, in fact, our funding comes back from the feds or the states better than we anticipated, then we have an influx of cash and we'll be able to fill the gaps.

[Knight]: On Wednesday night, we did have a significant discussion relative to where the administration is in the preparation of their budget.

[Knight]: COVID-19 caused the government shutdown beginning on the 13th of March.

[Knight]: We were scheduled to meet the first week in April on the budget, Mr. President.

[Knight]: That was two weeks before the government shutdown.

[Knight]: I doubt the administration was going to be able to put together an entire budget in two weeks, which would lead us all to believe that there was some work being done in the budget.

[Knight]: The city administration has actually confirmed that every single department in the city has presented the administration with their working fiscal year 21 budget.

[Knight]: These documents have not been consolidated.

[Knight]: There is going to be a need for trimming.

[Knight]: Obviously, there are many competing needs in this community.

[Knight]: But we're at the spot right now where we have worst case scenario revenue forecasts, and we have a budget based upon the projections prior to COVID-19.

[Knight]: I think we all want to deliver services at or better than the level that we're at today.

[Knight]: So with that being said, we have a budget that will allow us to do that, that hasn't been consolidated, but East Montgomery has presented that to us.

[Knight]: And we have forecasts, what the money is going to be from our private outside consultants.

[Knight]: So I think, Mr. President, we're in a position where we can put together a 12-month annual budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

[Knight]: It might not be a pretty budget.

[Knight]: It's going to be something that might require some tough decisions.

[Knight]: But at the end of the day, like Councilor Mack said, a budget's made up of 85% salaries.

[Knight]: So cutting a couple of water coolers isn't going to cut the mustard.

[Knight]: We have $8 million to fill, and we've got to start doing it now.

[Knight]: And sitting back and waiting to be bailed out by the Feds is not the measured way.

[Knight]: If it were, we wouldn't have seen the successes that we've seen in the past, and we wouldn't have been able to weather the terrible fiscal times that we've seen in the past, like back in 2008.

[Knight]: Quite frankly, here we are 12 years later, we really haven't recovered from the 2008 cuts that have been made.

[Knight]: Look at our DPW and the staffing levels there.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, we need a 12 month budget moving forward for fiscal year 21.

[Knight]: And I asked my council colleagues to support this consolidated amendment.

[Knight]: And moving forward, I look forward to working with them to solve some of these fiscal concerns that we have here in the community.

[Knight]: I certainly agree with certain aspects of what Councilor Marks said.

[Knight]: One of them being we need to see what the administration's working on.

[Knight]: And at Wednesday night's meeting, that's why I requested that the administration provide us with the copies of those departmental budgets that they've received thus far, so that we can see how far along in the process they are in establishing a budget.

[Knight]: Ultimately, Mr. President, general law would say that the administration is required to present the council with a budget by the 170th day after the organization of government.

[Knight]: So if you see that we have an inauguration,

[Knight]: Administration, 170 days, budget to the council.

[Knight]: That's what the division of local services, state law says surrounding this.

[Knight]: So, you know, while the council doesn't necessarily get involved in producing a budget, if in fact we don't receive a budget by the 170th day, by law, we have the right to establish our own budget and put our own budget together.

[Knight]: We've never done that before.

[Knight]: We've never done that before in the history of the city of Medford.

[Knight]: Never done it before, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Difficult times call for difficult measures and drastic times call for drastic measures.

[Knight]: I'm not recommending that the council put forward its own budget and send it forward.

[Knight]: What I am saying is that we need to be on the same page moving forward and then we have to have an expectation.

[Knight]: And that expectation should be that we have an annual budget.

[Knight]: I mean, I understand where council of business is coming from because ultimately taxpayers in this community deserve to have services and service delivery is what we're here to perform.

[Knight]: But at the same time, borrowing our way out of a financial situation and creating a structural deficit, not only for this upcoming fiscal year, but for fiscal years in the future and establishing a bonded debt for us to pay down for operating costs is

[Knight]: That's scary to me.

[Knight]: That's really creating a structural deficit and relying on reserves or borrowing in order for us to operate our government.

[Knight]: Granted, like you said, 100 years, Great Depression, one out of every five people is unemployed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

[Knight]: Actually, in the nation right now, one in every five.

[Knight]: When you look at it, you can't close the door, but we also have to be very cautious.

[Knight]: We can't borrow and spend out, borrow and deplete our reserves in order for us to get

[Knight]: the situation, the financial situations, the financial situation, the numbers of the numbers.

[Knight]: So I commend the Council of thinking of outside the box solutions.

[Knight]: However, borrowing our way out of a structural deficit, I think is something that's scary to me.

[Knight]: But I rest with that.

[Knight]: No one's asking for a wish list budget from the department heads.

[Knight]: What was represented at Wednesday night's meeting last week was that, I believe the quote from the chief of staff was that we have a fiscal year 21 working budget.

[Knight]: It's not a wishlist budget.

[Knight]: It's a fiscal year 21 working budget based upon the revenue forecast at that time.

[Knight]: So, you know, it's not a wishlist budget.

[Knight]: Now, this coupled with the fact that, I mean, I can go back now, I've done several budgets and going back to Councilor Penta asking for wishlist budgets every single year is a resolution for a time that I was on the council.

[Knight]: I recall these requests have been made in the past.

[Knight]: Um, but I'm not asking for a wishlist budget.

[Knight]: I'm asking for the budget that was prepared for the working budget that was prepared for FY 15 based upon the government shutdown.

[Knight]: So just to clarify that point, I apologize for the family interference.

[Knight]: that he said, I don't think this information will be helpful to you.

[Knight]: And as the person that has to make the decision, I think it would be very helpful to me.

[Knight]: But again, we never requested a wishlist budget.

[Knight]: The question was asked to the mayor, where are you in the process right now?

[Knight]: Government shutdown happened on or around 3-13.

[Knight]: Two weeks, we've been April 1st.

[Knight]: We were scheduled to start our meetings on April 1st.

[Knight]: So where are we?

[Knight]: And she said, all the departments have submitted their budgets.

[Knight]: I haven't had a chance to review them and consolidate them.

[Knight]: Okay, fine.

[Knight]: I said, so we have a wishlist budget.

[Knight]: That was a quote.

[Knight]: So we have a wishlist budget for each department.

[Knight]: At which time the chief of staff said, no, we do not have a wishlist budget for each department.

[Knight]: We have a fiscal year 21 working budget for those departments based upon the forecast prior to COVID-19.

[Knight]: So this isn't a request for wishlist budget.

[Knight]: This is a request for the budget, the budget that was prepared by the department heads and should COVID-19 not have happened,

[Knight]: we would see where we are absent the crisis.

[Knight]: Now we have the, so we'll have a budget here that says, you know, in a perfect world without COVID-19, this is what we needed to meet our goals and objectives.

[Knight]: Here we are with the revenue forecast.

[Knight]: Here's the budget based upon these revenue forecasts.

[Knight]: These are the gaps.

[Knight]: How are we going to fill them?

[Knight]: I can read it, but I can't move on.

[Knight]: Mr. President, there was a motion made to consolidate the papers to one.

[Knight]: With paper 350 controlling.

[Knight]: So it would be paper 20-350, and then the other papers underneath it, all financial matters, all requesting information.

[Knight]: Um, I do believe in recent weeks, Mr. President, the council also put forward a paper requesting.

[Knight]: Yeah, just a few weeks ago we requested an update relative to the runoff issues in front of Citizens Bank as it related to that project as well and I'd just like to reiterate that request as part of this result.

[Knight]: It doesn't have to be an amendment I just think that you know it's a request that's been made so if we can just send them the previous document that was approved by the council again because we haven't gotten an update that would be helpful.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: First and foremost, I'd like to commend Kevin Bailey and Danny Folk on the work they're doing during these trying times in the recreation department.

[Knight]: It's very difficult to establish recreational programming when you can't have anybody in the same place.

[Knight]: And they've been doing a great job pursuing various aspects of socially distance and online recreational opportunities for individuals in our community.

[Knight]: And I'm hoping that we can make a few suggestions to the gentlemen in the recreation department moving forward to implement for the betterment of our community.

[Knight]: I think that, you know, here we are approaching day 60.

[Knight]: Many of us are getting stir-crazy with, you know, being trapped in the house and in the backyard.

[Knight]: There's not much opportunity for us to go out and pursue recreational opportunities that aren't passive in nature.

[Knight]: And we've seen a lot of work.

[Knight]: take place to bring some of these services online.

[Knight]: And it's been met with a measure of success.

[Knight]: It's been met with certainly some enthusiasm in the community, and I'm hoping that we can take this momentum and build upon it.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I commend

[Knight]: the efforts of the recreation department and the work that they're doing and thinking out of the box to bring services to the residents in this community.

[Knight]: And because they're doing it in a virtual setting, they're able to do it in a way that's at a significantly low cost to the taxpayer and the community.

[Knight]: Celebrate a birthday party, birthday but can't have a party.

[Knight]: Stuff like that, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So I'm hoping that my council colleagues will support.

[Knight]: Once again, right?

[Knight]: Once again.

[Knight]: I got to call the governor.

[Knight]: I want to see if he can lend me his guy, just in case.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I also raise the question, if in fact, you know, we had a 10-year trash contract that was extended for the period of time, when was it that

[Knight]: The other condo associations in this community have been contacted relative to whether or not these bulk pickup and recycling services are available.

[Knight]: If they refused these services 15 years ago and they haven't been asked again, I think that will be problematic.

[Knight]: The taxpaying residents in this community, they should have access to the services that are provided.

[Knight]: So just because they've opted out at one point in time, I guess the question is,

[Knight]: To what frequency is the city requesting or monitoring this?

[Knight]: I mean, the contract's a 10-year contract, so would it be, you know, they don't come back and ask for 10 years?

[Knight]: It's all by request?

[Knight]: So it might make sense then for the DPW to do an outreach if in fact I'm gonna get a Maple Park, which I support wholeheartedly.

[Knight]: The question is, you know, do we make sure that everybody understands that they have the option to do this and extend to them the same olive branch that we're extending Maple Park or the same courtesy that we're extending Maple Park to be sure that they're aware that they have access to these services if they've in fact denied them previously.

[Knight]: Also, Mr. President, yesterday, there was a tragic fire on Canal Street in West Medford, and a number of families have been displaced from this fire.

[Knight]: So I'd ask that the city administration and the school department

[Knight]: report back to the council as to what steps are being taken to help these families out.

[Knight]: It's my understanding that we've seen GoFundMe pages that have been created and stuff like that.

[Knight]: But in times like this, the community needs to come together.

[Knight]: So I'm hoping that if there's an action plan or if there's any resources available to these families that we'd be provided with notice so that we can take the appropriate steps to help out in any way that we can.

[Knight]: I'm on?

[Knight]: I'm on now, okay.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I do know we have representatives from the administration here as well.

[Knight]: In my conversation with the mayor earlier this afternoon, it's my understanding that these two amendments would create classifications that are more in line with the functions and responsibilities that these individuals are performing in their office.

[Knight]: The first amendment, amendment A, for director of communications, it's my understanding, would be a reflective title of the position that was held by Ms.

[Knight]: Devaney.

[Knight]: under the previous administration.

[Knight]: And it's also my understanding that the Director of Community Affairs position under Amendment B would be reflective of the position that Ms.

[Knight]: Fisk held under the previous administration.

[Knight]: So what this is, Mr. President, is actually bringing their functional titles to be in line with the duties and responsibilities.

[Knight]: But I won't steal Dave's thunder.

[Knight]: Let him give us a brief synopsis of what's going on.

[Knight]: I'd appreciate it.

[Knight]: Yeah, Mr. President, if I may, I spoke with the mayor last Thursday or Friday about the same issue, requested job descriptions.

[Knight]: I know she forwarded them to the city clerk's office, and the city clerk had distributed them to the members of the body as well.

[Knight]: I, for one, Councilor,

[Knight]: I don't see any issue with this paper.

[Knight]: I think that the mayor deserves the right to be able to surround herself with her own team for what she feels is going to make her time in the corner office successful.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I move for approval of the paper, Mr. President.

[Knight]: It is an ordinance, so it's going to have to go through three readings.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: And Mr. Bernal, thank you for being here this evening.

[Knight]: So what I'm hearing is that ultimately you're coming before us this evening to ask for the tools that you need to necessarily comply with state mandates.

[Knight]: And meet the objectives of the office that have been put forth by the Board of Assessors.

[Knight]: Mr. President, move for approval.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I'd like to make a suggestion.

[Knight]: This is a PACS project.

[Knight]: We are well aware that the PACS department does have a revolving account that's open with modern hardware, I do believe, with a

[Knight]: do purchase a lot of their paint supplies.

[Knight]: So it might make sense to coordinate with IDPW because I believe we do get some bulk purchasing rates versus regular retail rates.

[Knight]: So this $3,000 might actually end up being $4,500 if we spend it the right way with some of our in-house contacts that we have.

[Knight]: So I'd suggest that you meet with the PACS Commissioner, Mike Nestor, and speak with him a little bit about whether or not you guys can utilize the account that they have available.

[Knight]: And use their bulk purchasing to get some of the supplies that you need to get this done But congratulations, wish you the best of luck.

[Knight]: Retabling the public hearing or retabling the vote on the petition?

[Knight]: He left, no he's not, so that's why.

[Knight]: Okay, sounds good to me.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I bring this paper forward in response to the 223-2020 legal opinion of the acting city solicitor, which responded to a question asked by the President that was prompted from an inquiry from a citizen.

[Knight]: And the question was,

[Knight]: Is a paper offered under suspension, is a resolution offered under suspension a violation of the council rules because it's not on the agenda?

[Knight]: And the question was asked in the broadest of terms and the solicitor answered it in the broadest of terms and the response came back yes.

[Knight]: Papers that do not show up on the agenda that are brought up under suspension are violations of the open meeting law.

[Knight]: Then the solicitor's response went on to go into specific detail about matters that could be reasonably foreseen and matters that could not be reasonably foreseen and emergency matters, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So in an effort to allow us to still raise certain issues under suspension and in review of some open meeting law,

[Knight]: determinations that I was able to put my hands on, one of them being the Oxbridge decision.

[Knight]: I came up with some language that would allow us hopefully to have the ability to still offer papers under suspension, but still comply with the open meeting law.

[Knight]: Because based upon the 310-2020 committee of the whole that we just had, there was a lot of discussion surrounding the solicitor's opinion and what could or could not be offered under suspension.

[Knight]: So with that being said, this is an attempt to address the solicitor's opinion and still provide us with the flexibility that's necessary based upon some open meeting law determinations that have been issued by the Office of the Attorney General.

[Knight]: As we are all aware, the Office of the Attorney General is the authority that's responsible for compliance with the open meeting law.

[Knight]: Any complaints that would be filed against this public body deliberating in violation of the open meeting law would be handled by the Office of the Attorney General, Mr. President.

[Knight]: What I'd like to do is ask that this paper be sent to the city solicitor for a legal review to see if it complies with her legal opinion.

[Knight]: and get a response back, and then potentially take a look at the way that we do business internally to ensure that we have more transparency, but we still also have the ability and availability to bring papers under suspension.

[Knight]: The first meeting of this term, Mr. President, I did put a paper forward requesting that we change the night of our meetings from Tuesdays to Wednesdays.

[Knight]: And the reason I brought that proposal forward was because, based upon the open meeting law, you need to have 48 hours before your meeting to have the notice posted with the agenda.

[Knight]: Because our meetings are on Tuesday, weekends and holidays don't count.

[Knight]: So we need to have to get our agenda out on Friday morning or Thursday afternoon, dependent on whether or not we had a Monday holiday.

[Knight]: So that would only allow us a very limited amount of time to put items on the agenda.

[Knight]: Upon review of items that have been filed on the agenda, it was

[Knight]: pretty one in every four, every five matters that this council discussed by way of resolution that was getting put on the agenda, was getting put on under suspension and never being actually placed on the agenda and seen by the general public when the notice was posted.

[Knight]: So this prompts me to bring forward another proposal for rule changes to allow us to be a little bit more transparent, to allow us to have some items on the agenda.

[Knight]: for discussion and deliberation or to put items on the agenda at a future date for discussion and deliberation that come up under suspension.

[Knight]: So I'd ask my council colleagues to support this measure in moving this matter to the city solicitor's office for a legal review.

[Knight]: And that's about it, Mr. President.

[Knight]: That's the presentation in a box and bow.

[Knight]: This has no impact whatsoever at all on the public participation portion of our meetings.

[Knight]: This is really just related to council action.

[Knight]: Only a councilor can bring forward a resolution.

[Knight]: Only a councilor can make a motion.

[Knight]: So this only affects the actual conduct of councilors.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I do believe that pursuant to the council rules, every 90 days you can introduce a paper that's been deliberated on and addressed and deliberated to conclusion.

[Knight]: So I'm really not too sure what he's getting at.

[Knight]: Ultimately, the city solicitor issued an opinion.

[Knight]: That opinion came out on February 23rd, 2020.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This is an attempt to establish an extended illness leave bank by ordinance for all city and school department employees.

[Knight]: An extended illness leave bank is a bank where existing employees can donate one of their leave days to a pool.

[Knight]: And if one of their co-workers suffers a catastrophic injury or illness, they're able to draw down upon those leave days if they've exhausted all of their own.

[Knight]: And there are certain parameters and requirements that are in place to be sure the people that become eligible to draw down these extended illness leave days aren't sick leave abusers.

[Knight]: The state has a very similar program, and when I say very similar, I copied the language from Massachusetts General Law Chapter 4, Section 7P.

[Knight]: I'm sorry, Chapter 7, Section 4P, to create this ordinance.

[Knight]: And then just put in that advisory council language, Mr. President, how we're going to administer this sick leave bank.

[Knight]: So what I'd ask is that we obviously have a committee of the whole on a piece of legislation that's this wordy with the city solicitor and the director of personnel.

[Knight]: to determine what steps we can take to establish an extended illness leave bank.

[Knight]: I said that we should first make a 75 day investment in the bank to get it up and running to allow existing employees that are out on extended leave to begin to draw down on the bank.

[Knight]: And then we can establish an extended illness leave bank advisory council that will be able to come up with rules, regulations, monitor the program and

[Knight]: The Director of Personnel is the Program Administrator, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So this is really an attempt to try to put something in place to do something good for the residents, for the workers here in the city.

[Knight]: When you sit back and you think about people that have suffered from catastrophic injury and catastrophic illness here in the city of Medford, you think of people like Richard Lee,

[Knight]: fought a very, very public battle with pancreatic cancer and wasn't able to beat it, Mr. President.

[Knight]: But had 40 years of service here in this building, but was still out for an extended period of time.

[Knight]: And we talk about someone like Joe Conway or Brian Rabbit, who we all

[Knight]: stood beside and wished him well wishes when he's going through a very public battle with pancreatic cancer right now, Mr. President.

[Knight]: This is something that'll help employees that have been good public servants here in the community, that have given their all to the community.

[Knight]: I'm hoping that we can put something in place that provides a protection and a safeguard for these employees, so that if something unforeseen and catastrophic does happen related to their health or their physical well-being, that there's a safety net that's there for them.

[Knight]: We value our employees, and I think that we should make steps to show it.

[Knight]: Based upon the language of the ordinance that is proposed, it gives discretionary authority to the extended on this lead bank advisory committee to come up with the regulations to determine what will work for both the workers in the community, what will work for the city in the school department, because we don't want to obviously also have a financial situation.

[Knight]: It's pretty much, aside from the 75 days that first get dumped into the pool by the government, after that, it's all donated days.

[Knight]: And the parameters would be established by the extended illness leave bank advisory committee.

[Knight]: So no parameters has been established on how many days people can put in?

[Knight]: No, no.

[Knight]: I believe the language says, and it's right in the second paragraph, I think.

[Knight]: Any employees completed one day of service may participate by donating to said bank any earned, sick, personal, or vacation leave time in such an amount and with such frequency as said regulations shall permit to maintain a sufficient balance in the bank, but not less frequently than annually.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This is a companion paper to the one relative to the rules that we discussed earlier, 20089.

[Knight]: What this paper does is it defines what an order is, what a resolution is, what a petition is, and establishes a process, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Now, we've seen, especially around election time, the inordinate number of petitions that get filed at the rail to discuss issues that aren't necessarily something that requires a council vote, a special permit, a signed reversal, grant a location, and the like, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So only a Councilor can file a resolution pursuant to our laws.

[Knight]: Only a Councilor can file an order or an ordinance pursuant to council resolutions in the law.

[Knight]: So what this does is it just defines what a petition is, it defines who's an appropriate petitioner and who isn't.

[Knight]: And someone that's not an appropriate petitioner would still have the ability to come up to the council and discuss anything that they want to discuss with the council and appear before the council when the time is right at the meeting, during the public participation portion of the meeting, wherever that may be, because it seems like there's an appetite to move that based upon the discussion that we've had surrounding the rules.

[Knight]: in recent days.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, this is nothing more than an attempt to provide a little bit more order, a little bit more transparency, and streamlining the process for the way that we do things so that we don't run into a situation that we discussed earlier in our committee of the whole meeting, violations of the open meeting law and circus-like atmospheres coming up here at the council meetings.

[Knight]: So that's the intent of the resolution.

[Knight]: That's why I'm bringing it forward.

[Knight]: You know, every order and resolution must be endorsed by a Councilor.

[Knight]: Because the council rules also say that any paper that's on the agenda has to be disposed up to a conclusion.

[Knight]: If someone files a petition, but they don't have official business before the council that requires the council to vote statutorily, it's in essence the filing of a resolution.

[Knight]: So that should be placed in the public participation portion of the agenda.

[Knight]: Very similar to the matter that we have on the agenda here this evening, I do believe, under 20099.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I ask my council colleagues to support the paper.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Council night.

[Knight]: I do believe the term is referred to as bully pulpit, Mr. President, and when you become an elected councilor, you have the right to file any resolution or order that you'd like, and it comes up to the rest of your colleagues to determine whether or not they feel as though that's something that they want to pass on.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I thank the gentleman for coming up here and agreeing with me, and I hope we can move forward on the issue.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: I do believe if the gentleman reads down to the next sentence, all of the petitions filed shall be placed on the public participation portion of the agenda and not assigned to council paper number.

[Knight]: So anybody that does file a petition that doesn't comply with the statutory mandates that require council action would then be placed on public participation and still have the opportunity to show up on the agenda under public participation, still have the opportunity to appear before this body and speak just like they have in the past.

[Knight]: just whether or not they get assigned a council paper number because it's really filing of a resolution if you're getting assigned a paper number because our council rules require us to dispose of all items on the agenda.

[Knight]: So that's what my intent was, Mr. President, to clarify and streamline.

[Knight]: If the paper doesn't fall within the parameters of what a petition is defined as, then it would be pushed into public participation.

[Knight]: I didn't propose any order of business changes to the council rules.

[Knight]: I'd be happy to put something together and offer that next week if you guys want me to.

[Knight]: It seems like I'm on fire.

[Knight]: But you know it's the plain language reads.

[Knight]: You know if it's not something that the council is required to act on by law It's not if we if it's something that you know if we don't act on it's going to be constructively accepted Then it will go to public participation presentations and all of that can go right to public participation unless they're requested by a council of a council at sponsoring someone to come and do a presentation and

[Knight]: So Mr. President, I think if the council takes a vote to say we want INSTA to come and do a presentation on the pipeline project, that's one thing.

[Knight]: But if someone shows up and says, I want to talk about the Red Sox middle relievers, you know what I mean?

[Knight]: That goes to public participation.

[Knight]: We're asking someone to come and give us a presentation.

[Knight]: That's one thing.

[Knight]: If someone wants to discuss with us what's going on, that should happen in public participation.

[Knight]: In just in looking at the rules when I was reviewing the suspension of the rule stuff and then I saw the petition as well and you know no order or resolution should be

[Knight]: It can be filed by anybody but a councilor.

[Knight]: So once that paper gets filed and it gets a number on it, that's a resolution number.

[Knight]: That's a council paper number.

[Knight]: That's someone filing an ordinance that's not a member of the board or the body.

[Knight]: That's all.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: Because we have to dispose of all items on the agenda that are given a board number.

[Knight]: But you have to dispose of all items on the agenda, regardless.

[Knight]: That's one way to do it.

[Knight]: It streamlines our internal operations.

[Knight]: Just as I stated in my presentation, Mr. President, this is more about defining the parameters of what it is that we're trying to do and streamlining the way that we do it so that our meetings don't turn into a circus-like atmosphere and environment.

[Knight]: You know, the more that we know, the more that we have it defined, the better off we are, in my opinion.

[Knight]: You know, that's where I'm coming from.

[Knight]: There's no nefarious intent here, Mr. President.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: I'm just trying to make sure that we do things properly and that we streamline things.

[Knight]: We've gotten an opinion from the city solicitor that I think should be given a little bit of attention.

[Knight]: I think it's, you know, a little bit serious when the solicitor gives us an opinion that says that any time you take something up that's not on the agenda or under suspension, that it's a violation of the open meeting law.

[Knight]: then all the talk that surrounded that suspension talk was whether or not people were going to have the opportunity to come up to the podium and speak.

[Knight]: We have a dedicated section in our agenda for people to come up to speak on any topic they want, whenever they want, however they want.

[Knight]: So I'm not seeing how this is having any impact on anything.

[Knight]: All it is is internal controls for the council and how the council operates.

[Knight]: And I don't think, and I'm not taking that away Councilor at all.

[Knight]: Point of information, Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: The proposal says that all the petitions filed shall be placed on the public participation portion of the agenda.

[Knight]: So I don't understand why we wouldn't be able to deliberate on it.

[Knight]: It's still on the council agenda.

[Knight]: It doesn't matter if it has a number or not.

[Knight]: If it's on the agenda, it's on the agenda.

[Knight]: What I'm saying is that it shouldn't be assigned a number because all papers on the agenda need to be disposed of in one fashion or another.

[Knight]: Only a consulate can file an order of resolution.

[Knight]: So at the end of the day, if someone files a petition that doesn't comply with the proposed rule change, they get put on the agenda under public participation, the section that it's appropriate for.

[Knight]: But as long as it shows up on the agenda, based on the solicitor's opinion, I see no reason why we wouldn't be able to deliberate, discern, or take any further action as a body.

[Knight]: Because it's on the agenda.

[Knight]: The city clerk is well aware of the fact that, you know, if someone applies for a grant of location, we're an administrative authority, we're a tribunal.

[Knight]: So there's an application that's necessary to be filed in the clerk's office for any of these actions to take place, whether it's a grant of location, a conviction was licensed, a sign reversal, there has to be some sort of application action that takes place in the clerk's office to prompt that to come here from an administrative standpoint in government.

[Knight]: Official business matters.

[Knight]: For example, we had a Kino license that sat on the table for a number of days.

[Knight]: The Kino license was in our Zoning Act.

[Knight]: Because it's in our Zoning Act and we're the special permit granting authority, it falls under Chapter 48, Section 5.

[Knight]: There are actions that we need to take and we need to act in a certain amount of time.

[Knight]: I believe the amount of time was 90 days.

[Knight]: Failure to act within that 90-day period results in a constructive acceptance of the Kino license at that location.

[Knight]: If we don't take a vote on it, it's a constructive acceptance.

[Knight]: It also opens us up to legal

[Knight]: action because it's within our zoning act and we failed to act as a special permit granting authority.

[Knight]: So what I'm trying to do, Mr. President, is delineate items that are under council purview and require council action and items that aren't under council purview and that council can't effectuate.

[Knight]: in terms of taking a vote and it's happening tomorrow.

[Knight]: You're approved, it's done, expect to have it tomorrow.

[Knight]: There are certain items that come before this body that we can't do that on.

[Knight]: A lot of items we're asking people across the hall to do stuff for us.

[Knight]: What I'm saying is if in fact we're going to have a petition that gets filed, the petition should be for something that requires council action by law so that

[Knight]: We're aware that this is something that's serious business, that's part of our job, that we're required to take action on.

[Knight]: I'm not saying that public participation is something that shouldn't happen, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I'm not saying that that section should be eliminated.

[Knight]: I'm not saying that people should not be allowed to participate in public at all.

[Knight]: What I'm saying is let's streamline the processes.

[Knight]: Let's define what a petition is.

[Knight]: Let's say this is what a petition is.

[Knight]: It's something that requires council action because if we let the ball drop on a petition,

[Knight]: we open ourselves up to certain legal ramifications.

[Knight]: We have certain obligations based upon the oath that we took, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Some of those things are duties and responsibilities that were required to execute.

[Knight]: The majority of those duties and responsibilities that come before this council that were required to execute by statute of law comes in the form of a petition by way of an application for action by the council pursuant to some sort of established and enabled legislation, whether it be the granting of locations, the reversal of signs, the issuance of convictual licenses.

[Knight]: Right?

[Knight]: So all I'm saying is a petition is reserved for those matters that require council action.

[Knight]: And if we don't take it, then we're in violation and everything else can go into public participation.

[Knight]: If someone wants to come before the council and speak, that's fine.

[Knight]: Come before the council and speak.

[Knight]: Just do it at the right spot of the meeting.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: Point of information, Council Knight.

[Knight]: Rule 33, order of business, item 10, public participation.

[Knight]: It's outlined in the rules.

[Knight]: It didn't show up on the agenda because there is no public participation paper on the agenda this evening.

[Knight]: but it is outlined in the order of business under rule 33.

[Knight]: And I'm not gonna suggest any, yeah.

[Knight]: The filing of petitions.

[Knight]: shall be reserved for these matters.

[Knight]: All other petitions filed shall be placed in this portion of the agenda.

[Knight]: Right, and how many times do you think people fill out a petition that don't actually have the requirement for council action by law that still file the petition?

[Knight]: So someone's going to file a petition, right, and the clerk's going to have it.

[Knight]: The clerk's going to look at it and go, yeah, this isn't something that's required by law.

[Knight]: Put that on public participation.

[Knight]: The way that I envision this, Mr. President, would be Mr. Krause gets up and he's, you know, filed for to be on the agenda during the public participation portion of the agenda.

[Knight]: Mr. Krause gets up and he speaks about something that he cares a lot about, which would be a scoreboard at Playstead Park.

[Knight]: All right, let's say, you know, we're trying to push for a scoreboard at Playstead Park.

[Knight]: These are the steps we've taken to get the scoreboard at Playstead Park.

[Knight]: We're looking for the council help.

[Knight]: What can the council do?

[Knight]: Mr. President, motion to, uh,

[Knight]: make an amendment relative to motion to make a resolution on behalf of Mr. Crouch's speech that the city of Medford take the following steps to affirmatively secure the school board a place to park.

[Knight]: Oh, okay.

[Knight]: You made a motion.

[Knight]: Everybody agree with that?

[Knight]: Yep.

[Knight]: Okay.

[Knight]: It's assigned a paper number.

[Knight]: There you go.

[Knight]: Follow up.

[Knight]: Councilor just took the council just took ownership of that issue, put their name on it, said, this is mine.

[Knight]: I'm making this motion.

[Knight]: I'm owning this.

[Knight]: I'm putting ownership on this issue.

[Knight]: I just wanted to say that I prefaced my comments with Mr. Krause, and I said, say that he had put the paper on for public participation.

[Knight]: We did it in advance, because we all- What if he didn't?

[Knight]: Then we can't talk about it, because the city solicitor gave us the opinion already.

[Knight]: Regardless of whether or not we change petition or don't change petition, we can't talk about it, because the solicitor already said it'd be a violation of the open meeting law the minute the body deliberates on a matter that's not on the agenda.

[Knight]: It would still be on the agenda.

[Knight]: That's right.

[Knight]: It's on the agenda.

[Knight]: It's going to be in public participation.

[Knight]: What's the difference?

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: It's just a different section of the agenda.

[Knight]: So if he's on the agenda under public participation, he has the right to come up and talk.

[Knight]: Then a councillor can say, this is my issue and adopt it.

[Knight]: And then they can take ownership of the issue.

[Knight]: You know, instead of having someone comes up to the podium and we're going to have the seven competing people step over each other to see who's going to do the most with this person when we're all here.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: At the meeting.

[Knight]: And then it dies.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: We can take ownership of the issue.

[Knight]: We can say, hey, look.

[Knight]: All right.

[Knight]: I put this proposal forward on behalf of Mr. Krause to get $15,000.

[Knight]: I'm going to get him the answer.

[Knight]: As opposed to, oh, that's a great idea.

[Knight]: This person was up there.

[Knight]: I agree with this person.

[Knight]: I agree with that person.

[Knight]: Send it forward.

[Knight]: You know what I mean?

[Knight]: Send it to the mayor.

[Knight]: I just think it streamlines the process a little bit.

[Knight]: I think independently.

[Knight]: We're a body.

[Knight]: I think I'm an individual.

[Knight]: I'm a member of this body, but I think as an individual.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I echo Councilor Caraviello's sentiments regarding Mrs. Moss.

[Knight]: I have the good fortune of being very close friends with Hank and Dennis, and they're two of the finest individuals you'll ever meet.

[Knight]: And their mom did a great job raising them as a father of two sons, I hope.

[Knight]: and pray that when my kids reach adulthood that they are of the same character and integrity that Hank and Dennis have.

[Knight]: They're two great individuals and they're a certain and absolute reflection of the work that their parents put in.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I just want to join Councilor Caraviello and hopefully my council colleagues in extending a deep and sincere condolence to the Morse family.

[Knight]: Priscilla will be sadly missed and she did a lot of good for this community and that good carries on in her children and grandchildren.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I'd ask that my council colleagues join me in supporting this measure.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This is a relatively self-explanatory proposal.

[Knight]: I'd like to refer this to the city solicitor for validation of form and codification, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Where we're going to put it in the ordinance isn't to be sure that it's in proper form.

[Knight]: However, in looking at it, ultimately, there's been a fight for 15 across the country.

[Knight]: To live in the city of Medford and make less than $15, you're not going to be able to make it.

[Knight]: to live in the city of Medford and make $15.

[Knight]: You're going to have $15 now.

[Knight]: You're going to have a very difficult time trying to make it.

[Knight]: This is an opportunity for us to show that we value our employees, that we believe in the work that they do, that we feel as though our public servants provide a high-quality level of service to the community, and they should be compensated accordingly.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I raise this measure and bring it forward for further debate and discussion.

[Knight]: I'd like to ask that the city solicitor put this in proper form and codification, and then we can, again, reconvene on it upon conclusion of legal review.

[Knight]: Lifeguards.

[Knight]: Camp Councilors.

[Knight]: Park police.

[Knight]: Substitute teachers.

[Knight]: These are the people that will be impacted and affected by this, Mr. President.

[Knight]: People that provide a very valuable service to the city.

[Knight]: We talk about lifeguards, it writes point.

[Knight]: pretty happy to say that I haven't heard about any type of situation up at Wright's Pond in a very long time, because we do a great job training our lifeguards up there, and we have full complement to staff, and we want to keep it that way.

[Knight]: We talk about the parks police, Mr. President.

[Knight]: You know, I can remember a time when I was a child where the parks were crazy.

[Knight]: When the sun went down, the parks turned into war zones.

[Knight]: And now, as you drive through the city and you see the parks in the summertime and the park police are on board,

[Knight]: We're not seeing those same problems that we used to have.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I just think it's very important to point out who would be impacted and affected by this.

[Knight]: It's only city and school department employees, and it's only ones that make less than $15 an hour.

[Knight]: During budget deliberations and over the course of the past term, all of the collective bargaining agreements in both the school department and the city side, at one point or another, reached a conclusion and got wrapped up.

[Knight]: all contractual employees were receiving a wage that was above $15 an hour, with the exception of those few that I've just mentioned.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I don't think this is gonna be something that's gonna have a major impact on the bottom line, but it will certainly have a major impact on the lives of those individuals that are working here and the employee of the city of Medford, and they're gonna be benefits of a fair wage.

[Knight]: If the Massachusetts minimum wage exceeds $15 an hour, then the employee shall receive the Massachusetts minimum hourly wage.

[Knight]: So as the state sets it is how our employees will get it based upon this proposal.

[Knight]: Correct.

[Knight]: We're going to let the state dictate and we're going to follow.

[Knight]: Referral to the solicitor.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I find this to be a rather self-explanatory resolution, ordinance change rather.

[Knight]: In looking at it for my council colleagues, the language in bold would be the new language being added to the existing section.

[Knight]: The remaining language in the section would continue to remain in full force and effect.

[Knight]: A few weeks back, we had some discussion about the removal of a number of parking spots along High Street and

[Knight]: discussing the issue with residents in the neighborhood that were impacted by it.

[Knight]: I thought this might be an interesting compromise, a way that we could address some of the neighborhood concerns, but also move forward with the project, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Now with that being said.

[Knight]: I would request that this paper be sent to the building commissioner as well as the code enforcement officer for review and recommendation.

[Knight]: Where it's a zoning ordinance, it does have further ramifications than just this 94-151 section.

[Knight]: I know that there's another section on zoning code that talks about what a suitable parking spot would be and what the parameters of that parking spot would be.

[Knight]: had conversation with John Bovuso from the building commissioner's office and he's asked for the opportunity to take a look at this.

[Knight]: So I'm requesting that my council colleagues join me in moving forward with sending this to the building commissioner's office for review from the building commissioner and the code enforcement officer for recommendations.

[Knight]: And then we can have a future discussion on it after those come back.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: May I be so bold, Mr. President, to amend the paper to request that in the discernment, the building department also look at the green space requirements associated with intercourt parking.

[Knight]: And I offer that in the form of an amendment.

[Knight]: That the Building Commissioner's Office also review during the discernment the green space requirements.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This has been something that we've been kicking around now for what seems like four and a half, maybe five years, where the mayor's taken a public position that she's going to be recusing herself from the issue.

[Knight]: We have a zoning subcommittee that's ready, willing, and able to finish up the draft and bring it forward to the committee of the whole for future deliberations and discussion.

[Knight]: So I'd ask that the council colleagues support this resolution in moving forward with the issue.

[Knight]: Mr. Cruz, Mr. President, I'd like to call the meeting to order.

[Knight]: Aye.

[Knight]: Aye.

[Knight]: In favor of the paper.

[Knight]: It seems like the gentleman's causing quite a disruption to our citizens.

[Knight]: Present.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I move to take paper 2013 out of order.

[Knight]: This was a paper that was before the council previously.

[Knight]: We sent it back to the mayor with a request for amendment and it has come back as

[Knight]: The council amended it.

[Knight]: I'd like to ask a representative from the administration to come up and just give us a brief synopsis of the paper that's before us, and then hopefully move for a vote.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I do believe, Mr. President, that the special revenue fund was a recommendation that was made by the Division of Local Services from the Department of Revenue to establish generally accepted accounting practices on how to spend the funds that come with these host community agreements and community impact agreements.

[Knight]: Based upon the language that's been provided to us and the review of the language that's been provided to us previously, it seems as though everything's in order and the recommendations of the council have been adopted by the administration.

[Knight]: As such, I'd move for approval of the paper.

[Knight]: On the motion of- No, no, it's actually a home rule petition, it's going to the legislature.

[Knight]: It's a home rule petition, so it will go to the legislature.

[Knight]: Yes, we can.

[Knight]: Second.

[Knight]: restricted available funds used to supplement the budget.

[Knight]: By definition that's what it is.

[Knight]: Motion to receive and place on file.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Last term when this council did adopt the increase from $20,000 to $40,000, which passed unanimously before the body, we raised a question to the city assessor asking her to conduct a cost analysis and feasibility study of adopting the state maximum.

[Knight]: She reported back to us, I believe, right around the time we were setting the tax rate.

[Knight]: that she was still working on that document.

[Knight]: So I'd just like to add the paper that the council had adopted back in March of 2019, I'm sorry, May of 2019, I believe it was either the 20th or the 28th in that meeting, making that request.

[Knight]: And add that to the agenda as part of the discussion, Mr. President, because if we're going to make a decision about this type of issue that's going to have a certain impact on our finances here in the community,

[Knight]: then at the very least we need to have a feasibility study or a cost impact analysis done so that we have an understanding of what impact it's going to have on the bottom line in the community.

[Knight]: So my motion would be to join that paper.

[Knight]: To include it as part of the meeting.

[Knight]: It doesn't necessarily have to be joined to this paper tonight, but when the meeting is conducted, that it's conducted when we have the cost analysis and feasibility study.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I believe it was early in December that we were up here singing Rosemary praises for her recent achievement being named Medford's 2019 Citizen of the Year.

[Knight]: And as such, just recently, at the end of this month, earlier this month, she celebrated a very momentous birthday.

[Knight]: So it's been quite a year for Rosemary.

[Knight]: She became a citizen of the year and an octogenarian.

[Knight]: I'd like to wish her a very happy 80th birthday and ask my council colleagues to join her.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Paper 17321 was introduced in 2017 before the council.

[Knight]: It had gone through a subcommittee process and was a paper that was reported out favorably by the subcommittee on ordinances, I do believe, and then was never scheduled for a committee of the whole.

[Knight]: And that was a paper that was also designed to regulate drop boxes here in the community of Medford.

[Knight]: During the deliberations and discussions of this issue, one thing came up that was very important.

[Knight]: We have a textile recycling fundraising program at our elementary schools and our middle schools and

[Knight]: facilities exemption was something that was very important at the time, and I'm sure that still holds true.

[Knight]: So moving forward, if we're going to regulate donation drop boxes by way of ordinance, I'd just like to request that school and city facilities be excluded from the ordinance.

[Knight]: That would be an amendment to the main paper, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Point of information, Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: I think it's important to point out that this council sued the Board of Appeals relative to that decision that they made.

[Knight]: We took this case to court and we lost.

[Knight]: We were found to not have standing.

[Knight]: The Medford City Council filed suit and was thrown out.

[Knight]: And the land court judge had found the city legislative body had zero standing to appeal the issue.

[Knight]: We got thrown out.

[Knight]: We spent $60,000 to be told we didn't have standing.

[Knight]: Then the question was, are we going to spend another 60 grand to be told that again?

[Knight]: But I rest my case, but I just wanted to point out the factual history of the process and what went down with Locust Street.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilman.

[Knight]: We weren't sitting back on our hands saying, oh, Locust Street's going on.

[Knight]: That's not what happened.

[Knight]: We sued the city.

[Knight]: We sued the zoning board.

[Knight]: I believe it was 40, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And we weren't, we weren't, we weren't, uh, you know, co-defendants or co-appellants.

[Knight]: We were an individual entity that moved forward as a, in a silo, not with the neighborhood, not with anybody else, but we're in the best interest of the community.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I support the resolution wholeheartedly.

[Knight]: I do think it's important to point out that if the council does have in fact legal counsel to provide it with legal opinions, the legal opinions relative to ethics and the like would have to come from

[Knight]: Statutorily, the city solicitor's office, we can't have our own council giving us opinions related to that, but we can use this person for the very important job of drafting framework ordinances, Mr. President.

[Knight]: That's something we need.

[Knight]: It's something, you know, just in the very short time that we've been meeting as a council, we've taken, you know, several resolutions that have been filed that we've been asking for draft ordinances to be put together on that have been two and three and four years in the making, not because the city solicitor wasn't able to do it,

[Knight]: Capability-wise, it was because he has to run the everyday operations of an entire city, as well as, you know, that he had the requests that this body makes.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I think that this is a step in the right direction.

[Knight]: It was my number two priority, Mr. President, when we talked about council priorities.

[Knight]: Number one, improving the way we deliver services here in this community, making sure that when you pick up the phone and call because your trash barrel wasn't picked up, that someone comes and picks it up for you.

[Knight]: When you say there's a pothole in front of your house, it gets fixed.

[Knight]: When your sidewalk needs to be repaired, it gets done.

[Knight]: Number one priority, service delivery and improving the way we do it.

[Knight]: Number two priority, getting counsel for the Medford City Council so that we can put out a better work product at a faster pace, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Do need this.

[Knight]: We do really need this.

[Knight]: It's not something that we don't really need, Mr. Strehler, it's something that we do really need.

[Knight]: You know, when you're looking at the number of draft ordinances that we've requested just since this body's met this term.

[Knight]: We're looking at nine, nine draft ordinances.

[Knight]: That's more, nine ordinances is more of a work product than we put out in a term, and I can't tell you in how long.

[Knight]: If we get those draft ordinances produced to us, I guarantee you we're gonna put out a stronger work product than we have in the past.

[Knight]: If we have some council that's working for us, dedicated X amount of hours a week, putting those work products out, I guarantee you we're gonna do more work than we've done in the past.

[Knight]: I think if you look at the ordinances before you, it says that the issue of funding for the City Council to hire an additional legal services line item be discussed.

[Knight]: Now, I think it's also important to point out, Mr. President, that Mayor Burke

[Knight]: during this fiscal year has already committed to us $40,000 for professional and legal services in the form of a zoning consultant.

[Knight]: That money's never actually been transferred into our line item for professional legal services in the city council's budget and the budget of the legislative.

[Knight]: It sits in a revolving fund for special services that lays in the auditor's office.

[Knight]: So, with that being said, you know, we already have funds that are available to us that have been committed to us and have been budgeted to us for the purposes of legal or professional technical services, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I think what we're looking at doing is figuring out a way that we can best capture these funds and start utilizing them so that we can put out a stronger work product.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Everybody that knows me knows I love my amichis.

[Knight]: Probably once a week at least, I go down to amichis and get.

[Knight]: couple slices of pizza before I make my way up here to the city council meeting.

[Knight]: I'll get two slices of cheese with that great, you know, sauce-cheese ratio and the great flop that they have down there at Amici's, Mr. President.

[Knight]: But a couple weeks ago when I was getting out of my car to pick up my dinner before I came to the council meeting, I noticed that the drainage issue right in front of Amici's, recently they had a complete streets program down there and they did a bump out in the curb right where Amici's and Paul Revere's is.

[Knight]: And that bumped out, but the gradient isn't conducive to proper drainage.

[Knight]: So what's going on, Mr. President, is the water's pooling and it's becoming at least five, six, seven inches deep at some point, which renders that parking spot.

[Knight]: And that's the parking spot that sits right out in front of, you know, four businesses that specialize in takeout food, Hong Kong Village, CB Scoops, Amici's, and Paul Revere's.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, it's having a negative impact on the businesses that worked on, that are operating down in West Bedford Square.

[Knight]: Also, when they did this complete streets project and they did put the bump out in, they took away a parking spot and a half.

[Knight]: So to add, you know, insult to injury, on top of losing a parking spot, now there's another parking spot there that is

[Knight]: virtually useless to the business district in times of inclement weather.

[Knight]: So I'm asking that the engineering department take the appropriate steps to hold the contractor accountable that did the work and get them back out there to fix it so that the fine people that are trying to get a nice slice of pizza down there in West Medford Square are able to do so, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: And Max, it was a pleasure meeting you earlier this evening.

[Knight]: I've known your uncle and your dad now for a number of years, and I just want to let you know how proud we are as citizens of the city of Medford.

[Knight]: I mean, think about the accomplishment that you and your teammates were able to achieve.

[Knight]: Not only do you represent Medford, Massachusetts, you represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and you represent the United States of America, and you came back with a gold medal.

[Knight]: And that's something you should really be proud of.

[Knight]: And I really want to thank you for all your hard work and dedication.

[Knight]: making this possible and bringing home the gold to the old 02155.

[Knight]: Thank you very much for your work on this and congratulations.

[Knight]: It's a great accomplishment.

[Knight]: You should be very proud of your goals.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I just want to thank my council colleague, Councilor Marks.

[Knight]: I think he gave a very thorough and thoughtful presentation that laid out the issues that are really concerning this community and also presented solutions.

[Knight]: So I appreciate his passion for the subject of thoughtfulness and the way that he put this together, and I support it wholeheartedly.

[Knight]: How are you?

[Knight]: Good to see you.

[Knight]: I spoke with you the other night.

[Knight]: I spoke with your husband as well.

[Knight]: Relative to the debris that was left on the front lawn.

[Knight]: And I left the city engineer's office on Wednesday evening with the assurances that there was going to be someone down there to clean it up.

[Knight]: It was cleaned up.

[Knight]: Excellent.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: And it's my understanding that the pole was installed by National Grid.

[Knight]: At that point in time, but they're installing it for future work So this the grid actually put the pole in right the work that's gonna happen is gonna be Verizon But I didn't want to follow up with that to make sure that that happened because when I spoke with your husband last They might have came out a little later in the day than earlier than he expected So that was just my concern I just didn't want to come home and have this I

[Knight]: You are?

[Knight]: My dear friend, Mr. President, who would appear before this council as city solicitor, who has gone on to his retirement, would always come before this body and remind us that there is a difference between a public hearing and a public meeting.

[Knight]: And a public hearing would be something that is a creature of statute that is required by law versus a public meeting, which is something that we can call.

[Knight]: So I would just like clarification from the council as to whether or not we're looking for a public hearing or a public meeting.

[Knight]: I would assume it's a public meeting because the council doesn't really have a vote over whether or not these things can go into play.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I think it's also very important to point out that this is the year 10 of the census.

[Knight]: This is also the census that will have an impact on the redistricting of our state house and congressional seats.

[Knight]: So it's very important that we do complete the census and fill it out so that we give an accurate count to the people that are making up the districts.

[Knight]: Because maybe then we can get a rep that represents all of Medford and not just a portion of it.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: Mr. President.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Being someone who's 40 years of age and thinking back and saying that my whole entire life, since I've been on this earth, Carol was working in one way or another for the city of Medford is amazing when I think about that, because I feel old.

[Knight]: I can just imagine how she feels after putting four decades in to the City of Medford, Mr. President.

[Knight]: She was a great worker.

[Knight]: She was someone who was pleasant to be around.

[Knight]: Like Rick said, small in stature, but really someone that you knew had a presence in the office and had a presence in the room.

[Knight]: Did a great job down in the clerk's office.

[Knight]: That was the relationship that I was able to develop with her over the short period of time that I've been working here in City of Medford's government.

[Knight]: but she will sadly be missed.

[Knight]: You have a great team down there, Clerk Hurtubiseest, and she was a key player.

[Knight]: As we see time pass and we see Dottie leave, now we see Carol leave, and we see the changing face of the clerk's office.

[Knight]: Ed Finn leave and you come in.

[Knight]: It's a very interesting time right now, and I just want to have the opportunity to thank Carol for all the work that she did down there and how she helped transform the office into what it is today.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This is an item that came up during the last legislative session in the State House and it was defeated.

[Knight]: And then this council, if you recall last term, asked the licensing commission to examine a feasibility as to whether or not it would make sense to implement the NIP ban with the issuance of new licenses or the transfer of licenses among our package stores here in the community.

[Knight]: That resolve was filed in direct response to the state legislature not being able to pass the expansion of the bottle bill to NIPS.

[Knight]: This piece of legislation was refiled.

[Knight]: It's coming up for a hearing right now in the Department of Telecommunications and Energy subcommittee, I do believe, Mr. President.

[Knight]: But the intent of this resolution is to have this council go in support in extending the bottle bill to NIP bottles with the hope that that will result in proper disposal and recycling of these plastic bottles that we can find just about anywhere in our community.

[Knight]: River Cleanup Day, if we go down there, you'll see thousands of them.

[Knight]: You walk through the parking lot down at Anthony's Liquor Store, you see them all over the place.

[Knight]: They're everywhere, Mr. President, and it's become an epidemic in our community, so much so that the council thought about taking action on it, and the state delegations thought about taking action on it, and the state legislatures thought about taking action on it.

[Knight]: Well, it's time to take action, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So I'm asking that this council request that the city clerk be authorized with the power to draft a letter supporting House Bill 2881 and send that to our state delegation and request that they vote in favor of it.

[Knight]: and take whatever appropriate steps they can to get favorable recommendations out of subcommittee and make this come to a reality.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Today, Mrs. Roberti was laid to rest, a longtime resident of Leiden Ave.

[Knight]: Her husband, Nick, is a very close friend of mine, and it's very sad to see her go.

[Knight]: I first met her maybe nine or ten years ago at a community event, and her daughter, and she was just a very wonderful person, very nice lady.

[Knight]: Her husband, Nicky, is a great guy as well, and we're really sad to see her go.

[Knight]: She was a stalwart in the neighborhood.

[Knight]: a friendly face that everybody could come up and say hello to and talk to.

[Knight]: She was always willing to open her door and her home to any individual in the neighborhood.

[Knight]: So with that being said, she will be sadly missed in the South Medford neighborhood of Lydon Avenue, Mr. President, as we all know, especially up that fire in South Medford and that stretch of South Medford that's a very close-knit community.

[Knight]: And everybody down there knows each other, walks into each other's house without knocking the door, and so on and so forth.

[Knight]: And this was no different for Mrs. Roberti.

[Knight]: So she's certainly someone that will be sadly missed.

[Knight]: She was an asset to this community and we're sad to see her go.

[Knight]: I'd like to have my council colleagues join me in offering the deepest condolences to her family on her recent passing.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This is an issue that we've discussed as a council and a body for a number of years, and we were moving in the right direction.

[Knight]: A lot of our meetings were being scheduled after 6 PM in the night for our boards and commissions.

[Knight]: And we've been running into some circumstances with certain boards and commissions, a meeting.

[Knight]: At a time of the day that's not conducive to doing business with residents of the general public, people that work for a living and have a concern in the neighborhood can't attend a meeting because they have other obligations.

[Knight]: So back several years ago, we requested that Mayor Burke make changes to the meeting structure and the boards and commissions were all meeting after 5 p.m.

[Knight]: at night.

[Knight]: And that was all well and good for a period of time.

[Knight]: And then as time passed, so did the stringency of those requirements, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And certain boards and commissions are now meeting at a time that's not really conducive to conducting business in the government sphere for quality of life issues in the neighborhood, such as the traffic commission, for example.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, we had some discussions in our priority meeting about what direction the council should be going in over this next term.

[Knight]: And one of the things that came up was the meeting times of boards and commissions.

[Knight]: And while the boards and commissions don't fall under council purview and do have some autonomy, they also do fall under the branch of the executive.

[Knight]: And the mayor does have the power and authority to issue an executive directive or an executive order that would say that they're not allowed to meet before 6 p.m.

[Knight]: Monday through Friday so that people that live in this community, but also work for a living, will have the ability to come to these meetings and participate in their government.

[Knight]: So that's the intent behind this proposal, Mr. President.

[Knight]: It's something that Councilor Falco and I spoke about before the meeting this evening, and it's something that I hope my council colleagues will join me in supporting.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: President Falco.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I think Councilor Scarpelli has got great timing.

[Knight]: Just a couple of weeks ago, our zoning subcommittee met under the direction of Chairman Falco.

[Knight]: And one of the topics that we discussed in that meeting was inclusionary housing and inclusionary zoning ordinance, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And I think it's the time right now is to really address the issue that we have here in the city of Medford or affordable housing or the lack thereof.

[Knight]: And one of the focuses that we've had is obviously meeting the threshold that's established by the state of 10%, but also retaining and replacing the expiring new stock of affordable housing units in the community.

[Knight]: This is something that I wholeheartedly support.

[Knight]: I thank Councilor Scarpelli for bringing it forward, and I look forward to working with him towards a finished product.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I'd like to amend the paper with a B paper and request that the administration report back to the council.

[Knight]: What the process is for permitting fields at this point in time, Mr. President, usually it goes before the parks board.

[Knight]: The parks board meets once a month when they have a quorum, and then permits are issued.

[Knight]: And I don't think it's the most effective or efficient process.

[Knight]: Here we have a recreation department with a budget of $315,000 annually that hopefully will be up and running sometime soon.

[Knight]: And the way that we're permitting our fields I don't think is going to be conducive to the best use and the best possible practices that we can do at the municipal level, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So I'm asking that the administration conduct a review of the permitting process for their fields and provide recommendations as to how we can improve that to maybe a weekly permitting process as opposed to a monthly permitting process.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Councilor Nice.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I just want to congratulate Justin on taking over the family business.

[Knight]: We've seen his father in there and grandfather Paul before that, one of the great basketball players of Carpark history and Carpark folklore.

[Knight]: Justin, same type of business, same type of, just a new name?

[Knight]: Just a new name.

[Knight]: All right, excellent.

[Knight]: Well, I wish you the best of luck and congratulations.

[Knight]: President, I move for adoption of the committee report.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: With a recent school place shooting taking place, Councilor Scarpelli and I were having a conversation about

[Knight]: the tragic situations that's happened in America here when it comes to gun control.

[Knight]: And one of the questions that came up was, are we doing enough in our public buildings to keep our employees safe?

[Knight]: Then this evening when we got here, it's been brought to my attention, Mr. President, that there was a little bit of a situation in our public schools.

[Knight]: over the past week or so, month or so, I should say, that's been brought to our attention.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I move for approval on the underlying resolution.

[Knight]: I'm sure there are many individuals in the audience and they would like to come up and speak on the topic of what happened at our schools today.

[Knight]: We can keep them as separate issues and open that up to public participation and move for approval on the paper.

[Knight]: And let me-.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much, and Mr. Belson, thank you for being here.

[Knight]: I appreciate your being so candid with the situation and accepting responsibility for what's going on.

[Knight]: With that being said, when will the investigation be complete?

[Knight]: Superintendent Belson, now we have the STARS program, and what would the normal reporting process be in the STARS program if a situation like this occurred?

[Knight]: I was there.

[Knight]: I was there.

[Knight]: And Mr. Belson, if this incident had occurred when school was in session, what would the response have been?

[Knight]: In terms of identifying failures in the reporting system, I think that this has been opened up as a failure in the reporting structure.

[Knight]: And where's the biggest failure that you've identified thus far in terms of the reporting structure?

[Knight]: Is it between the cleaning contact crack to giving it to the senior custodian, the senior custodian not reporting it to the principal appropriately?

[Knight]: And I guess the next question is, what are the next steps that we can hear from so that we can be assured that this isn't going to happen again?

[Knight]: Do you have any knowledge as to whether or not the school committee is going to continue to allow rental opportunities to outside organizations in our schools?

[Knight]: Is this something they're going to be looking at from a policy standpoint?

[Knight]: No, and I'm not asking for that.

[Knight]: I don't want to see a knee-jerk reaction to address an issue in the community that I think needs a long hard look.

[Knight]: And I can certainly appreciate how candid you are this evening, and thank you for being here.

[Knight]: That does it for my questions.

[Knight]: Thank you very much.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I just ask that we request, um, upon the conclusion of the investigation, a copy of the investigative report, uh, the findings thereof and any remedial action that may or may not be taken, um, after the,

[Knight]: investigation is completed for our review.

[Knight]: If that material is not available to us for privacy reasons or whatever, I would ask that a presentation be made to a committee of the whole so that we can go over that and hear what happens at the end.

[Knight]: We're at the beginning right now, Mr. President, but I'd like to come full circle on this and see some type of closure.

[Knight]: So I'd like to get a better understanding as to what happens once the investigation is over and what steps going forward are going to be taken.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Councilor Dello Russo.

[Knight]: Mr. President, this evening the Subcommittee on Ordinances met to discuss an ordinance regulating short-term rentals, also more familiarly known as Airbnb or vacation rental by owner.

[Knight]: The subcommittee has put together a group of key priorities that we'd like to see drafted into an ordinance.

[Knight]: Copies of these key priorities have been distributed to the membership as well as the city solicitor.

[Knight]: Subcommittee had voted to move this paper forward favorably to a committee of the whole With the request that the city solicitor put a draft ordinance together for us to further deliberate and discuss move for approval the committee report Paper 17 542 16

[Knight]: Oh, we, we, we, yeah, the 2016.

[Knight]: We did that already.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I'd like the record to reflect that I recuse myself from voting on this subject matter.

[Knight]: Mr. President, the question that I asked the city solicitor was because we had an existing ordinance in place that exempted private clubs from the public smoking ban, how could the board of health pass a regulation that would be contrary to the ordinance that the legislative body had passed in 2007?

[Knight]: So my question was whether or not the process and procedure was appropriate and whether or not the board of health had the authority to make the unilateral heavy handed action that they made and they do not.

[Knight]: This issue has to come back to the council.

[Knight]: If we want to allow smoking in private clubs right now, it is authorized.

[Knight]: If we want to ban that, that is a matter that has to come before the council.

[Knight]: It's a legislative affair.

[Knight]: It's not something that can be done regulatory, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So my concern was that when this was implemented, it was implemented inappropriately.

[Knight]: And I think that the city solicitor concurs with my opinion, and I also think that his opinion wasn't requested when the Board of Health went forward and made this action.

[Knight]: So, in an effort to make sure that everything was done above bar, Mr. President, to be sure that we were in compliance with the law, I asked the question to the solicitor as to whether or not this process was handled appropriately, and whether or not the Board of Health had the authority to do it, because there was an existing statute in place already.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I think it's also important to point out nothing in our ordinance requires private clubs to allow smoking.

[Knight]: And the exemption only exempts private clubs from the public smoking ban, but it doesn't say that they don't have the ability to police themselves either.

[Knight]: So I certainly understand Firefighter Brennan's, Captain Brennan's position on the issue.

[Knight]: I don't particularly care for smoking in places either.

[Knight]: However, my concern when I brought the question forward was whether or not it was handled appropriately and whether or not it was done within a fashion that was in the scope of their authority.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I think we're all in agreement that we understand and value the importance of a bus shelter, especially at this location.

[Knight]: And the task that's before us here is how are we going to get it put there?

[Knight]: And Councilman Scarpelli made a great recommendation to send it to the MBTA.

[Knight]: I'd like to amend the paper and also have it sent to the administration, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And I'd like to ask the administration to discuss mitigation strategies in relation to the number of mass DOT projects that are going on in the community to help fund this.

[Knight]: some impact going on with the erection of the cell phone towers.

[Knight]: We have some impact going on with the extension of the Green Line.

[Knight]: We have some impact going on with the development of the Craddock Bridge that are all under MassDOT control, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And it's not unusual when projects are going on in communities that mitigation of this sort is extended.

[Knight]: So I'd also like to ask that the paper be sent to the administration with the request that they discuss mitigation with the MassDOT to provide funding or construction of such.

[Knight]: Mr. President.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Also where the MBTA is a quasi public agency underneath the mass dot umbrella.

[Knight]: I think it will be appropriate to amend the paper further and ask that this also be sent to a state delegation.

[Knight]: So they're aware of the request that the council's making.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: When it comes to municipal aggregation, this is a topic that I think we've been discussing now for over a year.

[Knight]: And quite frankly, the ball's in the council's court to determine whether or not this is something that we're going to allow the city to explore.

[Knight]: And again, I think the time to move forward on it is now.

[Knight]: Ultimately, the question is, do we want

[Knight]: to request the department head to dedicate resources to something that hasn't been approved yet by this council.

[Knight]: We're asking a department head to say, start creating a list.

[Knight]: We may or may not adopt municipal aggregation.

[Knight]: And I think we're putting the cart before the horse, Mr. President.

[Knight]: If we want to explore municipal aggregation, let's explore municipal aggregation.

[Knight]: Let's take the vote and let's allow it to happen.

[Knight]: But to dedicate resources to something that may or may not happen, I don't feel comfortable doing that.

[Knight]: the Director of Energy and Environment to start to begin to create an opt-out list.

[Knight]: So she's going to dedicate resources in her office towards something that we may not adopt.

[Knight]: So I think that this might be a little bit counterintuitive at this point in time.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I'll have a difficult time supporting it this evening.

[Knight]: Councilor Neistat.

[Knight]: So this is, Mr. President, when we met with Evisuos, one of the things that Councilor Marks brought up was that there's a memorandum of understanding that was negotiated for mitigation.

[Knight]: And that this isn't related to that meeting then.

[Knight]: Because one of the requests that Councilor Marks made was that the items that were brought to the table and denied, we wanted to know what those were as well.

[Knight]: Yeah.

[Knight]: So this is for the previous meeting, not the meeting that we just had the other day.

[Knight]: OK.

[Knight]: Sounds good to me.

[Knight]: If I may, Mr. President, I think the best approach would be to send it to Mr. Zamparelli from Eversource, who's the government relations person.

[Knight]: I believe I still have the floor, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I'm sorry?

[Knight]: I believe I still have the floor.

[Knight]: I'm sorry, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So we negotiated a memorandum of understanding.

[Knight]: And as I understand the process, based upon my discussions, is that the Department of Public Utilities has approved the project's specifications in terms of the cost, the route.

[Knight]: the stretch that it's going to go.

[Knight]: And the MOU was negotiated between the chief negotiator and the utility company for mitigation.

[Knight]: And what comes before us is the grant for access for right away to put the vaults in.

[Knight]: If we fail to approve those vaults, then the next step in the process would be that Eversource would appeal to the Department of Public Utilities because they're the ones that approved the project plan.

[Knight]: And then the question comes as to whether or not DPU agrees to allow them to proceed.

[Knight]: And if they do, then the terms of the MOU, I believe, become null and void.

[Knight]: So that's a concern that we have as well.

[Knight]: So I think that that's something that we need to ask the city solicitor at the next meeting is whether or not the terms of the MOU become null and void if the grants right away aren't approved and DPU has to step in.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I can certainly agree with my colleagues that there are many needs in this community, and prioritizing these needs are vital.

[Knight]: And that's why we get elected.

[Knight]: The redevelopment of the Carriage House and the creation of the Shepard Brooks Estates to be a full-fledged function hall was part of the chart the course plan that was presented by Mayor McGlynn.

[Knight]: It was the last item that came before this council as part of the chart the course plan, and the council voted it down.

[Knight]: After the council voted the plan down, Mr. President, about a year passed and the members of the Medford Brooks Estate Land Trust came to the council and said, the carriage house is the key focal piece of our master plan.

[Knight]: Regardless of whether or not the council supports the master plan, the carriage house is the key focus of their master plan and what direction they want to go in.

[Knight]: They want to utilize the carriage house in the area that the carriage house is on to make an economic catalyst for the Sheppard Brooks Estates.

[Knight]: And they came before us and they asked for this money.

[Knight]: And we had a committee of the whole with Paul Mulkey and they had people come in and they had people do an assessment of this carriage house and tell us what it was gonna cost to tie it up.

[Knight]: And we had a committee of the whole on that.

[Knight]: And that was all we had.

[Knight]: And now here we are, a winter's past, another winter's coming.

[Knight]: And the individuals at Shepherd Brooks Estates are here before us again this evening asking us for $200,000 to shore up the key piece and the key component of their master plan.

[Knight]: Regardless of whether or not we support the master plan, Mr. President, the carriage house is an essential part of the redevelopment of that area.

[Knight]: The carriage house is the catalyst.

[Knight]: The carriage house is also falling apart.

[Knight]: It's a disgrace.

[Knight]: I mean, any one of us could go up there and if we look at it, it's not a carriage house.

[Knight]: It's a shell of a building that's falling apart.

[Knight]: But that shell of a building does have historic significance, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Week in, week out, we talk about historic preservation, demolition delay, historic significance, historic districts.

[Knight]: This is one of the most historic homes, I should say, because we do have the Royal House, we do have the Peter Tufts House, we do have some very historic properties in the community.

[Knight]: But this is by far the most beautiful.

[Knight]: It's got 50 acres of land that surround it, and there are many opportunities and options up there.

[Knight]: And I think one thing that we need to do is preserve the carriage house, because maybe, although we don't agree with the master plan,

[Knight]: I think we can all agree that the Carriage House is a vital component to what's going on up there.

[Knight]: There are many options and many opportunities for us.

[Knight]: And we might have to go back to the drawing board on this master plan because the council hasn't funded it in the past and they may not fund it again in the future.

[Knight]: I don't know.

[Knight]: But what I do know is this, the Carriage House is vital to the economic success at that location.

[Knight]: And this evening I'm comfortable supporting a $200,000 free cash appropriation based upon the history and based upon the presentation that was given to us in the past, the presentation that was given to us last week.

[Knight]: And quite frankly,

[Knight]: the vital need that we have in Sheppard Brooks Estates if we're going to turn it into an economic catalyst to maintain the carriage house, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So with that being said, um, I'm supportive of the paper this evening and I move for approval.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Looking back in the newspaper over the summer, I think if we all recall a police standoff up in Saugus along Route 1.

[Knight]: And what happened was the gentleman had made his way into a Dick's Sporting Goods up in Route 1 and got his hands on some firearms, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And this resulted in a police standoff.

[Knight]: They closed down Route 1 for a number of hours.

[Knight]: Recently in our community, we were very lucky to open up a Dick's Sporting Goods.

[Knight]: And this Dick's Sporting Goods is a great, great facility.

[Knight]: However, they do sell some questionable material that I don't personally support, which would be firearms, Mr. President.

[Knight]: But this is in no way, shape, or form an attempt to push back on people's Second Amendment rights.

[Knight]: Mr. President, what it is is an effort to regulate

[Knight]: The safe storage and sale and display of firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: You know, the cat's out of the barn, the horse is out of the barn.

[Knight]: We have a facility here in the community that's selling firearms.

[Knight]: I think it's incumbent upon us as a council to take all the steps that are necessary to ensure that we maintain that the community remains safe.

[Knight]: So with that being said, Mr. President, I bring this forward as a conversation starter, a spot for us to jump off from a launching pad, if you want to call it that, for us to start this discussion and have this conversation.

[Knight]: Um, so with that being said, Mr. President asked my council colleagues to support the measure and move for approvals.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: This paper here is paper 17752, which reads, be it resolved the city administration refund taxpayers all convenience fees incurred during the current fiscal year as a result of the online payment of tax bills issued by the city.

[Knight]: And be it further resolved that the city administration take the necessary steps to eliminate or assume such fees going forward.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I've run into several situations, gotten several phone calls, bumped into people that have attempted to pay their property tax bills online.

[Knight]: And when they go in there to pay their property tax bill, they are assessed a convenience fee.

[Knight]: The last one that I heard was upwards of close to $50, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And that doesn't sound too convenient to me.

[Knight]: We're sitting here in the community.

[Knight]: We're asking robocalls to go out.

[Knight]: We're asking things to get posted on the website.

[Knight]: We're asking people to utilize technology more and more.

[Knight]: We shouldn't be charging them to do it.

[Knight]: We should be encouraging it, not discouraging it, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So I'm asking that the administration look into this and to take the appropriate steps to either waive the fee, assume the fee, or eliminate the fee.

[Knight]: I certainly have no problem with that, Mr. President.

[Knight]: If we're going to take a vote, I want it to be an informed vote, and I want everybody behind the rail to be comfortable with it.

[Knight]: With that being said, I'd be happy to even withhold the request until we have the presentation from the treasurer or the financial director, whatever the council feels comfortable with.

[Knight]: Again, I just think this is an opportunity for us to get... They can be simultaneous.

[Knight]: We can do that too.

[Knight]: That's fine.

[Knight]: I mean, my motion is to have it passed, but, um, you know, go to the administration.

[Knight]: But if the council has questions, then I have no problem, um, going along with whatever it is that it will take to make sure that this comes to fruition.

[Knight]: All those in favor?

[Knight]: Did you amend it, Councilor?

[Knight]: report due here.

[Knight]: It looks like the next report for the university accountability ordinance would be due November, Mr. President.

[Knight]: If we could mark that up for a... It's come and gone.

[Knight]: So maybe we can mark that up to make sure that we get a report back from our code enforcement officer to make sure that there have been no complaints filed.

[Knight]: We can, Mr. Clerk.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Um, Mr. President, uh, this is the first I've heard of the city receiving a grant.

[Knight]: Could the councilor tell us a little bit about what this grant is?

[Knight]: Councilor Locren.

[Knight]: Yes, and the vote is to

[Knight]: Councilor Dela Rousseau.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: 7 in the affirmative, none in the negative motion passes.

[Knight]: Mr. President, on page 223, there is item 17689, amendment B, Councilor Locksmith and Councilor Scott-Bell.

[Knight]: I do not change the record as amended.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Um, Mr. President, uh, this is the first I've heard of the city receiving a grant.

[Knight]: Could the councilor tell us a little bit about what this grant is?

[Knight]: Councilor Locren.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: As we've started our budget hearings and we've discussed a lot about personal and ordinary expenses in the City of Medford's budget, one of the things that we continuously discuss is the fact that the majority of the funds that are being appropriated in the FY18 budget are for negotiated salary increases and contractual obligations.

[Knight]: As such, Mr. President, I'm requesting that the administration provide us with some documentation relative to the status thereof related to collective bargaining agreements between employee organizations in the city and the school department so that we have a better understanding as to where they are and what direction these negotiations are going in.

[Knight]: Mr. President, the committee has decided that they want to go to the committee of the whole.

[Knight]: That's fine.

[Knight]: I just wanted to inform the delegation that we had some preliminary discussions this evening and early last week about setting up a summer schedule for zoning and ordinance to address some of the papers that are in committee.

[Knight]: However, if the council feels as though we should go to a committee of the whole first, that's fine with me.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Councilor Neistat.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: I certainly think that noise monitors will help us in our plight against Massport and the airplane noise that we have in our community.

[Knight]: I do have a question, maybe we can put this in as a B paper, as to how the location of the Andrews School was selected.

[Knight]: I know that we've had a number of discussions about

[Knight]: locations of noise monitors, where we want to put them, so on and so forth.

[Knight]: If we're going to be requesting that a delegation expend funds and we're going to be requesting the placement of additional noise monitors, I guess my question is, do we want to take a longer how to look at it and study whether or not we can get more bank for our buck with the placement of three towers in different locations that may cover the entire city?

[Knight]: Because it's my understanding we have one tower in the community now.

[Knight]: If we had four towers in the community, we'd be able to cover the whole city of Medford.

[Knight]: How was this location selected, I guess, would be my first question, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So the reason that the Andrews Middle School would be the selected location is because, based upon the information that a Massport CLC representative has told us, is that 100% of the aircrafts that fly out of Logan on that runway will go over that beacon?

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: So 100% of the planes are going to fly over there.

[Knight]: A decent amount of them, yes.

[Knight]: I believe the implementation of GPS trackers is part of the federal government's edict to Massport to transition from a beacon system to a GPS system.

[Knight]: And as part of that, it's a directive of the federal government, which would preclude the city of Medford from going up the chain and suing the state government or the federal government due to federal preemption.

[Knight]: Councilor Neistat.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: Um, may I be so bold as to suggest that we tabled this matter for one week

[Knight]: For the simple reason that tomorrow night we're having our budget hearings with the building commissioner.

[Knight]: I believe this building falls under the jurisdiction of the building commissioner right now as it's a city-owned parcel.

[Knight]: It's vacant.

[Knight]: And we're having our meeting with them tomorrow night.

[Knight]: We might be able to get some of these questions answered tomorrow night during our budget debates or our budget discussions without having to send a paper to the administration and having to wait for it to go through the proper protocols.

[Knight]: We take the paper.

[Knight]: We send it to the mayor.

[Knight]: The mayor takes the paper.

[Knight]: She refers it to the appropriate department.

[Knight]: The appropriate department gets the paper.

[Knight]: notifies the mayor that they're in receipt, puts a report together, sends it to the city clerk.

[Knight]: The city clerk, the city clerk then takes that paper and puts it back in our packet as a response.

[Knight]: I think it might be a little bit more efficient, Mr. President, if we, um, considered tabling the matter for one week, brought the matter up.

[Knight]: Are you making a motion?

[Knight]: Well, I mean, I think that this isn't my resolution.

[Knight]: It's a resolution that's been brought forward by two Councilors.

[Knight]: It's been seconded, thirded, and fourthed at this point in time, Mr. President.

[Knight]: But I think that this is an alternative course of action that we can take where we may get an answer a little bit quicker.

[Knight]: So if it's the body's wishes and the delegation's wishes to go through the process and wait for a response back, that's great.

[Knight]: If we want to table it and maybe have a meeting tomorrow with the building commissioner and ask him about it, or do both for that matter.

[Knight]: I mean, we can raise the issue tomorrow with the budget hearings.

[Knight]: That's fine.

[Knight]: I just think that for us to send the paper forward and then ask for a response

[Knight]: you know, have the approval of the budget be contingent upon a report back on the Agnes Center, it might be more expedient for us to sit down with the building commissioner and discuss this issue.

[Knight]: They're going to be before us tomorrow night anyway, provided we provide him with the notice that this is a topic of conversation.

[Knight]: I don't think he'll have any problem discussing it tomorrow when answering some of the questions and concerns that we have.

[Knight]: If we need to delve further into the situation, then we can put a paper forward addressing the specific questions that we want answered that have ever been unanswered.

[Knight]: But again, I certainly would defer to the wisdom of the body.

[Knight]: I just think that this might be a more expedient way to get it done.

[Knight]: Mr. President, on Saturday morning, we had our budget discussions and Chief Sacker was before us.

[Knight]: And we had a long and very fulfilling discussion about Medford Square and some ways to make Medford Square a little bit safer.

[Knight]: And one of the easiest ways that was noted was to improve the lighting in Medford Square.

[Knight]: This council has been very proactive in looking at the lighting and the fixtures, so on and so forth, that's going to be utilized down Medford Square.

[Knight]: And it's my understanding that we're almost at the point of implementation.

[Knight]: So I'd like to ask the city administration to provide us with the status of the upgrades, as well as a schedule for the implementation, so that we can share that information with the community, so that individuals that contact us with concerns about transient individuals in the square and safety concerns that they have.

[Knight]: can be addressed appropriately with some accurate information that shows that there is going to be some improvements in the area.

[Knight]: Mr. President, yes, we've all seen a trend in government, see something, say something.

[Knight]: If you see something wrong, you say something.

[Knight]: And I think one way for us to see more is to have more rise across the community.

[Knight]: We've had a number of questions and concerns and issues that arise relative to our public parks.

[Knight]: We have a number of issues and concerns that arise relative to our publicly owned buildings, concerns about vandalism, concerns about injuries, concerns about crimes that may have been committed, concerns about the general maintenance and upkeep and what's going on in the neighborhood.

[Knight]: a very low-cost proposal for us to implement stronger security measures throughout the community and allow us to have more eyes on the ground, Mr. President, to allow us to go back and take a look and see what happened to this.

[Knight]: Why did it happen?

[Knight]: How did it happen?

[Knight]: Why is there a lot of dumping going on in this certain section of the community?

[Knight]: Why is this place structure continuously getting vandalized?

[Knight]: Why is this port-a-party in a public park continuously getting burnt down?

[Knight]: I think this will be a helpful tool in us identifying some of the concerns that we have in the community related to quality of life and public safety, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I'd like to move forward for approval and ask my council colleagues to support the paper.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I certainly have no problem with the individual, um, councilor amending the motion.

[Knight]: Ultimately, if we think about it, um, the Boston Marathon bombers were identified through, uh, traffic cameras that were in the community.

[Knight]: So, um, this is a measure that's only going to make us safer.

[Knight]: Week in and week out, we hear discussion about, um, roadways that are unsafe, speeding cars,

[Knight]: cars blowing through the four-way intersection at the bottom of Doonan Street, for example.

[Knight]: So maybe we have some problem intersections and some problem locations, and this would be a great idea, Mr. President, for us to combat some of those issues with the limited amount of manpower that we have.

[Knight]: We can embrace some technology and hopefully see some benefits in investing in technology.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: That would not be the intent.

[Knight]: In my understanding, based upon the discussions that I've had with the chief of police, is that certain sections of the general laws would need to be adopted before we can utilize traffic cameras to even consider issuing speeding and tickets or parking, moving violations.

[Knight]: But that's not my intent at all.

[Knight]: It's more or less a see something, say something opportunity for us to monitor the streets, and if something happens, have the ability to go back and review what those eyes have seen to maybe see if we can identify trends or identify certain

[Knight]: criteria that might contribute to public safety concerns, whether it be traffic backing up in the morning at Winthrop Street, so cars taking a left-hand turn go around the rotary once and then try to cut into the left-hand lane.

[Knight]: If we see a patent of involvement or a patent of activity at a certain location, maybe we can put a sign up there, a patent of activity where the police have to be called.

[Knight]: We can put the cameras up on those intersections and then take a look at what's going on there and then go back and monitor it and see if maybe we can control it through signage, through other traffic control devices, through education.

[Knight]: Councilor Neistat.

[Knight]: Mr. President, as filed, my concern was more about public buildings and hot pox.

[Knight]: And then the paper was amended to address some certain intersections and streets.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I certainly understand Councilor Marksley's position.

[Knight]: I think that this was more about a question of whether or not Big Brother was watching and they were going to use this as a tool to start finding violators for certain traffic violations.

[Knight]: That wasn't the intent at all.

[Knight]: It was a data collection tool, not a punitive measure, punitive tool.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I defer to Councilor Falco.

[Knight]: This is an issue that he's been working on since his start of the term this year, and I think he should be provided the opportunity to present.

[Knight]: Councilor Knight.

[Knight]: Presently in the legislative section of the FY18 budget, we have funding to implement this.

[Knight]: We have a question here that we're reporting out of the committee.

[Knight]: Can monies be appropriated out of the cable access funds?

[Knight]: If the answer is yes, then maybe we can use the money that gets appropriated out of the cable access funds to implement additional monitors.

[Knight]: Thank you.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: It's been a common and recurring theme behind this rail for the past term that our public utilities that are performing construction work in the city of Medford aren't doing so in a fashion that would be beneficial to the residents of Medford and their quality of life during the construction.

[Knight]: That the final product that they're leaving us with is shoddy at best and not up to city of Medford standards, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Paper 16-404 was filed in April of 2016.

[Knight]: The engineering division did not submit a response to the council, so a committee of the whole was held.

[Knight]: At this committee of the whole, we had a very informant.

[Knight]: Aye.

[Knight]: We had a meeting on this a month ago, same similar subject matter.

[Knight]: We had a committee of the whole on this as well, correct?

[Knight]: OK, I thought there was something in the rules about bringing something up that was already discussed within the last 90 days, Mr. President.

[Knight]: It was similar, same subject matter.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I do believe that the Water and Sewer Commission is an autonomous body that's appointed by the administration to implement and effectuate public policy related to the water and sewer, but in no way do they make recommendations to the mayor.

[Knight]: They actually implement policy.

[Knight]: I just feel as though sometimes accurate representation of the facts is important when we're here in the public forum.

[Knight]: With the land transfer, when the city accepted ownership of Hormel Stadium, the establishment of the Hormel Commission was statutory and is required by state law.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: My experiences with the members of the Water and Sewer Commission have been nothing but positive.

[Knight]: I think that they're a great group of individuals, and if given the opportunity to explain themselves and explain the connectivity, if you will do so in a fashion that will make people a little bit more understanding of their implementation and their reasoning behind it.

[Knight]: With that being said, Mr. President, on the community calendar this evening, it's posted that the next Water and Sewer Commission meeting is on 6-28 at 5 p.m.

[Knight]: in the council chambers.

[Knight]: So those individuals that do have questions that concerns about the connectivity feel the baseline charges as it's called can appear and before the Commission And take those issues up that evening.

[Knight]: Present.

[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Knight]: It's with great pleasure that I'm here this evening to endorse Dean Bruno and his candidacy.

[Knight]: I've known the Brunos for a number of years.

[Knight]: They're a long time Medford family, grew up in West Medford and Dean now resides up in the Heights.

[Knight]: He has over a 20 year career in law enforcement and prior to that he had worked in government for about five years, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So I have absolutely no problem with this appointment and I would move for approval.

[Knight]: Mr. President, although I don't know the gentleman personally, I have reviewed his resume and it's rather impressive, and I'd ask that the committee move for approval.

[Knight]: Mr. President, yes, thank you very much.

[Knight]: As noted, this matter has been before the council a couple of occasions prior.

[Knight]: It's relative to some surveying problems that were had with the Winthrop Street drainage project.

[Knight]: It's my understanding that

[Knight]: There is litigation subrogation that's in place relatively.

[Knight]: Am I looking at the right one?

[Knight]: No, I'm not looking at the right one.

[Knight]: 15-734.

[Knight]: This is the DPW facility.

[Knight]: It was underestimated.

[Knight]: It was underestimated on the mitigation for the pollution underground, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Yes, yes.

[Knight]: And we've passed a couple of readings on this.

[Knight]: And I would move for approval on the third reading.

[Knight]: It has to get paid one way or the other, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Very good.

[Knight]: Yes.

[Knight]: Yes, Mr. President, it's my understanding that this is just a simple clarification of the existing outdoor dining license ordinance that's in place.

[Knight]: There was some misinterpretation of the legislative intent that's been addressed through the language in this newly crafted zoning ordinance, and I move for approval.

[Knight]: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Knox, for bringing this resolution forward.

[Knight]: I think this is a great proactive approach to improving the quality of life for residents here in the city of Medford.

[Knight]: I will be voting in favor of this resolution and I might ask that the resolution be amended by way of a B paper, Mr. President, which would ask that the Medford police or the building department report back to this council locations that have been reported to have been graffitied within the last 12 months.

[Knight]: I think it's very important that we keep track of this data to determine whether or not there were clusters and trends that are occurring here in the city so that we know where to ramp up enforcement.

[Knight]: So I'd like to thank Councilor Marks for taking such a proactive approach to looking at the quality of life in this city.

[Knight]: And I will be voting in favor of this resolution, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I just ask that it be amended for the Police Department of the powers that be to report back any locations that have been reported within the last calendar year.

[Knight]: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I think it's very important that we recognize the efforts and the leadership that Councilman Marks has put forward on the issue of a dog park.

[Knight]: Not only has he brought this issue to the council floor, he's actually put his money where his mouth is.

[Knight]: He's gone out, I witnessed him personally collecting signatures from members in this community to seek support for a dog park, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And that's the proactive grassroots type of work that makes the community really come together and it makes matters like this come to fruition.

[Knight]: I'd like to congratulate Councilor Marks on the efforts that he's put forward, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Not only does he file the resolutions, but he does the legwork.

[Knight]: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[Knight]: taken a big interest in recent weeks to the water and sewer billing system and the rates that are in place.

[Knight]: And in my research, I've been able to determine that in 2006, of the MWRA communities, Medford was the 15th highest consumer.

[Knight]: And it's also my understanding that a tiered rate system is put in place to promote conservation of use of water.

[Knight]: Previous councils, dating back as far as I've looked to 2007, have consistently voted to establish a tiered rate system.

[Knight]: We have paper 07464 to establish a tiered rate.

[Knight]: Paper 07559 to establish a progressive H2O consumption system.

[Knight]: Paper 08591, the city engineer present the tiered system for the council to review.

[Knight]: 09535, a report on the tiered rate system.

[Knight]: 09706, creation of a tiered system.

[Knight]: 09838, an excessive use of water program.

[Knight]: 10036, the status of a tiered rate system.

[Knight]: 720, report back on the progress of creating a tiered system.

[Knight]: Dating back to 12-4-07, the Medford City Council has been on record in supporting looking at water and sewer rates and eyeing a multi-tiered system.

[Knight]: As recently as 12-24, Mr. President, there was an article in the Medford transcript saying that the City Council supported the implementation of a tiered system.

[Knight]: Councilor Mayorka was a champion for such a program.

[Knight]: Councilor Mayorka was of the theory that if you use more, you pay more.

[Knight]: And I certainly agree with that philosophy, Mr. President.

[Knight]: In looking at how the rates are determined, we have a Water and Sewer Commission.

[Knight]: The Water and Sewer Commission meets monthly.

[Knight]: Here in my city council packet this week, I received a notice of when this Water and Sewer Commission is going to meet.

[Knight]: For the edification of the people at home, I'd like to let them know that on October 15, 2014, in room 201, at 2 o'clock, the Water and Sewer Commission will be meeting.

[Knight]: It's open to the public and all members can attend.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I certainly share some concerns about the itemization of the bill, and I too have seen irregularities in water bills, my own included.

[Knight]: Mr. President.

[Knight]: However, I think to say that this is a surprise is a little bit of a misconstrue of what's happened.

[Knight]: It's not in line with what the history shows.

[Knight]: It's not in line with what the history says.

[Knight]: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And I was getting there.

[Knight]: I think that, you know, when we get a response from the mayor saying to call a public hearings within the council purview, it is.

[Knight]: We have subcommittees, we have committees, committees of the whole, which has the power to call a committee meeting.

[Knight]: We have a committee on

[Knight]: auditing finance, budget, and taxation.

[Knight]: We have a subcommittee on intergovernmental affairs, and I think that when we call for a public hearing, we don't need to have the permission of the mayor to do that.

[Knight]: We can use our internal governmental structure that we have here as a council in order to promote these meetings, in order to make these meetings happen.

[Knight]: So when I looked at it and I saw that it falls within the council purview, and then I read the language in the resolution, I said, well, I think that this refers to the fact that the council does have the power to call this meeting, and we don't need the mayor to give us authority to do such.

[Knight]: And that's where I'm coming from, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I certainly feel as though we need to have a

[Knight]: better line of communication in terms of the way that our water and sewer billing is implemented.

[Knight]: And I certainly have concerns, because when we look at 2007, we look at the ideas that came out.

[Knight]: And the tiered system was really 0 to 1,000 cubic feet of use.

[Knight]: And it's gone down to 800.

[Knight]: So I can understand that there must have been some deliberation and some decision-making process.

[Knight]: And I, too, share the concerns as to how do we get to this figure.

[Knight]: It's my understanding that, based upon conversations that I've had with members of the Water Sewer Commission, that about two-thirds of the households in the city will fall in the first tier.

[Knight]: I haven't seen any hard facts and hard figures on that, but that's what's been represented to me through the conversations that I've had with the Water and Sewer Commission, Mr. President.

[Knight]: So with that being said, I certainly do not see any reason for us to go to the mayor's office and ask the mayor for permission to hold a hearing on this when we have a perfect structure that's in place that's underutilized right now in order to do such.

[Knight]: So I would move, Mr. President, this be forwarded to one of the appropriate subcommittees that we have here that's in existence already for us to actually take ownership of the issue and get the answers that we need without relying on somebody else giving them to them.

[Knight]: We can go and extract them.

[Knight]: Councilor Mack.

[Knight]: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I echo the sentiments relative to infrastructure that Councilor Marks has raised.

[Knight]: Our MWRA assessment is calculated every year.

[Knight]: It's done so by the MWRA estimating the total amount of revenue that's going to be necessary for them to run their water system.

[Knight]: The chart is then calculated at a flat rate times the metered water used in a community, and that's how they come up with their assessment.

[Knight]: However, it's interesting to point out that debt service represents 60% of the FY15 budget at the MWRA.

[Knight]: So that means 60%

[Knight]: of their budget is dedicated just to debt service for infrastructure improvements that they've made to deliver these water to us.

[Knight]: So I think it's time that we need to take a look internally and say, OK, now it's time for us to make this commitment to our infrastructure.

[Knight]: Because ultimately, in the long run, it is going to reduce the cost for the individuals in this community to pay water bills.

[Knight]: Mr. President, I do appreciate where Councilor Pentland is coming from.

[Knight]: However, where we're asking so many questions and we have so many questions, I think it would be better vetted appropriately in the subcommittee.

[Knight]: I think that we can ask these questions, we can get answers to these questions, then we can convene as a body as a whole.

[Knight]: and we can make recommendations to the Water and Sewer Commission, instead of asking these questions to the Water and Sewer Commission and not having any opportunity to properly vet it.

[Knight]: That's why, Mr. President, I will not be withdrawing my motion to amend.

[Knight]: Yes, please, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I'd also like to see the city solicitor present where there are some questions relative to legalities.

[Knight]: Um, actually, Mr. President, I think that might make sense.

[Knight]: If any of us have any questions that we'd like to have answered, that we send those questions to the chairperson of the subcommittee to forward to the water and sewer commission prior to this meeting taking place so that we can get this information to us beforehand and have a productive meeting as Councilor Penter suggested.

[Knight]: Valid point.

[Knight]: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[Knight]: And Councilor Caraviello brought this up to my attention, actually, would be also Badger Road in Winthrop, where the Caliaco Construction Company's performing infrastructure improvements to our water and sewer pipes.

[Knight]: They're driving over the sidewalk to use that piece of land as a layover land.

[Knight]: And as such, they've caused extensive damage to the curb and siding over there.

[Knight]: And I believe that's one of the safe routes to schools, Mr. President, so I think that's something that might also need to be looked at.

[Knight]: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[Knight]: Where October is National Disability Awareness Month, I found this resolution to be fitting.

[Knight]: We have a number of projects going on, a number of projects that have been completed, whether it's through community development block grant funds or otherwise.

[Knight]: We're seeing park improvements and accessibility, sidewalk improvements for accessibility.

[Knight]: And I'd like the director of disability to have an opportunity to come down here and explain to us exactly what progress they've made over the last year or so in terms of improving accessibility and equal opportunity for the residents here in the city.

[Knight]: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[Knight]: There are two very proud grandparents in two separate parts of the city.

[Knight]: Many of us know Joan Gatto from the magnificent Muffin and Bagel Shop, and right now I'm sure she's smiling with the birth of her newest grandson.

[Knight]: As goes Jean Entapa from over in the hillside area of Medford, an employee at Tufts University, who brings, I believe, her third male grandson into the family.

[Knight]: I think she has about six total.

[Knight]: However, Benjamin David Entapa joins his sister Ava and his sister Callie.

[Knight]: So we'd like to welcome her to the world and congratulate two proud grandparents, Mr. President.

[Knight]: I think that it's important to point out that all the officers in our department are appropriately trained and the Chief of Police has implemented a number of programs as required by state law and otherwise to ensure the safety of our officers and to ensure the fact that the general public is protected and that, you know, these personnel issues that occur.

[Knight]: in any organization, within any organization, not just within the police department.

[Knight]: So although I appreciate what you're saying, I think that, you know, we're getting a little off base here in terms of, maybe you're losing me here, I'm just trying to figure out what direction you're trying to go in there.

[Knight]: Maybe if you could, you know, you're talking about staffing levels, you're talking about programming, I'm a little confused as to where you're going here.

[Knight]: All of the above.