[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you to the organizers for this event tonight, so that these candidates can come and bring our message to the city of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Robert Capucci.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm 47 years old.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm the youngest of seven kids in my family.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm a lifelong Medford resident.

[Robert Cappucci]: I graduated from Franklin Pierce College in 1994.

[Robert Cappucci]: I went into teaching, and then after a few years of that, I joined the Army Reserves, and I currently work in electronics, making laser scalpels for a company up in Lexington.

[Robert Cappucci]: I heard a lot of the candidates touch upon

[Robert Cappucci]: The issues that were sent to us, the city committee here sent us actually 30 different topics to discuss with five minutes to talk.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I chose five, and I'm going to just answer them directly.

[Robert Cappucci]: The number one I chose was the opioid crisis.

[Robert Cappucci]: I lost my best friend in 2003 to drug addiction.

[Robert Cappucci]: A couple weeks ago, at 46 years old, he had to bury a high school graduate, a classmate of mine.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's the number one killer of people under 50 years old in America, and it needs to be addressed.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think Medford should start leading the way in research and how many prescriptions are actually being given for opioids, to whom, for what purposes, and to investigate to our fullest to ensure every single prescription is right and proper.

[Robert Cappucci]: I will continue to support and advocate

[Robert Cappucci]: for worthwhile community programs like candlelight vigils, various drug addiction rehab facilities and groups, and other initiatives we have here in Medford such as Team Medford and the new drug officer recently appointed by the mayor's office.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'd also like to establish here in Medford a kind of a tough love approach.

[Robert Cappucci]: and send out coordinated, communicated messages to all the residents on a regular basis to get people to realize their problem and light a fire under their butts to get the help that they need so they stop dying and they can enjoy the holidays, child graduations, weddings, all the things that make this life worth living.

[Robert Cappucci]: The Medford City Council should start leading the way on this initiative.

[Robert Cappucci]: The next topic I want to talk about is inclusion.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think the best way we can be more inclusive of our diversity here in Medford is something that I've been calling for throughout my campaign and for years before.

[Robert Cappucci]: and it was highlighted just last night in these chambers by the excellent speech of Dr. John Stirella of Metcalf Street in two words, term limits.

[Robert Cappucci]: If we had a three-term term limit for the elected right now in Medford, there would be five open seats on this council.

[Robert Cappucci]: for this city to take advantage of and run for.

[Robert Cappucci]: There would be four seats on the school committee.

[Robert Cappucci]: We'd have two new challenging candidates for mayor.

[Robert Cappucci]: Nothing else would lead the way to include the diverse population we have in Medford so that we can hear from all different kinds of people to come up here and act, all different new ideas, new initiatives to include all of Medford in our wonderful city.

[Robert Cappucci]: Parking.

[Robert Cappucci]: I recently had a conversation with the manager of Carol's Restaurant.

[Robert Cappucci]: We discussed something that was recently featured on a news program, Chronicle.

[Robert Cappucci]: That report was called the Amazon effect, whereby mom-and-pop shops across Medford, across Massachusetts, across the country are getting walloped because more people can easily just go online and order from various, you know, internet services, and they're not being able to keep up with

[Robert Cappucci]: these internet companies, the mom and pop shops.

[Robert Cappucci]: So what cities and towns are doing to combat this and make our city squares more attractive is

[Robert Cappucci]: Offer no-fee parking.

[Robert Cappucci]: I lead the way to get us out of the contract with Republic Parking.

[Robert Cappucci]: We need to revitalize these city squares.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's the best way to do it.

[Robert Cappucci]: If we offer no-fee parking with strict two-hour limits so that we don't have that problem we used to have that's probably still going on on the outskirts of the city, we make sure that people that come here and park and leave their cars all day, after two hours, they're towed at their own expense.

[Robert Cappucci]: Taxes.

[Robert Cappucci]: I am actually for the city to collect more taxes and have more taxes in their coffers.

[Robert Cappucci]: We need these funds for hiring more police, firefighters, teachers, teachers' aides, infrastructure repairs.

[Robert Cappucci]: What I don't believe in... 20 seconds.

[Robert Cappucci]: Oh, really?

[Robert Cappucci]: That quick already?

[Robert Cappucci]: Gee whiz.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, what I don't believe in is constantly raising the tax rate.

[Robert Cappucci]: What I think is what we do is we create more taxpayers, and the way we do that is to cut taxes.

[Robert Cappucci]: With my last few seconds, I want to make an appeal to the 28,000 registered voters who don't vote.

[Robert Cappucci]: Come out and vote on November 7th for Robert Cappucci.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: That was really good.

[Robert Cappucci]: Motion passes.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address for the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Robert Cappucci of 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Over the centuries of this nation, we've always welcomed immigrants to the United States.

[Robert Cappucci]: Me, personally, I encourage more immigration to the United States, especially if it's from countries that oppress their people in any way.

[Robert Cappucci]: But we do have a supreme law of the land, and it is the U.S.

[Robert Cappucci]: Constitution.

[Robert Cappucci]: And under the U.S.

[Robert Cappucci]: Constitution, there are laws that govern

[Robert Cappucci]: how one becomes a citizen of the United States.

[Robert Cappucci]: For a city to automatically dictate what the police can or can't do in terms of immigration questions undermines the very reason it makes this country good to come to.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're subverting the Constitution, which for centuries has helped a lot of people come from

[Robert Cappucci]: impoverished or oppressive nations to come here and build a much better life.

[Robert Cappucci]: One of the things I want to talk about is the cost of illegal immigration.

[Robert Cappucci]: While it's true that the last speaker said it's something like $12 billion that they're putting back into the economy, at the same time, a year, it's $135 billion that's coming out for the cost of illegal immigration to the United States.

[Robert Cappucci]: On the state level,

[Robert Cappucci]: Among the 50 states, it's $88 billion a year.

[Robert Cappucci]: At the federal level, it's $45 billion a year.

[Robert Cappucci]: So the costs coming in don't even come close to the cost going out in terms of prison upkeep, schools, hospital, all sorts of things that these costs rise on.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't think that for a city like Medford,

[Robert Cappucci]: for a group like Safe Medford to come along.

[Robert Cappucci]: And this has nothing to do with building fear or anything else.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a matter of respect for the law in becoming a citizen of the United States.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's an affront, in my opinion, to the many millions of people who have come here the legal way, to all of a sudden just basically grant amnesty, which is essentially what this is, by dictating to the police that, quite frankly, I don't think the city council has

[Robert Cappucci]: really the experience to tell police officers what their policy should be.

[Robert Cappucci]: And under the guise of the feel-good appeal to the emotions of making Medford a welcoming city, like Mr. Penta said, we've always been a welcoming city.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'll leave you with this question.

[Robert Cappucci]: Is Medford being a welcoming city by

[Robert Cappucci]: basically subverting the rule of U.S.

[Robert Cappucci]: constitutional law by not enforcing it, by policy, or would we be a welcoming city by doing something very simple that this city does not do?

[Robert Cappucci]: When a new resident or a new business

[Robert Cappucci]: comes to this city to open shop or to live here, Medford does not send them a welcome packet saying, here's where Wright's Pond is.

[Robert Cappucci]: Here are some discount coupons to the Chevalier Theater or to Carol's Restaurant.

[Robert Cappucci]: Here are the city services.

[Robert Cappucci]: Here's when we pick up trash in your neighborhood.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's a welcoming city?

[Robert Cappucci]: It's not.

[Robert Cappucci]: But circumventing the laws governing immigration under the U.S.

[Robert Cappucci]: Constitution is?

[Robert Cappucci]: I beg to differ.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'll try to be very brief.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't know anybody from my side of this issue

[Robert Cappucci]: who doesn't want to see Medford become a sanctuary city.

[Robert Cappucci]: I didn't hear a single one of them say they oppose immigration.

[Robert Cappucci]: In fact, I started out when I first spoke saying I encourage immigration, especially from other countries where there's oppression or just subpar standing living standards.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's difficult to embrace this issue on so many levels.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I really think it's, I mean, people want to come up here and say that, you know, just saying that the reasons why we're for honoring the law is somehow related to the Nazis or white privilege.

[Robert Cappucci]: And then they want to say that the statistics we bring up are fear-mongering.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's just a little hypocritical, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I also want to address the point of

[Robert Cappucci]: being for limited government, but also being for a police force in Medford that's not a full force.

[Robert Cappucci]: It has nothing to do with limited government.

[Robert Cappucci]: It has everything to do with government's first duty, in my opinion, which is protection of the citizens.

[Robert Cappucci]: We are about 30 officers insufficient on our police force.

[Robert Cappucci]: In the current policy of not

[Robert Cappucci]: ask an immigration status.

[Robert Cappucci]: If that's what the police department now deems fit, then that's what I support.

[Robert Cappucci]: But make no mistake, what the policy for the Safe Medford

[Robert Cappucci]: group is, is to actually put into law, taking away any possibility of police asking, should the question arise about immigration status.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, it was actually President Obama who put forward the secured community program

[Robert Cappucci]: which Massachusetts never actually signed on to, which automatically, if there was any question of immigration status, that fingerprints and mugshots had to be sent to ICE.

[Robert Cappucci]: Massachusetts never

[Robert Cappucci]: joined on to the Secured Communities Program.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I really don't know why.

[Robert Cappucci]: And whether it's not constitutional law or state law, I mean, there's no skirting around with legal jargon the fact that there are laws.

[Robert Cappucci]: that govern legal citizenship in the United States.

[Robert Cappucci]: And my side of the argument is that we just honor these laws.

[Robert Cappucci]: It has nothing to do with white supremacy or Nazism.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's just a simple matter of respecting the law because we are, as the founding fathers said repeatedly, a nation of laws.

[Robert Cappucci]: And those laws have to be respected.

[Robert Cappucci]: Are you circumventing the very reason why it's a good country

[Robert Cappucci]: to come to.

[Robert Cappucci]: And finally, one of the things that gets established when you establish a state or a city as a sanctuary city, you're creating a magnet for illegal residents to come to, which makes it pretty easy for ICE and for whoever is in power of immigration to know where to go to.

[Robert Cappucci]: So it's actually not a service to undocumented, illegal residents of the United States.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're actually putting a target on their back.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Testing, 1, 2, 3.

[Robert Cappucci]: Good?

[Robert Cappucci]: All right.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address for the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Robert Cappucci of 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Over the centuries of this nation, we've always welcomed immigrants to the United States.

[Robert Cappucci]: Me, personally, I encourage more immigration to the United States, especially if it's from countries that oppress their people in any way.

[Robert Cappucci]: But we do have a supreme law of the land, and it is the U.S.

[Robert Cappucci]: Constitution.

[Robert Cappucci]: And under the U.S.

[Robert Cappucci]: Constitution, there are laws that govern

[Robert Cappucci]: how one becomes a citizen of the United States.

[Robert Cappucci]: For a city to automatically dictate what the police can or can't do in terms of immigration questions undermines the very reason it makes this country good to come to.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're subverting the Constitution.

[Robert Cappucci]: which for centuries has helped a lot of people come from impoverished or oppressive nations to come here and build a much better life.

[Robert Cappucci]: One of the things I want to talk about is the cost of illegal immigration.

[Robert Cappucci]: While it's true that the last speaker said it's something like $12 billion that they're putting back into the economy, at the same time,

[Robert Cappucci]: a year, it's $135 billion that's coming out for the cost of illegal immigration to the United States.

[Robert Cappucci]: On the state level, among the 50 states, it's $88 billion a year.

[Robert Cappucci]: At the federal level, it's $45 billion a year.

[Robert Cappucci]: So the costs coming in don't—

[Robert Cappucci]: even come close to the cost going out in terms of prison upkeep, schools, hospital, all sorts of things that these costs rise on.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't think that for a city like Medford, for a group like Safe Medford to come along and, you know, this has nothing to do with building fear or anything else.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a matter of respect for the law.

[Robert Cappucci]: in becoming a citizen of the United States.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's an affront, in my opinion, to the many millions of people who have come here the legal way, to all of a sudden just basically grant amnesty, which is essentially what this is, by dictating to the police that, quite frankly, I don't think the city council has

[Robert Cappucci]: really the experience to tell police officers what their policy should be.

[Robert Cappucci]: And under the guise of the feel good appeal to the emotions of making Medford a welcoming city, like Mr. Penta said, we've always been a welcoming city.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'll leave you with this question.

[Robert Cappucci]: Is Medford being a welcoming city by

[Robert Cappucci]: basically subverting the rule of U.S.

[Robert Cappucci]: constitutional law by not enforcing it, by policy, or would we be a welcoming city by doing something very simple that this city does not do?

[Robert Cappucci]: When a new resident or a new business

[Robert Cappucci]: comes to this city to open shop or to live here, Medford does not send them a welcome packet saying, here's where Wright's Pond is.

[Robert Cappucci]: Here are some discount coupons to the Chevalier Theater or to Carol's Restaurant.

[Robert Cappucci]: Here are the city services.

[Robert Cappucci]: Here's when we pick up trash in your neighborhood.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's a welcoming city?

[Robert Cappucci]: It's not.

[Robert Cappucci]: But circumventing the laws governing immigration under the U.S.

[Robert Cappucci]: Constitution is?

[Robert Cappucci]: I beg to differ.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'll try to be very brief.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't know anybody from my side of this issue

[Robert Cappucci]: who doesn't want to see Medford become a sanctuary city.

[Robert Cappucci]: I didn't hear a single one of them say they oppose immigration.

[Robert Cappucci]: In fact, I started out when I first spoke saying I encourage immigration, especially from other countries where there's oppression or just subpar standing living standards.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's difficult to embrace this issue on so many levels.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I really think it's, I mean, people want to come up here and say that, you know, just saying that the reasons why we're for honoring the law is somehow related to the Nazis or white privilege.

[Robert Cappucci]: And then they want to say that the statistics we bring up are fear mongering.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's just a little hypocritical, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I also want to address the point of

[Robert Cappucci]: being for limited government, but also being for a police force in Medford that's not a full force.

[Robert Cappucci]: It has nothing to do with limited government.

[Robert Cappucci]: It has everything to do with government's first duty, in my opinion, which is protection of the citizens.

[Robert Cappucci]: We are about 30 officers insufficient on our police force.

[Robert Cappucci]: In the current policy of not

[Robert Cappucci]: ask an immigration status.

[Robert Cappucci]: If that's what the police department now deems fit, then that's what I support.

[Robert Cappucci]: But make no mistake, what the policy for the Safe Medford

[Robert Cappucci]: group is, is to actually put into law, taking away any possibility of police asking, should the question arise about immigration status.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, it was actually President Obama who put forward the secured community program

[Robert Cappucci]: which Massachusetts never actually signed on to, which automatically, if there was any question of immigration status, that fingerprints and mugshots had to be sent to ICE.

[Robert Cappucci]: Massachusetts never signed on to that.

[Robert Cappucci]: joined on to the Secured Communities Program.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I really don't know why.

[Robert Cappucci]: And whether it's not constitutional law or state law, I mean, there's no skirting around with legal jargon the fact that there are laws.

[Robert Cappucci]: that govern legal citizenship in the United States.

[Robert Cappucci]: And my side of the argument is that we just honor these laws.

[Robert Cappucci]: It has nothing to do with white supremacy or Nazism.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's just a simple matter of respecting the law because we are, as the founding fathers said repeatedly, a nation of laws.

[Robert Cappucci]: And those laws have to be respected.

[Robert Cappucci]: Are you circumventing the very reason why it's a good country

[Robert Cappucci]: to come to.

[Robert Cappucci]: And finally, one of the things that gets established when you establish a state or a city as a sanctuary city, you're creating a magnet for illegal residents to come to, which makes it pretty easy for ICE and for whoever was in power of immigration to know where to go to.

[Robert Cappucci]: So it's actually

[Robert Cappucci]: not a service to undocumented, illegal residents of the United States.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're actually putting a target on their back.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: And, uh, unfortunately I'm here again to address this council on the matter of, of the upkeep of, of Evans street, uh, spoken to for years about it at the council chambers.

[Robert Cappucci]: at the last meeting across the courtyard, and here I am in the little theater addressing you again tonight, and I really hope to God this is the last time.

[Robert Cappucci]: The last meeting, this council informed me, which I then informed my neighbors on Evans Street, that Evans Street wasn't on the list.

[Robert Cappucci]: And then we came to find out that that was a miscommunication, that Evans Street was on the list.

[Robert Cappucci]: And DPW workers came to Evans Street, and they mapped out with colored spray paint the water pipes on Evans Street that are going to be replaced.

[Robert Cappucci]: And we were told, a friend of mine, one of my neighbors, Shauna Smith, has a friend in DPW who told her that work would begin on September 11th.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's September 19th.

[Robert Cappucci]: The work hasn't begun.

[Robert Cappucci]: So my friend Shauna went on C-Click Fixed Sunday night.

[Robert Cappucci]: to report to the city that Evans Street is one big pothole.

[Robert Cappucci]: We come to find out there that the work wasn't started on September 11th, as promised, because the work order was assigned to the science department.

[Robert Cappucci]: Terrible incompetence on the behalf of this mayoral administration, or it's on purpose.

[Robert Cappucci]: We are at our wit's end on Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: And this is the proper format, I think, for the current mayoral administration, because it's all an act.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're frustrated.

[Robert Cappucci]: on Edmond Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Councilor Dello Russo.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, if I can address that.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's disparaging for 30 houses on Evans Street to be paying taxes for the last 67 years in the tune of millions of dollars and not have proper basic services done for the residents of Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's disparaging.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Unfortunately, I'm here again to address this council on the matter of the upkeep of Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Spoken to you for years about it at the council chambers, at the last meeting across the courtyard, and here I am in the little theater addressing you again tonight, and I really hope to God this is the last time.

[Robert Cappucci]: The last meeting,

[Robert Cappucci]: This council informed me, which I then informed my neighbors on Evans Street, that Evans Street wasn't on the list.

[Robert Cappucci]: And then we came to find out that that was a miscommunication, that Evans Street was on the list.

[Robert Cappucci]: And DPW workers came to Evans Street and they mapped out with colored spray paint the water pipes on Evans Street that are going to be replaced.

[Robert Cappucci]: And we were told, a friend of mine, one of my neighbors, Shawna Smith, has a friend in DPW who told her that work would begin on September 11th.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's September 19th, the work hasn't begun.

[Robert Cappucci]: So my friend Shauna went on C-Click Fix Sunday night to report to the city that Evans Street is one big pothole.

[Robert Cappucci]: We come to find out there that the work wasn't started on September 11th, as promised, because the work order was assigned to the science department.

[Robert Cappucci]: Terrible incompetence on the behalf of this mayoral administration, or it's on purpose.

[Robert Cappucci]: We are at our wit's end on Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: And this is the proper format, I think, for the current mayoral administration, because it's all an act.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're frustrated.

[Robert Cappucci]: on Edmonds Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Councilor Dello Russo.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, if I can address that.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's disparaging for 30 houses on Evans Street to be paying taxes for the last 67 years in the tune of millions of dollars and not have proper basic services done for the residents of Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's disparaging.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is a fraud.

[Robert Cappucci]: This kind of pertains to what Councilor Breanna Lungo-Koehn is talking about, but I had to leave that meeting that night.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now, with the breakdown of that money, can I ask, was Evans Street a part of that?

[Robert Cappucci]: From what I heard, what happened was, after being told the street was going to be fixed this year, it's not.

[Robert Cappucci]: This year.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's true.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's right.

[Robert Cappucci]: This year?

[Robert Cappucci]: So how are they going to do that work in the winter?

[Robert Cappucci]: Exactly.

[Robert Cappucci]: And how can you say that they're going to do water main repair without, I mean, to get to the water main, you have to dig up the street, so obviously.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't know about it.

[Robert Cappucci]: It being a blessing, Councilor Knight, the residents on my street, knowing that I come to a lot of the city council meetings, they have been asking me for months now.

[Robert Cappucci]: Right.

[Robert Cappucci]: I do not.

[Robert Cappucci]: I do not hold this council accountable for the street and road repair on Medford Street pertaining to this year.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's been decades since the street has been serviced.

[Robert Cappucci]: I speak tonight in favor of Councilor Lungo-Koehn's resolution to have the specificities on future appropriations outlined because

[Robert Cappucci]: The administration put out a letter that in good faith these councillors looked at and then notified the residents on my street, who for years have been wanting Evans Street to be fixed.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I think it was appropriate for you to do so.

[Robert Cappucci]: But then along the chain of departments that it has to go through, the engineer's office, the purchaser's office, then out for bids, then back to the mayor to choose the bids.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was a serious ball dropped.

[Robert Cappucci]: I wish the residents on my street weren't told that it was going to be done in May.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I hope that you stand resolved to hold whatever administration is in power to doing simple things like street and road repair, especially when it's gone for decades neglected.

[Robert Cappucci]: In a city that through different accounts I mean I sat through all the subcommittee meetings on on the budget and I see how expenditures not paid get thrown back into the general fund to where it's now ballooned into tens of millions of dollars and

[Robert Cappucci]: and to tell any resident of it, the people that came up before on brokers or curbs, go up Adam Street on the hillside, go on any street up in the heights.

[Robert Cappucci]: For this city to be sitting on so much money in simple things like road repairs, I'm thinking done, it's done.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a little disheartening for lack of a better term.

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope that you all vote in the affirmative on Councilor Brianna Longo's current excellent resolution.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Just really brief, I completely understand what Councilor Marks is saying, but on the flip side, what Councilor Lungo-Koehn is saying is the presentation of these appropriations coming in as dire and needed and at the last minute to invoke that

[Robert Cappucci]: It's it's almost it's almost like sets up the council to look bad.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's it's I think it's quite frankly the

[Robert Cappucci]: So, you know, there's different ways that we can handle this.

[Robert Cappucci]: Right.

[Robert Cappucci]: I understand that Council of Councilor Knight, but when they do come up at the midnight hour, I, I don't think that this resolution lacks teeth.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think what Councilor Lungo-Koehn is doing astutely is sending a message not only to the mayor, but a separate message to the people that you guys represent, that we are going to do something about

[Robert Cappucci]: your taxpayer dollars.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I was one of several candidates who reconsidered this letter that we signed on Friday during the day of the lottery, a letter

[Robert Cappucci]: that was just hastily written.

[Robert Cappucci]: It wasn't notarized.

[Robert Cappucci]: It wasn't written under perjury or penalty going back on it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Considering the costs, I mean, I've been coming to these city council meetings for 10 years and I've been asking for costs to be redirected.

[Robert Cappucci]: And these are monies that are gonna be allocated and spent elsewhere, whether it's on the primary or not.

[Robert Cappucci]: The money essentially is already gone.

[Robert Cappucci]: Essentially, it's already gone.

[Robert Cappucci]: I wasn't the only candidate who reconsidered.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't want it to be presented tonight that just one person, because we... I was only notified by one person.

[Robert Cappucci]: Right.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't know who else.

[Robert Cappucci]: And here we are tonight, notifying you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: on after discussion from some of the candidates.

[Robert Cappucci]: It wasn't hidden from other people who signed.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was presented that way.

[Robert Cappucci]: But with all due respect, the prior speaker was texted on Saturday and informed.

[Robert Cappucci]: Right.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm just saying it in full disclosure because I don't want it to be portrayed or perceived that anything was covertly done.

[Robert Cappucci]: In considering not having a primary, I mean, the weight of denying citizens an election is something, you know,

[Robert Cappucci]: Something that weighed heavy on my mind.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I thought about it and I reconsidered speaking for myself.

[Robert Cappucci]: I am not obligated to to have to disclose reasons

[Robert Cappucci]: why I reconsidered are two people.

[Robert Cappucci]: I am 47 years old.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm an adult.

[Robert Cappucci]: I can make my own decisions.

[Robert Cappucci]: I reconsidered based on discussion with a sitting council member, as a matter of fact, and I won't mention any names.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I'll just say that it made better sense and it was better judgment and it was better part of the democratic process to have an election and let the voters decide and

[Robert Cappucci]: Full disclosure, I'm just up here tonight letting you know that everything was above board.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was a simple thing.

[Robert Cappucci]: I greatly respect you for bringing that home rule petition.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I understand that, but things happen and people change their mind.

[Robert Cappucci]: People change their mind all the time.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's non-binding.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Your mind changed as well at times.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't think we should deny an election to the citizens of Medford in a primary.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is a fraud.

[Robert Cappucci]: This kind of pertains to what Councilor Breanna Lungo-Koehn is talking about, but I had to leave that meeting that night.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now, with the breakdown of that money, can I ask, was Evans Street a part of that?

[Robert Cappucci]: From what I heard, what happened was after being told the street was going to be fixed this year, it's not this year.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's true.

[Robert Cappucci]: This year?

[Robert Cappucci]: So how are they going to do that work in the winter?

[Robert Cappucci]: Exactly.

[Robert Cappucci]: And how can you say that they're going to do water main repair without, I mean, to get to the water main, you have to dig up the street, so obviously.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't know about it being a blessing, Councilor Knight.

[Robert Cappucci]: The residents on my street, knowing that I come to a lot of the city council meetings, they have been asking me for months now,

[Robert Cappucci]: Right, I do not hold this council accountable for the street and road repair on Medford Street pertaining to this year.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's been decades since the street has been serviced.

[Robert Cappucci]: I speak tonight in favor of Councilor Lungo-Koehn's resolution to have the specificities on future

[Robert Cappucci]: appropriations outlined because The Administration put out you know a letter that in good faith these Councilors looked at and then notified the residents on my street who for years have been wanting heaven Street to be fixed and I think it was appropriate for you to do so, but then the along the

[Robert Cappucci]: chain of departments that it has to go through, the engineer's office, the purchaser's office, then out for bids, then back to the mayor to choose the bids.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was a serious ball dropped.

[Robert Cappucci]: I wish the residents on my street weren't told that it was going to be done in May.

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope that you stand resolved to hold whatever administration is in power to, you know, doing simple things like street and road repair, especially when it's gone for decades neglected

[Robert Cappucci]: In a city that, through different accounts, I mean, I sat through all the subcommittee meetings on the budget, and I see how expenditures not paid get thrown back into the general fund, to where it's now ballooned into tens of millions of dollars, and to tell any resident, the people that came up before, on brookings or curbs, or go up Adam Street on the hillside, go on any street up in the heights, for this city to be sitting on so much money,

[Robert Cappucci]: And simple things like road repairs aren't being done.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a little disheartening, for lack of a better term.

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope that you all vote in the affirmative on Councilor Brianna Longo's current excellent resolution.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Just really brief.

[Robert Cappucci]: I completely understand what Councilor Marks is saying, but on the flip side, what Councilor Lungo-Koehn is saying is the presentation of these appropriations coming in as dire and needed and at the last minute to invoke that

[Robert Cappucci]: It's it's almost it's almost like sets up the council to look bad.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's it's I think it's quite frankly the

[Robert Cappucci]: So, you know, there's different ways that we can handle the question, right?

[Robert Cappucci]: I understand that council of Councilor Knight, but when they do come up at the midnight hour I I don't think that this resolution lacks teeth.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think what council Lungo current is doing astutely is Sending a message not only to the mayor but a separate message to the the people that you guys represent that we are gonna do something about

[Robert Cappucci]: your taxpayer dollars.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I was one of several candidates who reconsidered this letter that we signed on Friday during the day of the lottery, a letter

[Robert Cappucci]: that was just hastily written.

[Robert Cappucci]: It wasn't notarized.

[Robert Cappucci]: It wasn't written under perjury or penalty, going back on it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Considering the costs, I mean, I've been coming to these city council meetings for 10 years and I've been asking for costs to be redirected.

[Robert Cappucci]: And these are monies that are gonna be allocated and spent elsewhere, whether it's on the primary or not.

[Robert Cappucci]: The money essentially is already gone.

[Robert Cappucci]: Essentially, it's already gone.

[Robert Cappucci]: I wasn't the only candidate who reconsidered.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't want it to be presented tonight that just one person, because we did... I was only notified by one person.

[Robert Cappucci]: Right.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't know who else has bowed out.

[Robert Cappucci]: And here we are tonight, notifying you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: After discussion from some of the candidates, it wasn't hidden from other people who signed.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was presented that way.

[Robert Cappucci]: But with all due respect, the prior speaker was texted on Saturday and informed.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't know.

[Robert Cappucci]: Right.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm just saying it in full disclosure because I don't want it to be portrayed or perceived that anything was covertly done.

[Robert Cappucci]: In considering not having a primary, I mean, the weight of denying citizens an election is something, you know,

[Robert Cappucci]: Something that weighed heavy on my mind.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I thought about it and I reconsidered speaking for myself.

[Robert Cappucci]: I am not obligated to to have to disclose reasons

[Robert Cappucci]: Why I reconsidered?

[Robert Cappucci]: Two people.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm 47 years old.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm an adult.

[Robert Cappucci]: I can make my own decisions.

[Robert Cappucci]: I reconsidered based on discussion with a sitting council member, as a matter of fact.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I won't mention any names.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'll just say that it made better sense, and it was better judgment, and it was better part of the democratic process to have an election and let the voters decide.

[Robert Cappucci]: Full disclosure, I'm just up here tonight letting you know that everything was above board.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was a simple thing.

[Robert Cappucci]: I greatly respect you for bringing that home rule petition.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I understand that, but things happen and people change their mind.

[Robert Cappucci]: Things happen.

[Robert Cappucci]: People change their mind all the time.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Your mind changed as well at times.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't think we should deny an election to the citizens of Medford in a primary.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just have one question through the chair.

[Robert Cappucci]: That fixed rate that's being offered per kilowatt hour, is that locked?

[Robert Cappucci]: Like, what happens if something comes up in the future where they could get a lower rate?

[Robert Cappucci]: Could we opt for the lower rate?

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Ms.

[Robert Cappucci]: Hunter, could you answer that?

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I would just respectfully ask through the chair that the Board of Health look into this, because there was just a report in the news that in Boston, many trucks were in violation of health codes.

[Robert Cappucci]: So please keep that in mind.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Chuck Daugherty, 173 Wilburn Street, and I'm not in favor.

[Robert Cappucci]: Collin McGowan, 173 Medford Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Just to address the need for more businesses in Medford, you can go across this city and see tons of empty storefronts.

[Robert Cappucci]: Bringing in a new business that's offering jobs, that's more revenues for the city of Medford, could be used to offset other things that we need, like police and equipment for the firefighters and fixing streets and roads.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's number one.

[Robert Cappucci]: Number two, I think Nick and Michelle made a really good case.

[Robert Cappucci]: to address some of the points that were just made about a lack of smell, about a lack of noise, about it being a good location.

[Robert Cappucci]: In reference to what Councilor Knight brought up under the Mass State Laws, I've seen this body of proof permits

[Robert Cappucci]: with stipulations that in six months we'll revisit it to take a look at what the impact was.

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope that you would consider that in considering this business.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's not an option for these people.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I say that based upon the fact that they've done their homework and they've done their research.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I'm confident that within a few months, you won't find the adverse impacts.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, these people are loving their dogs.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is going to be a good business for Medved.

[Robert Cappucci]: Me personally, I would love to live right next door.

[Robert Cappucci]: to a dog kennel.

[Robert Cappucci]: I love dogs.

[Robert Cappucci]: I've grown up with dogs my whole life.

[Robert Cappucci]: I lost my dog last summer.

[Robert Cappucci]: I got another one three weeks later.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think this is nothing but a win-win for the city of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I strongly urge this board to approve this permit.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you for your time, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address for the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Through the chair, thank you, Councilor Falco, for yielding.

[Robert Cappucci]: some time to me.

[Robert Cappucci]: Um, I just want to talk about a few things.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, I, I definitely echo everything Mr. Starella just said, uh, in, in spades.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just want to echo a few things from what, uh, Councilor Marks was, was talking about.

[Robert Cappucci]: Um, he's mentioned one street that hasn't been done in six decades.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's, that's my street, Evan street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I've been before the city council before, uh,

[Robert Cappucci]: And it's a very sad commentary on the city of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: to see a budget of $167 million when residents on my street, Mr. President, were told by at least two Councilors that the repairs that were in dire need, critical condition, were going to be done this May.

[Robert Cappucci]: I came to the city hall and I spoke to the engineer who told me all the red tape it has to go through.

[Robert Cappucci]: about a contract.

[Robert Cappucci]: A neighbor of mine told me yesterday that upon speaking to somebody in City Hall, I won't mention any names, said that contract is now having problems, so it doesn't look like our street's going to be done this year.

[Robert Cappucci]: After being told by several people that it was going to be done, the residents of Evans Street are outraged.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, when we're paying two income taxes, excise taxes, property taxes that go up every year, a new connectivity fee coming at us in the water tax account that has a surplus in it, to see a $167 million budget that's about to be approved, as Mr. Storella said, that 80% of it is going towards salaries and the infrastructure repairs not being done,

[Robert Cappucci]: It will be reflected on this body.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a primary reason why I am running for city council this year.

[Robert Cappucci]: I can.

[Robert Cappucci]: If that threatens you, good.

[Robert Cappucci]: Good.

[Robert Cappucci]: Because we need new voices on the city council, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: We need new people that are going to come in here and have the political will to finally stand up and say no.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is not a political step.

[Robert Cappucci]: I know that, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you for reminding me that.

[Robert Cappucci]: The reinvestment in the arts that Councilor Marks spoke to is a stabilizing tax base, especially with that Chevalier Theatre.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's only going to get $97,000 this year under this budget.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's outrageous.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's outrageous, especially when this downtown business district is suffering so much for the extended repair of the Craddock Bridge that's now added another year, another $10 million to it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Far too many residents of this community are at their wits end with vital repairs that are not being done and seeing a budget increase to $167 million.

[Robert Cappucci]: I respectfully ask you to vote no on this budget until such a time that it reflects adequate responsibility for all the millions of millions of tax dollars that these residents are paying.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Councilor Falco.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address for the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Through the chair, thank you, Councilor Falco, for yielding.

[Robert Cappucci]: some time to me.

[Robert Cappucci]: Um, I just want to talk about a few things.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, I, I definitely echo everything Mr. Starella just said, uh, in, in spades.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just want to echo a few things from what, uh, Councilor Marks was, was talking about.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, he's mentioned one street that hasn't been done in six decades.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's, that's my street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Evan street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I've been before the city council before, uh,

[Robert Cappucci]: And it's a very sad commentary on the city of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: to see a budget of $167 million when residents on my street, Mr. President, were told by at least two Councilors that the repairs that were in dire need, critical condition, were going to be done this May.

[Robert Cappucci]: I came to the city hall and I spoke to the engineer who told me all the red tape it has to go through.

[Robert Cappucci]: about a contract.

[Robert Cappucci]: A neighbor of mine told me yesterday that upon speaking to somebody in City Hall, I won't mention any names, said that contract is now having problems, so it doesn't look like our street's gonna be done this year.

[Robert Cappucci]: After being told by several people that it was gonna be done, the residents of Evans Street are outraged.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, when we're paying two income taxes, excise taxes, property taxes that go up every year, a new connectivity fee coming at us in the water tax account that has a surplus in it, to see a $167 million budget that's about to be approved, as Mr. Starewa said, that 80% of it is going towards salaries and the infrastructure repairs not being done,

[Robert Cappucci]: It will be reflected on this body.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a primary reason why I am running for city council this year.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is not a campaign speech.

[Robert Cappucci]: I know, but I can announce that I'm a candidate, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I can.

[Robert Cappucci]: If that threatens you, good.

[Robert Cappucci]: Good.

[Robert Cappucci]: Because we need new voices on the city council, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: We need new people that are going to come in here and have the political will to finally stand up and say no.

[Robert Cappucci]: I know that, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you for reminding me that.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: The reinvestment in the arts that Councilor Marks spoke to is a stabilizing tax base, especially with that Chevalier Theatre.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's only going to get $97,000 this year under this budget.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's outrageous.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's outrageous, especially when this downtown business district is suffering so much for the extended repair of the Craddock Bridge that's now added another year, another $10 million to it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Far too many residents of this community are at their wits end with vital repairs that are not being done and seeing a budget increase to $167 million.

[Robert Cappucci]: I respectfully ask you to vote no on this budget until such a time that it reflects adequate responsibility for all the millions of millions of tax dollars that these residents are paying.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Good evening.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Just to bring up some of the points that Mr. Penta was talking about, excuse me,

[Robert Cappucci]: Tomorrow night, there is a meeting of the Community Preservation Commission.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's at the high school, I believe, at 5 o'clock.

[Robert Cappucci]: The funds collected so far is $1,200,000, as I believe you know from the subcommittee meetings on the budget.

[Robert Cappucci]: What you also know, too, is that—I mean, this also connects to what Lisa was saying.

[Robert Cappucci]: I forget your last name.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm sorry.

[Robert Cappucci]: in Medford, as the assessor said, are going up an average of 10% to 14%.

[Robert Cappucci]: And he said that based on historical records.

[Robert Cappucci]: So the CPA tax is going to be collecting a lot more money, too.

[Robert Cappucci]: One other clarification I want to make is I was opposed to the CPA in 2015.

[Robert Cappucci]: And when it passed, the very next day after the election, I went to the Office of Elections

[Robert Cappucci]: secretary of state's office, and I asked them, how do we get rid of this?

[Robert Cappucci]: And they said, you don't.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's only one way after five years.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now, maybe what Mr. Penta said is true, but they didn't tell me that, about the city council being able to put it on the ballot.

[Robert Cappucci]: But what was told to me from the secretary of state's office is,

[Robert Cappucci]: It can only get on the ballot to be repealed the same way it got on the ballot to be passed.

[Robert Cappucci]: And that's, you have to go out in citizen effort drive to go out and get the signatures, to get this thing on the ballot, to get it repealed.

[Robert Cappucci]: And one final thing I want to say about the matching from the state is only half of the cities and towns have the CPA.

[Robert Cappucci]: but all 351 cities and towns pay into the fund that funds the towns that have it.

[Robert Cappucci]: So an unfortunate aspect of this is that lesser affluent communities that don't have the CPA end up through their taxes funding more affluent towns.

[Robert Cappucci]: We really don't need the CPA.

[Robert Cappucci]: I definitely agree with the purposes of it.

[Robert Cappucci]: The preservation of historical landmarks and open spaces,

[Robert Cappucci]: But Medford already sits on surpluses and budgets.

[Robert Cappucci]: We have a property tax that goes up every single year.

[Robert Cappucci]: We have surpluses in other accounts.

[Robert Cappucci]: There are other ways that we can do the objectives of the CPA without having the CPA.

[Robert Cappucci]: And if Mr. Pinter is right of some way of freezing this or reducing it, please,

[Robert Cappucci]: By all means, do that, because as the last speaker said, this is what's on the mind of the people.

[Robert Cappucci]: How are people going to upkeep their properties when they have the connectivity tax coming at them?

[Robert Cappucci]: When they have the perpetual property tax, when they have the meals tax, and the sales tax, and two income taxes, and fees to go to Wrights Pond, and fees for this, that, and the other thing.

[Robert Cappucci]: Gene Neuzil's right.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is death by paper cuts.

[Robert Cappucci]: And this body has the power to do something about that.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, these are our neighbors.

[Robert Cappucci]: We know the people who own these restaurants out here.

[Robert Cappucci]: We grew up here our whole lives.

[Robert Cappucci]: Please, common sense.

[Robert Cappucci]: Please, thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was voted on by the people.

[Robert Cappucci]: If you can get it repealed, we'll review the paper.

[Robert Cappucci]: The people voted it in.

[Robert Cappucci]: Right, and I sat at a polling center on election day, and as people came in, Mr. President, and they looked at that doctor's prescription of a ballot question, they went up to the poll worker, and they said, hey, can you explain this to me?

[Robert Cappucci]: And when they were told, basically, it's a surrogate on your profile, oh, I'm not voting for that.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're right.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're right.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was a citizen effort drive, and kudos to Roberta Kammerer for what she did.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't agree with the CPA, but I definitely admire her efforts.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was a job well done.

[Robert Cappucci]: But it was also done in a way that wasn't specifically clear to the voters of this community as to what was actually going to happen.

[Robert Cappucci]: And Matt, you're right.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was voted on by the people.

[Robert Cappucci]: What did he say?

[Robert Cappucci]: 1300 people didn't even vote on it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Most people didn't even turn it over.

[Robert Cappucci]: More effort should be made to clarify exactly what was being voting on and that there was even a ballot question.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Good evening.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address the director, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Just to bring up some of the points that Mr. Penta was talking about, excuse me,

[Robert Cappucci]: Tomorrow night, there is a meeting of the Community Preservation Commission.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's at the high school, I believe, at 5 o'clock.

[Robert Cappucci]: The funds collected so far is $1,200,000, as I believe you know from the subcommittee meetings on the budget.

[Robert Cappucci]: What you also know, too, is that, I mean, this also connects to what Lisa was saying.

[Robert Cappucci]: I forget your last name.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm sorry.

[Robert Cappucci]: The property taxes,

[Robert Cappucci]: in Medford, as the assessor said, are going up an average of 10% to 14%.

[Robert Cappucci]: And he said that based on historical records.

[Robert Cappucci]: So the CPA tax is going to be collecting a lot more money, too.

[Robert Cappucci]: One other clarification I want to make is I was opposed to the CPA in 2015.

[Robert Cappucci]: And when it passed, the very next day after the election, I went to the Office of Elections

[Robert Cappucci]: Secretary of State's office, and I asked them, how do we get rid of this?

[Robert Cappucci]: And they said, you don't.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's only one way after five years.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now, maybe what Mr. Penta said is true, but they didn't tell me that, about the city council being able to put it on the ballot.

[Robert Cappucci]: But what was told to me from the Secretary of State's office is,

[Robert Cappucci]: It can only get on the ballot to be repealed the same way it got on the ballot to be passed.

[Robert Cappucci]: And that's you have to go out in citizen effort drive to go out and get the signatures, to get this thing on the ballot, to get it repealed.

[Robert Cappucci]: And one final thing I want to say about the matching from the state is only half of the cities and towns have the CPA.

[Robert Cappucci]: but all 351 cities and towns pay into the fund that funds the towns that have it.

[Robert Cappucci]: So an unfortunate aspect of this is that lesser affluent communities that don't have the CPA end up, through their taxes, funding more affluent towns.

[Robert Cappucci]: We really don't need the CPA.

[Robert Cappucci]: I definitely agree with the purposes of it.

[Robert Cappucci]: The preservation of historical landmarks and open spaces,

[Robert Cappucci]: But Medford already sits on surpluses and budgets.

[Robert Cappucci]: We have a property tax that goes up every single year.

[Robert Cappucci]: We have surpluses in other accounts.

[Robert Cappucci]: There are other ways that we can do the objectives of the CPA without having the CPA.

[Robert Cappucci]: And if Mr. Pinter is right of some way of freezing this or reducing it, please,

[Robert Cappucci]: By all means, do that, because as the last speaker said, this is what's on the mind of the people.

[Robert Cappucci]: How are people going to upkeep their properties when they have the connectivity tax coming at them?

[Robert Cappucci]: when they have the perpetual property tax, when they have the meals tax, and the sales tax, and two income taxes, and fees to go to Wrights Pond, and fees for this, that, and the other thing.

[Robert Cappucci]: Gene Neuzil's right.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is death by paper cuts.

[Robert Cappucci]: And this body has the power to do something about that.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, these are our neighbors.

[Robert Cappucci]: We know the people who own these restaurants out here.

[Robert Cappucci]: We grew up here, our whole lives.

[Robert Cappucci]: Please, common sense.

[Robert Cappucci]: Please, thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was voted on by the people.

[Robert Cappucci]: If you can get it repealed, we'll review the paper.

[Robert Cappucci]: The people voted it in.

[Robert Cappucci]: Right, and I sat at a polling center on election day, and as people came in, Mr. President, and they looked at that doctor's prescription of a ballot question, they went up to the poll worker and they said, hey, can you explain this to me?

[Robert Cappucci]: And when they were told, basically, it's a surcharge on your profit, oh, I'm not voting for that.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're right, you're right.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was a citizen effort drive, and kudos to Roberta Kammerer for what she did.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't agree with the CPA, but I definitely admire her efforts.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was a job well done.

[Robert Cappucci]: But it was also done in a way that wasn't specifically clear to the voters of this community as to what was actually going to happen.

[Robert Cappucci]: And that, you're right, it was voted on by the people.

[Robert Cappucci]: What did he say?

[Robert Cappucci]: 1,300 people didn't even vote on it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Most people didn't even turn it over.

[Robert Cappucci]: More effort should be made to clarify exactly what was being voting on, and that there was even a ballot question.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Excuse me.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Rob Caputi of 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank Mr. Penta for bringing, bringing this up.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just want to say, I mean, I, this is a very important issue to me.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, what, what's actually going to happen.

[Robert Cappucci]: with this tax and all the other taxes is the businesses and residents, they're not going to pay it.

[Robert Cappucci]: They're going to pass these costs along to people that rent, to people that buy goods and services.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, I've been sitting in these subcommittee meetings that this honorable body has been having on the budget and, you know,

[Robert Cappucci]: To see an issue like this come, and then to hear different department heads, like the chief of police talking about he asked for five new police officers, and that was denied.

[Robert Cappucci]: And it's explained off that they're going to be hiring civil dispatchers, and that will bring in more police.

[Robert Cappucci]: But in actuality, that's not really going to bring in more police.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, it's just very confusing.

[Robert Cappucci]: and frustrating to the citizens who are seeing things like My Street, Evans Street, and all the infrastructure repairs that are needed across the city.

[Robert Cappucci]: To see other ways of bringing money into the city, rather than direct tax or new connectivity fees, to look at the budget that's being proposed here, to see only $97,000, I think the figure is, for the Chevalier Theater.

[Robert Cappucci]: that could be bringing in so much more money, an increase to the investment, to that treasure of a theater, where we could actually bring in enough money

[Robert Cappucci]: by bringing in bigger names with more investment to that almost 2,000 seat theater to see the increase in sales and whatnot to our downtown business district that's being crippled by the Craddock Bridge repair, and then use that money to actually really reduce water rates and property rates.

[Robert Cappucci]: and so many other things.

[Robert Cappucci]: $1,200,000 taken in by the Community Preservation Act.

[Robert Cappucci]: To see that when we know we have surpluses in other areas, I mean, to me that's money taken out of the economy.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's going away from

[Robert Cappucci]: from people being able to pay a better rent in Medford or a better mortgage or better prices for goods and services.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think Mr. Penter is right.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think this body should stand up on this and sit down with the mayor in these subcommittee meetings that I've been going to.

[Robert Cappucci]: Sometimes department heads coming without full facts on each decimal point.

[Robert Cappucci]: Sometimes department heads might even be in there.

[Robert Cappucci]: Sometimes the Hormel commission department wasn't there on, on Saturday morning, I believe it was.

[Robert Cappucci]: And then wondering why, why is there a Hormel commission in a, in a park commission?

[Robert Cappucci]: Why, why isn't that one, one, one commission?

[Robert Cappucci]: Yeah, I am wondering about that.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, I guess that explains that.

[Robert Cappucci]: But why can't, through maybe Hormel petition, we combine the two, like we've done in other things, like Councilor Marks brought up on Saturday morning at the subcommittee meeting, different ways that this body has brought other

[Robert Cappucci]: like the Traffic Commission, I think it was, and the Off-Street Parking Commission into one.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's what I'm hoping to see more of when I go to these subcommittee meetings.

[Robert Cappucci]: Streamlining government, making it smaller, more responsible, more effective, more transparent and accountable.

[Robert Cappucci]: uh, to see all these dollar amounts too, that are coming in for 450,000 that was budgeted for 2017.

[Robert Cappucci]: They only spent 420.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, what happens to that other 30,000?

[Robert Cappucci]: Oh, it just gets rolled over into the general fund and not being applied to next year's spending.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm sorry, Mr. President is, uh, continue.

[Robert Cappucci]: Is there a point of information to be made?

[Robert Cappucci]: Okay, thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just want to say that, you know, I mean, you guys are very smart and intelligent people.

[Robert Cappucci]: You see what's going on.

[Robert Cappucci]: $167 million being proposed to spend this year, but not in areas where we could actually bring in more money and provide better rates on all sorts of taxes to the citizens.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a shame and it's disconcerting, and I hope

[Robert Cappucci]: that the public is watching during this election year.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Excuse me, I'm Rob Caputi of 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank Mr. Penta for bringing this up.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just want to say, I mean, this is a very important issue to me.

[Robert Cappucci]: What's actually going to happen

[Robert Cappucci]: with this tax and all the other taxes is the businesses in residence, they're not going to pay it.

[Robert Cappucci]: They're going to pass these costs along to people that rent, to people that buy goods and services.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, I've been sitting in these subcommittee meetings that this honorable body has been having on the budget.

[Robert Cappucci]: And to see an issue like this come, and then to hear different department heads, like the chief of police talking about he asked for five new police officers, and that was denied.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's explained off that they're going to be hiring civil dispatchers, and that will bring in more police.

[Robert Cappucci]: But in actuality, that's not really going to bring in more police.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, it's just very confusing and frustrating to the citizens who are seeing things like my street, Evans Street, and all the infrastructure repairs that are needed across the city.

[Robert Cappucci]: to see other ways of bringing money into the city rather than, you know, direct tax or new connectivity fees, to look at the budget that's being proposed here, to see only $97,000, I think the figure is for the Chevalier Theatre, that could be bringing in so much more money, an increase to the investment, to that treasure of a theatre where we could actually,

[Robert Cappucci]: bring in enough money by bringing in bigger names with more investment to that almost 2,000 seat theater to see the increase in sales and whatnot to our downtown business district that's being crippled by the Craddock Bridge repair, and then use that money to actually really reduce water rates and property rates.

[Robert Cappucci]: and so many other things.

[Robert Cappucci]: $1,200,000 taken in by the Community Preservation Act.

[Robert Cappucci]: To see that when we know we have surpluses in other areas, I mean, to me, that's money taken out of the economy.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's going away from

[Robert Cappucci]: from people being able to pay a better rent in Medford or a better mortgage or better prices for goods and services.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think Mr. Penter is right.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think this body should stand up on this and sit down with the mayor in the subcommittee meetings that I've been going to.

[Robert Cappucci]: Sometimes department heads coming without full facts on each decimal point.

[Robert Cappucci]: Sometimes department heads not even be in there.

[Robert Cappucci]: Sometimes the Hormel commission department wasn't there on Saturday morning, I believe it was.

[Robert Cappucci]: And then wondering why is there a Hormel commission in a park commission?

[Robert Cappucci]: Why isn't that one commission?

[Robert Cappucci]: Yeah, I am wondering about that.

[Robert Cappucci]: I guess that explains that.

[Robert Cappucci]: But why can't, through maybe Hormel petition, we combine the two, like we've done in other things, like Councilor Marks brought up on Saturday morning at the subcommittee meeting, different ways that this body has brought other

[Robert Cappucci]: like the Traffic Commission, I think it was, and the Off-Street Parking Commission into one.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's what I'm hoping to see more of when I go to these subcommittee meetings.

[Robert Cappucci]: Streamlining government, making it smaller, more responsible, more effective, more transparent and accountable.

[Robert Cappucci]: To see all these dollar amounts, too, that are coming in for $450,000 that was budgeted for 2017.

[Robert Cappucci]: They only spent $420,000.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, what happens to that other $30,000?

[Robert Cappucci]: Oh, it just gets rolled over into the general fund and not being applied to next year's spending.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm sorry, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Continue.

[Robert Cappucci]: Is there a point of information to be made?

[Robert Cappucci]: Okay, thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just want to say that, you know, I mean, you guys are very smart and intelligent people.

[Robert Cappucci]: You see what's going on.

[Robert Cappucci]: $167 million being proposed to spend this year, but not in areas where we could actually bring in more money and provide better rates on all sorts of taxes to the citizens.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a shame and it's disconcerting, and I hope

[Robert Cappucci]: that the public is watching during this election year.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank vice president Marks for bringing this up tonight.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't know how many times I've been up here speaking about Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: With all due respect, I respect the intentions of bringing in technology to look at the roads but as Councilor Marks said, he's gotten what, how many pictures came in?

[Robert Cappucci]: I think we know what the conditions of the roads and streets are.

[Robert Cappucci]: To try to make it a little bit bigger of a picture,

[Robert Cappucci]: These kind of improvements go towards growing our community.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want more people to move and live in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, with the problems we're having with airplanes and everything else, more improvement on parks, which has actually been excellent in the last year and a half, I have to say.

[Robert Cappucci]: The park improvements have been good.

[Robert Cappucci]: But if we add this million dollars,

[Robert Cappucci]: To further improve our city and make it aesthetically pleasing and get more people to move here To make our community stronger.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think it would be great and to make it a zero-sum game I know the council is in the administration and a lot of people don't want to hear this but perhaps a 20% reduction

[Robert Cappucci]: in certain pay grades might help to offset certain costs so that we can make these improvements to make our city a much better place to live in, move to, raise a family and improve our schools.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, the facade at Medford high school I think is still in need of a million dollar repair.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a figure that I heard.

[Robert Cappucci]: I could be speaking out of turn.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't know that exactly.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I do know it does need repairs.

[Robert Cappucci]: In moving forward, I would hope that when you look at this budget that you're going to debate, we look into certain areas because I took a look at it before coming up here.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, to see millions of dollars in the pay grades and having to beg for a necessity like streets and roads kind of makes no sense to the people that are at home watching, seeing their water tax go up, their property taxes go up every year, a surcharge on the property tax, the excise taxes that I think are specifically supposed to be used for street and road improvements.

[Robert Cappucci]: And what are we getting for it?

[Robert Cappucci]: A city councilor who has to bring up again

[Robert Cappucci]: for how many years now, a simple thing like fixing the streets and roads to make Medford strong.

[Robert Cappucci]: Take that slogan off of a t-shirt.

[Robert Cappucci]: Let's put it into reality.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Caputi, 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank you all for this discussion.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think this is one of the biggest pebbles in the pond.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, when, when we're paying for water that that falls out of the sky, I mean, look at it from the perspective of the businesses.

[Robert Cappucci]: who might have to raise their prices a little bit for goods and services.

[Robert Cappucci]: Other residents who, like the city treasurer said before this council a couple months ago in talking about going after delinquent taxpayers, she said it's not fair to the residents who are, quote, sacrificing

[Robert Cappucci]: new cars and vacations.

[Robert Cappucci]: Why do you think that is?

[Robert Cappucci]: It's because they're paying for water that literally falls out of the sky.

[Robert Cappucci]: Is god going to be charged this new connectivity tax?

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't think so.

[Robert Cappucci]: The Metro residents and businesses are.

[Robert Cappucci]: It would help the overall local community to really get a grasp on this before

[Robert Cappucci]: and not just keep letting it go.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, businesses are losing in this square so much money because of that Craddock bridge.

[Robert Cappucci]: I know one proprietor, since it's happened, has lost close to a million dollars in business.

[Robert Cappucci]: When you add these taxes and fees on it, I mean, it becomes a priority that really shouldn't just slip through your fingers and get away.

[Robert Cappucci]: I respectfully request that you get a firm

[Robert Cappucci]: grasp on this and get the job done, please, sooner than later.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank Vice President Marks for bringing this up tonight.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, I don't know how many times I've been up here speaking about Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: With all due respect, I respect the intentions of bringing in technology to look at the roads.

[Robert Cappucci]: But, you know, as Councilor Marks said, he's gotten, what, how many pictures came in?

[Robert Cappucci]: I think we know what the conditions of the roads and streets are.

[Robert Cappucci]: And to try to make it a little bit bigger of a picture,

[Robert Cappucci]: These kind of improvements go towards growing our community.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want more people to move and live in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, with the problems we're having with airplanes and everything else, more improvement on parks, which has actually been excellent in the last year and a half, I have to say.

[Robert Cappucci]: The park improvements have been good.

[Robert Cappucci]: But if we add this million dollars,

[Robert Cappucci]: To further improve our city and make it aesthetically pleasing and get more people to move here To make our community stronger.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think it would be great and to make it a zero-sum game I know the council is in the administration and a lot of people don't want to hear this but perhaps a 20% reduction

[Robert Cappucci]: and certain pay grades might help to offset certain costs so that we can make these improvements to make our city a much better place to live in, move to, raise a family, and improve our schools.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, the facade at Medford High School, I think, is still in need of a million dollar repair.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a figure that I heard.

[Robert Cappucci]: I could be speaking out of turn.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't know.

[Robert Cappucci]: that exactly, but I do know it does need repairs.

[Robert Cappucci]: And moving forward, I would hope that when you look at this budget that you're going to debate, we look into certain areas, because I took a look at it before coming up here.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, to see millions of dollars in the pay grades and having to beg for a necessity like streets and roads kind of makes no sense to the people that are at home watching, seeing their water tax go up, their property taxes go up every year, a surcharge on the property tax, the excise taxes that I think are specifically supposed to be used for street and road improvements.

[Robert Cappucci]: And what are we getting for it?

[Robert Cappucci]: A city councilor who has to bring up again

[Robert Cappucci]: for how many years now, a simple thing like fixing the streets and roads to make Medford strong.

[Robert Cappucci]: Take that slogan off of a T-shirt.

[Robert Cappucci]: Let's put it into reality.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank you all for this discussion.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think this is one of the biggest pebbles in the pond.

[Robert Cappucci]: When we're paying for water that falls out of the sky, I mean, look at it from the perspective of the businesses.

[Robert Cappucci]: who might have to raise their prices a little bit for goods and services.

[Robert Cappucci]: Other residents who, like the city treasurer said before this council a couple months ago in talking about going after delinquent taxpayers, she said it's not fair to the residents who are, quote, sacrificing

[Robert Cappucci]: new cars and vacations.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, why do you think that is?

[Robert Cappucci]: It's because they're paying for water that literally falls out of the sky.

[Robert Cappucci]: Is God going to be charged this new connectivity tax?

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't think so.

[Robert Cappucci]: The Metro residents and businesses are.

[Robert Cappucci]: And it would help the overall local community to really get a grasp on this before

[Robert Cappucci]: and not just keep letting it go.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, businesses are losing in this square so much money because of that Kratik Bridge.

[Robert Cappucci]: I know one proprietor, since it's happened, has lost close to a million dollars in business.

[Robert Cappucci]: When you add these taxes and fees on it, I mean, it becomes a priority that really shouldn't just slip through your fingers and get away.

[Robert Cappucci]: I respectfully request that you get a firm

[Robert Cappucci]: grasp on this and get the job done, please, sooner than later.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address for the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Through the Chair, thank you, Councilor Alango-Kern, for taking this out of order under suspension of the rules.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't want to seem, you know, selfish about Evans Street,

[Robert Cappucci]: coming up here again because I know there's a lot of streets and sub water and gas systems across Medford that need to be looked at, but I'm a little disheartened before this body tonight to come and speak on this matter yet again.

[Robert Cappucci]: Through the administration's office, through the DPW, a letter came out saying that contracts would go out in May,

[Robert Cappucci]: for the work that needs to be done on Evan Street that members of this body have said in the past is in the top five of worst condition streets in the City of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: When that letter came out, it prompted some City Councilors, when they saw it, in good faith, to tell neighbours of mine and myself that work is going to be done this spring

[Robert Cappucci]: specifically this May.

[Robert Cappucci]: So a week and a half ago, one of my neighbors, Mr. Rob McGuire, knowing how often I come to the council meetings and discussions I have with the honorable members of this body, asked me point blank on Facebook, hey, well, my nickname's Booch, hey Booch, when are they gonna do the repairs on Evans Street?

[Robert Cappucci]: So I said, I'm not sure, I only know what we were told, what you were told.

[Robert Cappucci]: And then another neighbour of mine in the discussion on Facebook posted the picture of the letter that came out, and it was said that last week somebody was going to bring it up for discussion on this body, and for whatever reason, probably a good reason, it didn't come up for discussion.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I was going to speak last week on it.

[Robert Cappucci]: So the next day, last Wednesday, after work, I came right to City Hall, and I went into the engineer's office, Cassandra, and I asked point blank.

[Robert Cappucci]: Neighbours are asking me.

[Robert Cappucci]: We were told.

[Robert Cappucci]: that work was going to be done this spring, this May.

[Robert Cappucci]: She told me, and this is no offence, but these are the slow wheels of government.

[Robert Cappucci]: Medford has been waiting over six decades, not Medford, but Evans Street, for repairs that really need to be done.

[Robert Cappucci]: We had a water pipe that burst just before Christmas, this past Christmas, on Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: But what the engineer told me, who also I know is constrained by a lot of projects that are going on, but what she said was, I'm finalizing the contract now.

[Robert Cappucci]: Then it goes to the purchaser's office.

[Robert Cappucci]: Once it gets approved there, then it goes out for bids.

[Robert Cappucci]: Then once the bids come in, the mayor has to choose the best one.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I said, well, my neighbors are asking me, when is this work going to be done?

[Robert Cappucci]: Possibly July.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm sorry, Mr. President, but with all due respect, I really don't see it happening this year.

[Robert Cappucci]: And now you have to account for there's 26 houses, four on the corner, that's 30 houses, paying at least $1,200 in property taxes, paying God knows what in water taxes.

[Robert Cappucci]: Even the people that rent there, their rent's going up because of property taxes, the surcharges on property taxes.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're paying a lot.

[Robert Cappucci]: I did a ballpark figure.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're talking over six decades.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're talking millions of dollars in taxes from this one street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, I'm here tonight to tell you that I spoke to my fellow residents and, uh, I'm not even here to ask for the work to be done anymore.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, uh, a year and a half ago, this administration ran on a promised on her platform that she was going to dust off the master plan.

[Robert Cappucci]: A year and a half later, Mr. President, there's another inch of dust on the master plan.

[Robert Cappucci]: The citizens on Evans street are disappointed.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, thank you very much.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Councilor.

[Robert Cappucci]: If you drive around the corner on Pinkett Street, the potholes there, you have to navigate around them to not put damage on your car.

[Robert Cappucci]: The potholes on Evans Street,

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, there were baseball size rocks coming out of the, out of the gravel, out of the street.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's a lot of disappointed people on Evans street and this is my name.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address for the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Through the Chair, thank you, Councilor Lungo-Koehn for taking this out of order under suspension of the rules.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't want to seem selfish about Evans Street coming up here again, because I know there's a lot of streets and sub water and gas systems across Medford that need to be looked at.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I'm a little disheartened before this body tonight to come and speak on this matter yet again.

[Robert Cappucci]: Through the administration's office, through the DPW, a letter came out saying that

[Robert Cappucci]: Contracts would go out in May for the work that needs to be done on Evan Street that members of this body have said in the past is in the top five of worst condition streets in the city of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: When that letter came out, it prompted some city councilors, when they saw it, in good faith, to tell neighbors of mine and myself that work is gonna be done this spring

[Robert Cappucci]: specifically this May.

[Robert Cappucci]: So a week and a half ago, one of my neighbors, Mr. Rob McGuire, knowing how often I come to the council meetings and discussions I have with the honorable members of this body, asked me point blank on Facebook, hey, well my nickname's Booch, hey Booch, when are they gonna do the repairs on Evans Street?

[Robert Cappucci]: So I said, I'm not sure, I only know what we were told, what you were told.

[Robert Cappucci]: And then another neighbor of mine in the discussion on Facebook posted the picture of the letter that came out.

[Robert Cappucci]: And it was said that last week somebody was going to bring it up for discussion on this body.

[Robert Cappucci]: And for whatever reason, probably a good reason, it didn't come up for discussion.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I was going to speak last week on it.

[Robert Cappucci]: So the next day, last Wednesday after work, I came right to City Hall.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I went into the engineer's office, Cassandra.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I asked point blank.

[Robert Cappucci]: Neighbors are asking me.

[Robert Cappucci]: We were told.

[Robert Cappucci]: that work was going to be done this spring, this May.

[Robert Cappucci]: She told me, and this is no offense, but these are the slow wheels of government.

[Robert Cappucci]: Medford has been waiting over six decades, not Medford, but Evans Street, for repairs that really need to be done.

[Robert Cappucci]: We had a water pipe that burst just before Christmas, this past Christmas, on Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: But what the engineer told me, who also I know is constrained by a lot of projects that are going on, but what she said was, I'm finalizing the contract now.

[Robert Cappucci]: Then it goes to the purchaser's office.

[Robert Cappucci]: Once it gets approved there, then it goes out for bids.

[Robert Cappucci]: Then once the bids come in, the mayor has to choose the best one.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I said, well, my neighbors are asking me, when is this work going to be done?

[Robert Cappucci]: Possibly July.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm sorry, Mr. President, but with all due respect, I really don't see it happening this year.

[Robert Cappucci]: And now you have to account for there's 26 houses, four on the corner, that's 30 houses, paying at least $1,200 in property taxes, paying God knows what in water taxes.

[Robert Cappucci]: Even the people that rent there, their rent's going up because of property taxes, the surcharges on property taxes.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're paying a lot.

[Robert Cappucci]: I did a ballpark figure.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're talking over six decades.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're talking millions of dollars in taxes from this one street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm here tonight to tell you that I spoke to my fellow residents, and I'm not even here to ask for the work to be done anymore, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: A year and a half ago, this administration ran on a promise on her platform that she was going to dust off the master plan.

[Robert Cappucci]: A year and a half later, Mr. President, there's another inch of dust on the master plan.

[Robert Cappucci]: The citizens on Evans Street are disappointed, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much.

[Robert Cappucci]: Councilor Lungo-Koehn.

[Robert Cappucci]: If you drive around the corner on Pinkett Street, the potholes there, you have to navigate around them to not put damage on your car.

[Robert Cappucci]: The potholes on Evans Street,

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, there were baseball size rocks coming out of the, out of the gravel, out of the street.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's a lot of disappointed people on Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: And this is my name.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: This matter about the trucking has come up at the Method Police community meetings, and even if they had all of the equipment, they can't do it because of the traffic that would back up behind those trucks.

[Robert Cappucci]: I forget the detective's name.

[Robert Cappucci]: I directly asked him to do this.

[Robert Cappucci]: from seeing the way 18 wheelers turn right here out at the point at the, at the citizens bank out at century bank, uh, they physically can't do it even if they had had the equipment.

[Robert Cappucci]: I, I would support, uh, what councilor Knight offered, which is have the state police do it outside the city limits.

[Robert Cappucci]: So as not to congest the city, they do it on route 16.

[Robert Cappucci]: I brought this up at the community police meetings.

[Robert Cappucci]: They said right out to me, they physically can't do it because of the traffic nightmare that would happen.

[Robert Cappucci]: Those truck pullovers, they take a long, long time to do.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm just giving you the information I got directly from the Method Police.

[Robert Cappucci]: And also, too, on the matter, if I could.

[Robert Cappucci]: One of the information, Vice President Fox.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's not that they're not willing.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's just that we're a current force of only 104 officers and not having the necessary capacity to do these things.

[Robert Cappucci]: They're definitely willing.

[Robert Cappucci]: They definitely want to do it.

[Robert Cappucci]: But they looked at it, Councilor, and it's physically not possible for them.

[Robert Cappucci]: They want to do it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Of course they want to do it and provide public safety at the same time.

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope I didn't give them this information.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm sorry.

[Robert Cappucci]: I would agree with that.

[Robert Cappucci]: Talk directly to the police and I'm sure they're going to confirm exactly what, what I just said.

[Robert Cappucci]: On the matter of what Councilor Dello Russo brought up about the low-flying planes and the noise, I read an article.

[Robert Cappucci]: Maybe some of you saw it.

[Robert Cappucci]: I posted it around Facebook.

[Robert Cappucci]: There is a problem in Los Angeles out of LAX.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a health problem.

[Robert Cappucci]: These low-flying planes are producing

[Robert Cappucci]: something called ultrafine particles that are hurting respiratory systems of people that are going to the hospital.

[Robert Cappucci]: These low-flying planes, I mean, I know the city council, it's up to our state and our federal delegation to do something, but maybe the city council as a body can look into this article.

[Robert Cappucci]: I can send it to you and see what their findings were.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's in communities 10 miles around

[Robert Cappucci]: LAX, we're what, seven, eight miles away from Logan, and we are, from that presentation given by Massport a few weeks ago, we are ground zero.

[Robert Cappucci]: Medford is directly being assaulted by these things.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, the noise is definitely a problem.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I went to the hospital a couple weeks ago because I had upper respiratory problems.

[Robert Cappucci]: I got some medication.

[Robert Cappucci]: There was one person waiting.

[Robert Cappucci]: in the urgent care waiting room and two people on either side of me with the same problem.

[Robert Cappucci]: Another person had it that I'm currently seeing now.

[Robert Cappucci]: And we should probably look into, you know, medical records going on and determine if these ultrafine particles are

[Robert Cappucci]: invading our airspace and falling on our schools and everything else.

[Robert Cappucci]: The noise could be a small problem compared to something that could be much larger.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you for your time, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, before they leave, if I could ask them some questions, uh, through the chair, having not, having not read, uh,

[Robert Cappucci]: this report yet, and I intend to.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm a little bit in the dark.

[Robert Cappucci]: My question pertains to the funding grants that are possible.

[Robert Cappucci]: From what I'm hearing tonight, this sounds like it's expressly for some kind of natural disaster where health concerns are.

[Robert Cappucci]: But through the funding that we're now available for, what kind of grants could the City of Medford apply for?

[Robert Cappucci]: such as a few weeks ago Councilor Knight brought up the epi pens for first responders.

[Robert Cappucci]: Could we get funding for that?

[Robert Cappucci]: These have been for natural disasters.

[Robert Cappucci]: Specifically just for natural disasters?

[Robert Cappucci]: Yes.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, then I guess that answers all my questions.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't have to address them.

[Robert Cappucci]: But one last question to the city.

[Robert Cappucci]: I know Councilor Brianna Lungo‑Kern has brought up often

[Robert Cappucci]: uh, hiring a full-time grant writer.

[Robert Cappucci]: Has the city of Medford done that yet?

[Robert Cappucci]: Not to my knowledge.

[Robert Cappucci]: Okay.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Before they leave, if I could ask them some questions through the chair.

[Robert Cappucci]: Having not read this report yet, and I intend to, I'm a little bit in the dark, my question pertains to the funding grants that are possible.

[Robert Cappucci]: From what I'm hearing tonight, this sounds like it's like

[Robert Cappucci]: expressly for like some kind of natural disaster where health concerns are.

[Robert Cappucci]: But through the funding that we're now available for, what kind of grants could the city of Medford apply for?

[Robert Cappucci]: Such as a few weeks ago, Councilor Knight brought up the EpiPens for first responders.

[Robert Cappucci]: Could we get funding for that?

[Robert Cappucci]: Perhaps for police?

[Robert Cappucci]: Oh, specifically just for natural disasters?

[Robert Cappucci]: Yes.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, then I guess that answers all my questions.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't have to address them.

[Robert Cappucci]: But one last question to the city.

[Robert Cappucci]: I know Councilor Breanna Lungo-Koehn has brought up often hiring a full-time grant writer.

[Robert Cappucci]: Has the city of Medford done that yet?

[Robert Cappucci]: Not to my knowledge.

[Robert Cappucci]: OK.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I had opportunity to also attend last night's informational discussion.

[Robert Cappucci]: And while I am thankful that the meeting took place, I'm not really optimistic from what I learned last night.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, they started the meeting out saying that, uh, present trends of airplane noise are either going to continue or get worse.

[Robert Cappucci]: And, uh, I'm led to believe that it's actually going to get worse.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now as, as, because there's three new airlines, uh, that are going to start.

[Robert Cappucci]: 11 new airlines.

[Robert Cappucci]: Some of them, uh, double deckers, uh, that'll be coming in over the next, I think you president, uh, Caraviello said last night, one starts next month.

[Robert Cappucci]: From what I heard the presenters, excuse me, say last night was, complaints have skyrocketed.

[Robert Cappucci]: And the information they put out last night was from a study that, I don't think it's half done, Councilor, I think it is done.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think this slide show,

[Robert Cappucci]: was actually the result of the study that I asked the guy after the meeting.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think the guy's name from MIT is Professor Hanson or something like that.

[Robert Cappucci]: And it's a taxpayer-funded study that I think more complaints to Massport is good and should happen.

[Robert Cappucci]: But what I really think needs to happen is that we have to address our state

[Robert Cappucci]: delegation, Congresswoman Clark, Senators Markey and Warren, because these are the people that have the political authority to do something.

[Robert Cappucci]: I looked up, before coming last night, because I thought the airlines were going to be here, the amount of profits that these airlines are reaping.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I am all for that, 100%.

[Robert Cappucci]: Make as much money as you can.

[Robert Cappucci]: But when they're making a combined $29 billion profit,

[Robert Cappucci]: They can afford to spend a few dollars to fly these planes out over the ocean, make a U-turn, gain the altitude, so they don't have to be subjecting our schools possibly to cancer, so that they don't have to be subjecting our city to

[Robert Cappucci]: this excessive noise.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, you heard some of the comments in here last night.

[Robert Cappucci]: One woman said, if she knew about all this airplane noise, she wouldn't have bought a house in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: We want more people to move here.

[Robert Cappucci]: We want the quality of life to improve.

[Robert Cappucci]: And as another gentleman said last night, with the CPA surcharge tax, and the property tax, and the water tax, now the connectivity tax, plus the sales tax, two income taxes, where are all these monies going to?

[Robert Cappucci]: If we're not going to get a better improvement in quality of life, I really think people should direct their complaints and light the fire under our state delegation and our federal representatives to cause a herring, have people come out and hold these airlines accountable.

[Robert Cappucci]: to what they're doing.

[Robert Cappucci]: Another option they can do, which is cost prohibitive to the airlines, like they did in East Boston and Winthrop, is start soundproofing the windows in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: Sound panel the houses.

[Robert Cappucci]: But because it's Medford and also Somerville and Everett, that's cost prohibitive.

[Robert Cappucci]: The only real solution, I think, here for them to do is to pay the few extra dollars in fuel costs, fly out over the ocean, gain altitude, and then

[Robert Cappucci]: you know, not subject our cities.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, some of these planes are flying at 500 and a thousand feet.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's, it's, it's really outrageous.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, I hope that, that people will still continue to complain to Massport, but if that's only going to fund, uh, cause another taxpayer funded study that tells us what we already know, I mean, what's the point?

[Robert Cappucci]: Get, get the people with the political will,

[Robert Cappucci]: and authority to do something about this before we start seeing people leave.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I want more people to move to Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want it to be the best city north of Boston.

[Robert Cappucci]: But it won't be if we continue with these excessive fees, taxes, and planes that are destroying the quality of life in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Vice President Mox.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I had opportunity to also attend last night's informational discussion.

[Robert Cappucci]: And while I am thankful that the meeting took place, I'm not really optimistic from what I learned last night.

[Robert Cappucci]: They started the meeting out saying that present trends of airplane noise are either going to continue or get worse.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I'm led to believe that it's actually going to get worse.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now, that's because there's three new airlines that are going to start.

[Robert Cappucci]: 11 new airlines.

[Robert Cappucci]: Some of them are double-deckers that will be coming in over the next, I think you, President Caraviello, said last night, one starts next month.

[Robert Cappucci]: They come in with the big A380s.

[Robert Cappucci]: From what I heard the presenters, excuse me, say last night was complaints have skyrocketed.

[Robert Cappucci]: And the information they put out last night was from a study that I don't think it's half done, counsel.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think it is done.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think this slideshow,

[Robert Cappucci]: was actually the result of a study that I asked the guy after the meeting.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think the guy's name from MIT is Professor Hanson or something like that.

[Robert Cappucci]: And it's a taxpayer-funded study that I think more complaints to Massport is good and should happen.

[Robert Cappucci]: But what I really think needs to happen is that we have to address our state

[Robert Cappucci]: delegation, Congresswoman Clark, Senators Markey and Warren, because these are the people that have the political authority to do something.

[Robert Cappucci]: I looked up before coming last night, because I thought the airlines were going to be here, the amount of profits that these airlines are reaping.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I am all for that, 100%.

[Robert Cappucci]: Make as much money as you can.

[Robert Cappucci]: But when they're making a combined $29 billion profit,

[Robert Cappucci]: They can afford to spend a few dollars to fly these planes out over the ocean, make a U-turn, gain the altitude so they don't have to be subjecting our schools possibly to cancer, so that they don't have to be subjecting our city to

[Robert Cappucci]: this excessive noise.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, you heard some of the comments in here last night.

[Robert Cappucci]: One woman said, if she knew about all this airplane noise, she wouldn't have bought a house in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: We want more people to move here.

[Robert Cappucci]: We want the quality of life to improve.

[Robert Cappucci]: And as another gentleman said last night, with the CPA surcharge tax, and the property tax, and the water tax, now the connectivity tax, plus the sales tax, two income taxes, where are all these monies going to?

[Robert Cappucci]: If we're not going to get a better improvement in quality of life, I really think people should direct their complaints and light the fire under our state delegation and our federal representatives to cause a herring, have people come out and hold these airlines accountable.

[Robert Cappucci]: to what they're doing.

[Robert Cappucci]: Another option they can do, which is cost prohibitive to the airlines, like they did in East Boston and Winthrop, is start soundproofing the windows in Medford, sound panel the houses.

[Robert Cappucci]: But because it's Medford, and also Somerville, and Everett, that's cost prohibitive.

[Robert Cappucci]: The only real solution, I think, here for them to do is to pay the few extra dollars in fuel costs, fly out over the ocean, gain altitude, and then

[Robert Cappucci]: you know, not subject our cities.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, some of these planes are flying at 500 and 1,000 feet.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's really outrageous.

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope that people will still continue to complain to Massport.

[Robert Cappucci]: But if that's only going to cause another taxpayer-funded study that tells us what we already know, I mean, what's the point?

[Robert Cappucci]: Get the people with the political will

[Robert Cappucci]: in authority to do something about this before we start seeing people leave.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want more people to move to Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want it to be the best city north of Boston, but it won't be if we continue with these excessive fees, taxes, and planes that are destroying the quality of life in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Vice President Mox.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name, address of the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, if I could through the chair, I understand this is, she's part of the community preservation.

[Robert Cappucci]: We are, we are a commission.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, in, in vetting her out.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's right.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think it would be prudent to ask the question exactly how does this commission work?

[Robert Cappucci]: From my understanding in reading the law is that they get to decide how the funds are spent, but people from the citizenry can also solicit the community preservation commission for funds.

[Robert Cappucci]: Point of information.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Through the chair, I want to thank Councilor Marks for bringing this up and bringing this information forward.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, on two separate other debating topics tonight, the vetting of the new Community Preservation Commission, a new shadow government method, and on Councilor Lungo-Koehn's resolution about the demolition, a lot of talk was generated on affordable housing and preserving historic landmarks.

[Robert Cappucci]: here's a great opportunity to give a little bit more affordable housing to the residents of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: And as far as historical landmarks go, how about our senior citizens, like my mother, who's 78 years old, who is a historic person as far as I'm concerned here in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: This charge, Mr. President, and I'm a little passionate about this, is outrageous, especially when Councilor Marks refers to the fact that there's $8 million in an overtaxed account.

[Robert Cappucci]: Here's a great opportunity to provide a little bit more affordable housing

[Robert Cappucci]: to the citizens of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: And we shouldn't wait until 2018.

[Robert Cappucci]: The power of this body should somehow find a way to kill this now, not wait.

[Robert Cappucci]: May 2nd will be the Council of All We.

[Robert Cappucci]: Not wait.

[Robert Cappucci]: And on that point, because this is such an important matter, perhaps that Committee of the Whole meeting should be in this chamber, under the TV, so people at home can watch this, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's unfortunate that that meeting is not available to the whole public through

[Robert Cappucci]: through technology in some fashion.

[Robert Cappucci]: To me, I'm sorry, this is really outrageous.

[Robert Cappucci]: Something should be done.

[Robert Cappucci]: In terms of talking about affordability for the residents of Medford, another speaker spoke earlier to me about how the rents are going way up.

[Robert Cappucci]: Why do you think that is?

[Robert Cappucci]: When the property taxes are always going up, our sales taxes, excise taxes, excess in taxes, a cash account with another $10 million into it.

[Robert Cappucci]: This stuff trickles downhill, Mr. President, in the lower income, in the middle income, and the poor people are the ones who end up paying all of these excessive costs for living in the city of Medford, especially when there's a surplus.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President... May 2nd, voice your concerns that night.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm voicing them here and now, too, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's outrageous.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Robert Capucci, Jr., 71 Evans Street in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'll try to be brief at this late hour.

[Robert Cappucci]: Last summer, it was proposed that the city move towards municipal aggregation based solely on it would save the electric rate payers in Medford some money.

[Robert Cappucci]: It went away.

[Robert Cappucci]: Somehow it came back last Tuesday.

[Robert Cappucci]: in a committee of the whole meeting under a new auspice of protecting the environment, Go Green.

[Robert Cappucci]: There was a wonderful presentation brought by the company, supposedly going to be hired by Alicia Hunt, the director of energy and environment here in Medford, the chairman of the Go Green Medford community.

[Robert Cappucci]: Basically, for the citizens that are watching at home,

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a program whereby if passed, if it ever comes to a vote in this council and it does get passed, you're automatically opted into the city buying your power for you, your electricity, with the provision that you can opt out.

[Robert Cappucci]: Understandably, what the company said last week was you can opt out at any time.

[Robert Cappucci]: There was also a 30 day opt out clause in there.

[Robert Cappucci]: But Councilor Marks at the committee of the whole meeting brought up the state law which is after 180 days you cannot opt out.

[Robert Cappucci]: And getting into these government contracts doing things on behalf of the people, when they tell you, you know, we'll let you opt out at any time.

[Robert Cappucci]: But the state losses something out.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm a little bit skeptical of the whole process I if they if this is really such a good thing They should present it and market it to the people as an as an opt-in if they want to not Force everybody all at once to be a part of this system.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, that's a slippery slope.

[Robert Cappucci]: Where does it end?

[Robert Cappucci]: Is the City Council gonna vote that?

[Robert Cappucci]: another company buys all my clothes from me, all my groceries.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's, it's, it's, it's dangerous precedent that was sent setting.

[Robert Cappucci]: It really is.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I want to be fair to the other side.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, Councilor Dello Russo at the committee of the whole meeting was a very astute and bringing up, I would like to hear opposition to this.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I emailed everybody on this council, the citizens against municipal aggregation website.

[Robert Cappucci]: I also included the mayor and,

[Robert Cappucci]: Alicia hunt, the director of environment and engineer.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm also going to reach out to them if it ever does come to a vote so that the opposite side could be heard.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just find it just comforting that the city would entertain the notion of doing something on behalf of every resident.

[Robert Cappucci]: from reading the CAMA website, it doesn't always work.

[Robert Cappucci]: And if you are locked into it, and they say you can get out, but on that 181st day, you do try to get out.

[Robert Cappucci]: For some reason, you can't, and a lower rate comes.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, you can go to the two sources now.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's at Eversource and National Grid.

[Robert Cappucci]: And you can click on them now.

[Robert Cappucci]: And under those, a ton of other options come up.

[Robert Cappucci]: There are choices for citizens to make right now.

[Robert Cappucci]: They can enter into a six-month program for, say, $6.99 a kilowatt hour, or another program for $12.99.

[Robert Cappucci]: That choice, which is pretty much the fundamental building block of this nation, should never be taken away.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street,

[Robert Cappucci]: If I could, through the Chair, I understand this is, she's part of the Community Preservation Commission.

[Robert Cappucci]: In vetting her out, I think it would be prudent to ask the question, exactly how does this commission work?

[Robert Cappucci]: From my understanding in reading the law is that they get to decide how the funds are spent, but people from the citizenry can also solicit

[Robert Cappucci]: the Community Preservation Commission for funds.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Through the chair, I want to thank Councilor Marks for bringing this up and bringing this information forward.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, on two separate other debating topics tonight, the vetting of the new

[Robert Cappucci]: Community Preservation Commission, a new shadow government in Medford, and on Councilor Lungo-Koehn's resolution about the demolition.

[Robert Cappucci]: A lot of talk was generated on affordable housing and preserving historic landmarks.

[Robert Cappucci]: Here's a great opportunity to give a little bit more affordable housing to the residents of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: And as far as historical landmarks go, how about our senior citizens, like my mother, who's 78 years old, who is a historic person as far as I'm concerned here in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: This charge, Mr. President, and I'm a little passionate about this, is outrageous, especially when Councilor Marks refers to the fact that there's $8 million

[Robert Cappucci]: in an overtaxed account.

[Robert Cappucci]: Here's a great opportunity to provide a little bit more affordable housing to the citizens of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: And we shouldn't wait until 2018.

[Robert Cappucci]: The power of this body should somehow find a way to kill this now, not wait.

[Robert Cappucci]: May 2nd will be the Council meeting.

[Robert Cappucci]: And on that point, because this is such an important matter, perhaps that Committee of the Whole meeting should be in this chamber, under the TV, so people at home can watch this, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's unfortunate that that meeting is not available to the whole public through technology in some fashion.

[Robert Cappucci]: To me, I'm sorry, this is really outrageous.

[Robert Cappucci]: Something should be done.

[Robert Cappucci]: In terms of talking about affordability for the residents of Medford, another speaker spoke earlier tonight about how the rents are going way up.

[Robert Cappucci]: Why do you think that is?

[Robert Cappucci]: When the property taxes are always going up, our sales taxes, excise taxes, excess in taxes, a cash account with another $10 million into it.

[Robert Cappucci]: This stuff trickles downhill, Mr. President, in the lower income, in the middle income, and the poor people are the ones who end up paying all of these excessive costs for living in the city of Medford, especially when there's a surplus.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President... May 2nd, voice your concerns that night.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm voicing them here and now, too, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's outrageous.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Robert Cappucci Jr., 71 Evans Street in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'll try to be brief at this late hour.

[Robert Cappucci]: Last summer, it was proposed that the city move towards

[Robert Cappucci]: municipal aggregation based solely on it would save the electric rate payers in Medford some money.

[Robert Cappucci]: It went away.

[Robert Cappucci]: Somehow it came back last Tuesday in a committee of the whole meeting under a new auspice of protecting the environment, go green.

[Robert Cappucci]: There was a wonderful presentation brought by the company, supposedly going to be hired.

[Robert Cappucci]: by Alicia Hunt, the Director of Energy and Environment here in Medford, the Chairman of the Go Green Medford Community.

[Robert Cappucci]: Basically, for the citizens that are watching at home, it's a program whereby if passed, if it ever comes to a vote in this council and it does get passed, you're automatically opted into the city buying your power for you, your electricity, with the provision that you can opt out.

[Robert Cappucci]: Understandably, what the company said last week was you can opt out at any time.

[Robert Cappucci]: There was also a 30-day opt-out clause in there.

[Robert Cappucci]: But Councilor Marks at the Committee of the Whole meeting brought up the state law, which is after 180 days, you cannot opt out.

[Robert Cappucci]: And getting into these government contracts, doing things on behalf of the people, when they tell you, you know, we'll let you opt out at any time,

[Robert Cappucci]: But the state law says something else.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm a little bit skeptical of the whole process.

[Robert Cappucci]: If this is really such a good thing, they should present it and market it to the people as an opt-in if they want to, not force everybody all at once to be a part of this system.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, that's a slippery slope.

[Robert Cappucci]: Where does it end?

[Robert Cappucci]: Is the city council going to vote?

[Robert Cappucci]: another company buys all my clothes for me, all my groceries, it's a dangerous precedent that we're setting.

[Robert Cappucci]: It really is.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I want to be fair to the other side.

[Robert Cappucci]: Councilor Dello Russo at the Committee of the Whole meeting was very astute in bringing up, I would like to hear opposition to this.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I emailed everybody on this council, the Citizens Against Municipal Aggregation website.

[Robert Cappucci]: I also included the mayor and

[Robert Cappucci]: Alicia hunt the director of environment and engineer.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm also going to reach out to them if this ever does come to a vote so that the opposite side could be heard.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just find it just comforting that the city would entertain a notion

[Robert Cappucci]: of doing something on behalf of every resident.

[Robert Cappucci]: From reading the CAMA website, it doesn't always work.

[Robert Cappucci]: And if you are locked into it and they say you can get out, but on that 181st day you do try to get out, for some reason you can't, and a lower rate comes, I mean, you can go to

[Robert Cappucci]: The two sources now, it's an Eversource and National Grid.

[Robert Cappucci]: And you can click on them now.

[Robert Cappucci]: And under those, a ton of other options come up.

[Robert Cappucci]: There are choices for citizens to make right now.

[Robert Cappucci]: They can enter into a six-month program for, say, $6.99 a kilowatt hour, or another program for $12.99.

[Robert Cappucci]: That choice, which is pretty much the fundamental building block of this nation, should never be taken away.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Good evening.

[Robert Cappucci]: Welcome.

[Robert Cappucci]: Please state your name and address for the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci is 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, I don't know how feasible it is, is for the city, but if an extra set of eyes is, is needed,

[Robert Cappucci]: I know neighboring communities like Cambridge, they have cameras at intersections and such.

[Robert Cappucci]: And if people are, I mean, I've never personally seen anybody blow off a crossing guard, but if people are, I mean, that's a very serious issue that drastic measures have to definitely be taken.

[Robert Cappucci]: And on the matter of hiring auxiliary, last Tuesday night when I presented that humble suggestion, the next day actually,

[Robert Cappucci]: I walk my dog at the park.

[Robert Cappucci]: I spoke to a guy who used to be an auxiliary police officer and, um, they're, they're invaluable in terms of the service that they provide.

[Robert Cappucci]: If they're only working 20 hours a week.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, this guy personally actually, uh, caught down and tracked a, a, uh, an offender.

[Robert Cappucci]: I won't say of what nature, but, uh, um, I wonder if the city knows when,

[Robert Cappucci]: We did get rid of the auxiliary police we used to have.

[Robert Cappucci]: I know growing up in the 70s and 80s, we used to call them parkies.

[Robert Cappucci]: There used to be a cop at every park.

[Robert Cappucci]: But we've got rid of that program, and I'm wondering why, just if it was budgeted.

[Robert Cappucci]: If you can find out, that would be great.

[Robert Cappucci]: And look into it, whatever you can do for public safety.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's really government's first issue is protection of the citizens.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Good evening.

[Robert Cappucci]: Welcome.

[Robert Cappucci]: Please state your name and address for the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank Councilor Marks for bringing this discussion to the table.

[Robert Cappucci]: I've attended many of those town meetings.

[Robert Cappucci]: I also want to thank Councilor Falco for bringing these into the neighbourhoods.

[Robert Cappucci]: That kind of a turnout is great.

[Robert Cappucci]: I missed the first two of this year because I just got a new puppy, but I usually regularly attend those meetings.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't know what the city law is or the state law.

[Robert Cappucci]: But perhaps to alleviate some of these traffic and public safety issues, you know, with budgeting being as it is, perhaps Medford could incorporate an auxiliary police force or a special police force that reserves part-time.

[Robert Cappucci]: They could be armed or unarmed or unpaid.

[Robert Cappucci]: I briefly looked it up before I came up to speak.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's about 10 towns in Bristol County that

[Robert Cappucci]: utilizes an auxiliary force that, you know, if they're youngsters, as Councilor Marks alluded to, there's a lot of people in this city that want to contribute, that want to volunteer.

[Robert Cappucci]: I bet you could find at least 20, 30 people that would be happy to volunteer their time on a part-time basis.

[Robert Cappucci]: to help alleviate some of these concerns.

[Robert Cappucci]: Councilor Mark said something earlier, with all due respect, about, you know, they'll find a way to make it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Haven't gone to these town meetings for pretty much regularly for about three or four years now.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's really difficult.

[Robert Cappucci]: When Chief Sacco says that he needs the manpower, he really means it.

[Robert Cappucci]: You could have some officers that, you know, are working undercover.

[Robert Cappucci]: of others that work in phones.

[Robert Cappucci]: He's very understaffed.

[Robert Cappucci]: He needs about another 25 or 30 officers.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now I know the mayor just freed up a few months ago about 10 dispatches so that they could offset that and hire 10 new police.

[Robert Cappucci]: But at the same time, they lost 10 police officers.

[Robert Cappucci]: So they really didn't gain one more officer from that move.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I'm just up to offer a suggestion.

[Robert Cappucci]: Maybe the city council could, working with the mayor's office,

[Robert Cappucci]: get the advice, of course, of Chief Sacco, who would know more, consider an auxiliary reserve police force that would help ensure all of the concerns that were brought up tonight.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Bob Capucci of, uh, 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, a bunch of weeks ago, a fellow, uh, resident who lives on Evans street with me in mind, we came down to talk about the bad, very bad condition of, of Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: And, uh,

[Robert Cappucci]: A C click fix item had been posted the Wednesday, I think, uh, before the Tuesday night we came here to speak and that Thursday it was, it was taken down and put, uh, resolved when, when it wasn't, uh, what I think the city needs to do is instead of just like one word,

[Robert Cappucci]: in closing it out resolved, put the fixes that were made, the time, and try to be a little bit more specific and transparent.

[Robert Cappucci]: With regards to making comments on it, I understand what Councilor Caraviello is trying to convey by that sentiment, but at the same time, I wouldn't want to see anybody silenced or any ideas that might be offered that might help a situation.

[Robert Cappucci]: as well.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Chair recognizes the citizen from Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Bob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, not, not a rhetorical question.

[Robert Cappucci]: Any update on the dog park, Mr. President that we know of?

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, with regards to dogs, I understand the man's concerns.

[Robert Cappucci]: Maybe the city should just utilize the reverse 311 or 911 it is and just, you know, remind people that when you got your dog out there to have them leashed, maybe periodic checks of proper registration and licensing.

[Robert Cappucci]: But by the same token, I mean, dogs are more than just pets to a lot of us out here.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, they're, they're family members.

[Robert Cappucci]: They're, they're beloved.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, they provide comfort, joy, protection.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, I don't want to see the dogs get a bad reputation on this cause I'm, I'm of the opinion that there are no bad dogs, just some bad owners.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Chair recognizes the citizen at the podium.

[Robert Cappucci]: Sir, please state your name and address for the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: If I could ask, please, through the chair, at what cost does street scan, what would it cost the city of Medford?

[Robert Cappucci]: Any idea on that?

[Robert Cappucci]: That's what we're asking the administration to support.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, I've come down here a couple times now and spoke about Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Reports are that it's been 65 years since it's been repaved.

[Robert Cappucci]: We know that the gas lines have been redone.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're waiting on the water pipes to be redone, and then we can finally get our street paved.

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope that this doesn't cost too much because, I mean, we've all lived in Medford for a number of years, running for office.

[Robert Cappucci]: We've been through every neighborhood.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think we know what the problems are.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, we talked about see, click, fix earlier and, you know, people putting reports on there and having one word resolved and the thing closed and nothing actually being done.

[Robert Cappucci]: I've spoken about the huge pothole that still exists.

[Robert Cappucci]: right at the end of Evans street at the entrance way that has rocks all over the place.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think we know enough about the infrastructure of the city of Medford from, uh, from roof here to the police station to, uh, Fulton Heights where, I mean, when I ran for a state Senate a couple of years ago, when I went through Fulton Heights, I mean, there were roads up there that should be closed.

[Robert Cappucci]: They're dilapidated.

[Robert Cappucci]: We know the water pipes under the city of Medford, the streets that need to be fixed, and whatever streets that are controlled by the state, we need to reach out to the state to have them fix it.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't think we need to incur another cost for the citizens of Medford who are already paying excise taxes, water taxes, property taxes, surcharge now on the property tax coming up, that I hope people are prepared for.

[Robert Cappucci]: That first payment in January is going back to the 1st of July.

[Robert Cappucci]: That first payment on the CPA is going to be pretty big, and we're not seeing

[Robert Cappucci]: anything done.

[Robert Cappucci]: That woman that came up here before talked about her manhole cover out in front of her condo.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think we know what the problem is.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't think we need to put any more cost on the city or another layer of government.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, I appreciate, I definitely appreciate and understand

[Robert Cappucci]: Councilor Knight's motives, and I'm all for it.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I think we already know what the problem is.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I just think we need to have an administration that's finally going to light a fire under these problems and get them done.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now, the capital improvement project is supposed to start, I believe, next month.

[Robert Cappucci]: But then the winter's going to set in, and we're not going to get to these things until the spring.

[Robert Cappucci]: We've been waiting too long.

[Robert Cappucci]: Evans Street, 65 years.

[Robert Cappucci]: uh, I'm only 46 almost 20 years before I was born.

[Robert Cappucci]: That street need to be repaved.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, Mr. President, I understand and I appreciate the motives of, of Councilor Knight, but I think we know what the problem is.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't think we need to incur any costs.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just think these problems need to be, uh, addressed, taken care of and finally fixed for the, for the citizens who are paying a lot of money in the city of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. Capucci.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, if I may, uh, constant night,

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Just really quick.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you to Councilor Lungo-Koehn for that information.

[Robert Cappucci]: Just really quick.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was actually Mark Twain who said doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

[Robert Cappucci]: But finally, something's being done on Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: But like I said, it was my neighbor, Mrs. Mottola, who's 86 years old, who's lived on that street since I believe she was in her 30s, who told me that that street hasn't been paved in 65 years.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm not against

[Robert Cappucci]: what Councilor Knight is proposing, but I think we already know what the problems are.

[Robert Cappucci]: Let's fix them first before we throw more money into it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now, the technology he's talking about is great, but let's fix what we have first and then start monitoring it.

[Robert Cappucci]: This technology actually used to work for a company that built these x-ray machines, and they did projects on like the

[Robert Cappucci]: the suspension bridge in Boston, where they scanned it and they found the holes in the cracks.

[Robert Cappucci]: I agree with what Councilor Knight has proposed, and I think it would be invaluable to the city of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I think first, let's, I mean, we're talking about all sorts of people going on see click fix and myself coming to the podium and reporting these problems, and we're not seeing anything done.

[Robert Cappucci]: And now we want to come in and spend more money to get

[Robert Cappucci]: information and data that will be valuable that we could work on, but we're not seeing the work done.

[Robert Cappucci]: Let's get the work done first, fix the streets and roads, and then stop monitoring it.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's my point.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. Capucci.

[Robert Cappucci]: Welcome, please state your name and address for the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, Rob Capucci, 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'll try to be really brief.

[Robert Cappucci]: I went to the park department meeting earlier tonight.

[Robert Cappucci]: And, uh, there's, there's a little bit of conflicting information based on what the park ranger that was there, what, what he said and the citizens that, that came before us.

[Robert Cappucci]: And, uh, I mean, if it's,

[Robert Cappucci]: if it's in the purview of this city council, if you have any bearing over the parks department, I don't know if you fund them, if you vote for them on the budget.

[Robert Cappucci]: I would suggest that the rules, that somebody from the parks department that should come here and give their side of the story.

[Robert Cappucci]: For instance, the park ranger that was there is saying that there was always two officers at the base of Wright's Pond, and as people left, he allowed people to come in.

[Robert Cappucci]: But according to the citizen that was here tonight, that is conflicted, and she's reporting something else.

[Robert Cappucci]: And if it is what the citizen said, it comes down to that the residents of Medford are paying a fee to use this.

[Robert Cappucci]: And apparently, it's sometimes getting denied, even after they're paying for it.

[Robert Cappucci]: With all due respect, that translates to other things in the city of Medford, where our tax dollars and we're not getting the basic fundamental services.

[Robert Cappucci]: And it's a very serious issue that I just hope that, based on the conflicting reports that are there from an objective outside observer, from having been at the meeting earlier and hearing what my fellow citizens said,

[Robert Cappucci]: It's an important issue to look into further, and that's my humble suggestion.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Bob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: My question in all of this is on discretion.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, the laws are in place, and we are a city, a state, and a nation of laws that we must follow.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I'm worried about, you know, just applying these laws no matter what.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, are we going to hire people now that the animal control officer is here?

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, when do they apply the law of dogs being off the leash?

[Robert Cappucci]: I asked this for a specific instance.

[Robert Cappucci]: A few weeks ago, actually earlier in the spring, a woman, a senior citizen who walks her dog in the park near my house, Morrison, the dog's name is Noodle.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's about a foot and a half long, six inches high.

[Robert Cappucci]: She left the dog off the leash and she got hit with a $200 ticket.

[Robert Cappucci]: And she asked the officer, you know, don't you give a warning first?

[Robert Cappucci]: And he said, yeah, this is the warning, here.

[Robert Cappucci]: And it was a $200 ticket.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, we should definitely respect and follow the laws.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I also think that there are times when, you know, I mean, we hire police and teachers and we elect city councilors to also be, you know, of good judgment.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I think that was a bad judgment call to give this woman a $200 ticket for noodle that you wouldn't even feel if it was sitting on your foot.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, I think looking at this and talking about offense and everything else, you know, we should just, like the last gentleman spoke about, about discretion and improvement.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, I think terms of judgment calls is one of the areas we should also look at.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, people know their dogs.

[Robert Cappucci]: They know their city.

[Robert Cappucci]: They know when the dog should be off the leash and when not.

[Robert Cappucci]: And every dog owner I've seen across Medford always picks up after their dog and looks out when other dogs are present.

[Robert Cappucci]: But those are my two cents.

[Robert Cappucci]: And thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Very nice.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's Robert L. Cappucci.

[Robert Cappucci]: But, Mr. President, if I could, there is another citizen, Mr. Eric Reed, who wants to speak, and it's a similar

[Robert Cappucci]: issue that he wants to speak on, so if he could go first, if I could request that, and then I'll speak after him, if that's possible.

[Robert Cappucci]: President Lungo-Koehn, did you have an alternative?

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm going on the table and off the table.

[Robert Cappucci]: Off the table.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Madam President.

[Robert Cappucci]: All those in favor?

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm speaking directly to Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, it's actually Robert L Capucci, uh, of 71 Evans street,

[Robert Cappucci]: if I could just submit this petition that I collected from my fellow neighbors on Evans Street and on the corners of the street as well, Central and Lawrence Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Basically, we, the undersigned residents and abutters to Evans Street, demand our water pipes fixed and street repaved as promised by the City of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I got 50 signatures from fellow residents.

[Robert Cappucci]: The reason

[Robert Cappucci]: You folks might have received some emails today from Pinkett Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's because, you know, with time constraints, I couldn't go down that street and get their signatures as well.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I did go down that street and I put out a flyer with everybody's email and the mayor's as well.

[Robert Cappucci]: If I could submit that to the city messenger.

[Robert Cappucci]: Please submit that to the messenger who will submit it to the city clerk and make it part of the public record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Okay, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: No, thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: But, you know, a couple of weeks ago,

[Robert Cappucci]: A fellow neighbor of mine, Shauna Smith and I came up, and we discussed this street, and it was, what's the word?

[Robert Cappucci]: It was mutually agreed that Evans Street, I mean, I don't wanna rehash everything that was already said here tonight, but Evans Street is in one of the top five of direly needed repairs.

[Robert Cappucci]: Council Vice President Lungo-Koehn is exactly right, that this street, I mean, let's put that into perspective.

[Robert Cappucci]: 65 years it's been since this street has been repaved.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, with the water pipes underneath them, who knows if we're drinking lead.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's way past time, Mr. President, which, you know, we were told that bids would go out, they would be decided on in the best possible.

[Robert Cappucci]: At this point now, my understanding is that

[Robert Cappucci]: None of these bids were decided on, which brought to me to go out, you know, after being told one thing, to go out and get these signatures.

[Robert Cappucci]: In relation to other things like, which I'm 100% for, park improvement and bringing things in there, we need to fix what we, I mean, I don't mean to be disrespectful.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think maybe a tandem project could be done to do it, but, you know, if you go out and you fix the parks, it, quite frankly, it's putting lipstick on a pig, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's more than just the infrastructure work that needs to be done.

[Robert Cappucci]: I took my first steps of my life on Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: We have residents on that street right now.

[Robert Cappucci]: diagnosed with cancer who will be dead, at least one, within a year.

[Robert Cappucci]: We need people taking our first and our last steps.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is our home, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Our excise taxes, our sales taxes, our property taxes, our surcharges on these taxes go towards keeping our home, our lives.

[Robert Cappucci]: We come home after a hard day of work to see potholes as big as the mouths of an alligator with rocks all over the street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean,

[Robert Cappucci]: You wonder why that sometimes, you know, people...

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't want to say it's a direct correlation, but it doesn't help when there's an opioid and a drinking problem to come home after a hard day's work and see our existence in total shambles, with streets falling apart and sidewalks falling apart.

[Robert Cappucci]: It doesn't help.

[Robert Cappucci]: These things are related.

[Robert Cappucci]: Not a direct cause and effect, but it is related.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's more than just the infrastructure projects that are not being done.

[Robert Cappucci]: And when we pay all this to actually see government governing over the will of the people, we can't wrap our minds around it.

[Robert Cappucci]: You should have heard some of the comments I heard coming down the street, my neighbor across the street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Her SUV two years ago sank in the sewer draining because the street around it fell apart.

[Robert Cappucci]: And she had to call AAA to get it out.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mrs. Natola told me a bunch of years back, a whole chasm opened up on Evans Street, and a whole truck fell into it.

[Robert Cappucci]: And that's another thing.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's wear and tear on our police vehicles, and our fire engines, and other infrastructure.

[Robert Cappucci]: plowing trucks and everything else that we're also paying for as taxpayers.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, it's at a critical point, and I want to thank this council for bringing it up.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank Mr. Reed and Mr. Penter, who spoke before, and I hope that something can be done expediently, because we're tired of paying to be told something and then not having it done.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's beyond comprehension.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's beyond incompetence.

[Robert Cappucci]: And it's an affront to people that have lived on these city streets in their whole lifetime.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, with kids playing there, with their pets and everything else.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, please use the power of this body to

[Robert Cappucci]: inspire this mayor to do what we all know has to be done, or do something when the budget comes up, to jar the system and make it work for the people that you represent, who voted for you, who put you on this august body, as Mr. Penta likes to say.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think another member of the community wants to speak.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I hope that, you know, I get a little passionate, but I'm not speaking up here just for myself, speaking on these for these other 50 people and all around the city of Medford to people who who don't have the time to come out to this podium.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm fortunate to have the time, and I'm trying to articulate their passion and, quite frankly, their rage.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank all the people that came out and spoke tonight.

[Robert Cappucci]: I would hope that, you know, with this audience and focus on this issue, I would hope that more residents in the auditorium tonight and watching at home would pay a lot more attention to what goes on in the city of Medford on their website, because this is one in a sea of issues that escapes a lot of people in their everyday lives, that if more people came out and spoke like this so eloquently,

[Robert Cappucci]: as have tonight that came before me.

[Robert Cappucci]: A lot more good government and a lot more good stewardship of the people's money would take place in the city of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just want to address three quick points.

[Robert Cappucci]: Communication, affordable housing, and money.

[Robert Cappucci]: On communication, obviously, this Zoning Board of Appeals seriously dropped the ball.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, if they took into account the full city of Medford,

[Robert Cappucci]: in the streets and roads, the police department falling apart, the school facade, this building right here.

[Robert Cappucci]: There are a lot more serious issues to address first before we bring in a 490 unit.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, my street alone, I just found out tonight that, you know,

[Robert Cappucci]: I came up before this council a few weeks ago that Evans Street is one of the top five streets, and Evans Street is a stone's throw from this project.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now, with this traffic that's gonna develop, you're gonna see more people trying to avoid the long lines and going down some of these other side streets like mine.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now, the Honorable Adam Knight sent me a message that bidding on my street ended, and they were gonna choose, but I come to find out, the meeting on Saturday morning, that nothing's moving forward on that.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's no plans to do any construction or fixing of that street.

[Robert Cappucci]: The water pipes in Medford, the gas pipes, there's a lot more serious issues to look at first.

[Robert Cappucci]: before the Zoning Board of Appeals.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I think Sheryl Rodriguez was right.

[Robert Cappucci]: It wasn't written by Medford for Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was written by this body that wants to come in and make some change.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's first.

[Robert Cappucci]: Communication is awful.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's just that simple.

[Robert Cappucci]: The second point is affordable housing.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's other ways of making things affordable for the citizens of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: Meals tax, sales tax, income tax, property tax, that goes up every year.

[Robert Cappucci]: Next month starts the Community Preservation Act, which is an end-run to around the property two and a half tax.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's a surcharge on the property taxes that have gone up for every year for nearly 30 years.

[Robert Cappucci]: Reduce some of these taxes, make it more affordable for the citizens of Medford, people to want to move here, businesses to want to move here through tax incentive.

[Robert Cappucci]: With more people moving in, you'll find that the city will actually have reduced tax rates,

[Robert Cappucci]: would probably take in more revenues.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's number two.

[Robert Cappucci]: Number three is money.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're talking about hiring a lawyer if this resolution is passed and the cost that's going to be on the city.

[Robert Cappucci]: What cost?

[Robert Cappucci]: You're having a free cash account, what?

[Robert Cappucci]: A surplus of almost $10 million?

[Robert Cappucci]: How many millions in surplus is this city sitting on?

[Robert Cappucci]: This is our money.

[Robert Cappucci]: We've already paid for the lawyer.

[Robert Cappucci]: Their money has already been given to this city.

[Robert Cappucci]: What are you talking about?

[Robert Cappucci]: And finally, one last question through the chair for the city solicitor.

[Robert Cappucci]: If this board does vote to pass a resolution to appeal, then the mayor has to approve it or is she automatically bound by the resolution?

[Robert Cappucci]: The president is shaking his head no.

[Robert Cappucci]: So what you're saying is this city council could pass a resolution and the mayor could possibly shoot it down and the appeal is gone.

[Robert Cappucci]: Is that what you're telling me, Mr. President?

[Robert Cappucci]: I wouldn't use those words, but yes.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm sure you would use much more congenial words, and I appreciate your candor and good judgment.

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope that if that does become the situation, and it does get dismissed, not approved, kindly disregarded by Her Honor the Mayor, then when you come to a city budget,

[Robert Cappucci]: You should actually use the power of the city council to have some bite, to speak up for these people that are in this audience tonight that want action for their money and their votes.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'll try to be very quick.

[Robert Cappucci]: It seems to me like there's some confusion as to whether or not, I mean, you're talking about the process and I appreciate that, but I mean, everything that was discussed tonight, you've got the 11 variances, the zoning particular to this case impact on the city.

[Robert Cappucci]: It seems to me you've got, like right now, you could make a motion to appeal,

[Robert Cappucci]: enlist specific things, specific to this zoning law, as the city solicitor informed us that it has to be specific to this zoning, to take a vote on appeal and request the funds from the mayor for the legal representation for it.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't see why that's not crystal clear to everybody in this room at this moment.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I would just like to ask, when you do take the vote to appeal and it gets approved,

[Robert Cappucci]: that whatever meetings that you do have with legal representation, that it's open to the public, specifically to the abutters.

[Robert Cappucci]: Because like Gene Martin said earlier, these are people that, you know, this is everyday, ordinary people that may not be lawyers, that may not be pretty about how to go about appealing this as a direct abutter to this, so that they could come, not to piggyback on your litigation process, but so that they can absorb information as well

[Robert Cappucci]: so that they know what to do going forward.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Rob Capucci of 71 Evans Street, which is not a direct abutter, but very close proximity to this massive project that's coming.

[Robert Cappucci]: And, you know, there's not too much more to add to the conversation except to touch upon the infrastructure problems that the city already has.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, here in this building, the high school, the police department,

[Robert Cappucci]: I was up here last week talking about Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're not against the development, but something this big, I definitely agree with Councilors Knight and Falco, that this is just something that seems to be too big, and it seems to be coming in with the impression I'm getting, with a lot of expediency.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, actually being told, the citizens, by this developer, it's coming, deal with it.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's unprecedented.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank all the other speakers that spoke.

[Robert Cappucci]: When this traffic impact happens, you know, and it gets clogged on Fellsway and Riverside Ave, these folks are going to be looking for, you know, quick shortcuts to get back to their house.

[Robert Cappucci]: They're going to be going down Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's not fixed yet.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank Councilor Knight for informing me that the bids are in to replace the water pipes.

[Robert Cappucci]: And once those bids seep through and one is decided on, they're going to come in and fix Evans Street, which is in the top five.

[Robert Cappucci]: of streets that needs to be fixed.

[Robert Cappucci]: But there's probably a hundred or more streets that needs to be fixed.

[Robert Cappucci]: And what happens when this added traffic is on the roads when Evans Street is shut down for, who knows, a month for fixing?

[Robert Cappucci]: And other streets are too.

[Robert Cappucci]: It seems to me that we don't want to discourage development.

[Robert Cappucci]: But at the same time, we got to fix what we got first.

[Robert Cappucci]: We can't build on a faulty foundation.

[Robert Cappucci]: Our streets and roads, our water pipes, the parks are being looked at.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, this location seems to me a good location to put a joint police and fire station instead of this massive project.

[Robert Cappucci]: It just seems to me that there are other things to look at.

[Robert Cappucci]: in this city first that need almost at a critical level of attention before we start entertaining massive, massive projects like this.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, there's a public safety issue too with all these cars going down the streets.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, in my neighborhood, there's at least 20 young kids that live on that street that are all over it.

[Robert Cappucci]: If they can navigate through all the rocks on Evans Street,

[Robert Cappucci]: Sorry for the jab on that one again, but still, I mean, in all of these neighborhoods with more cards on there, the safety risk goes up, and if it goes up even 1%, that's, I'm sorry, that's too much for my liking.

[Robert Cappucci]: I really don't understand how this city council doesn't have jurisdiction over the appeal or whoever's approving this.

[Robert Cappucci]: It would seem that you must have something in the books

[Robert Cappucci]: put some kind of injunction.

[Robert Cappucci]: And that's another thing.

[Robert Cappucci]: Why doesn't this body communicate with the DPW or with the police station or with other things to find out, you know, there's a lot of infrastructure problems in this city.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, let's talk about this impact on the city and the taxpayers.

[Robert Cappucci]: Why don't we get together and maybe not

[Robert Cappucci]: approve this, especially in the manner with which they're keeping people in a dark room on a hot night and giving them three minutes to speak, and then they're being told.

[Robert Cappucci]: One of the speakers that spoke earlier that called everybody to a public action, I can't emphasize and ditto her and echo her more.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's what we need, not for just this issue, but I would love to see more people at this podium and in these chambers every week

[Robert Cappucci]: because when more voices are heard from all different parts of this city, more projects will have a fire lit under them, and more things will get done for the benefit of all of us, everybody on the city council, the administration, all the small businesses, and all the taxpayers, and all the residents, the kids in the schools, and everything else.

[Robert Cappucci]: Politics is really not a spectator sport.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I hope you consider all the things everybody said tonight, and I thank you for your time.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, President Lungo-Koehn.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I have to say really briefly, I really enjoy saying President Lungo-Koehn.

[Robert Cappucci]: That would be a great thing for this body.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I digress.

[Robert Cappucci]: Is this matter going to be tabled?

[Robert Cappucci]: Oh, OK.

[Robert Cappucci]: I believe we're going to have that offering, yes.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm confused.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, all through this discussion, a couple of things came to my mind that Ronald Reagan often said.

[Robert Cappucci]: as scary as nine words, I'm here from the government and I'm here to help.

[Robert Cappucci]: And the government that governs least is the government that governs best.

[Robert Cappucci]: President Lungo-Koehn, what Councilor Marks said tonight was 1,000% spot on.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think the vote should be taken and this should be voted down.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm confused.

[Robert Cappucci]: Ms.

[Robert Cappucci]: Hunt said to

[Robert Cappucci]: Councilor Caraviello that she wouldn't want to have a public hearing on a theoretical proposition, but they want to have the vote tonight on a solid proposal.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I don't understand how it changes from a solid proposal to the city council to take a vote.

[Robert Cappucci]: to a theoretical proposition to the citizens that are suffering, do as I say, not as I do.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm really confused on that.

[Robert Cappucci]: How is that possible, that for the residents, it's a theoretical proposition?

[Robert Cappucci]: But there's an ironclad proposal here tonight that's going to bind the residents of Medford Inn.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's why I asked President Lungo-Koehn.

[Robert Cappucci]: this was going to be tabled, because if it's going to be tabled, then my point is moot.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I really think this should be voted down, unless the city's going to get in on it, too, like Councilor Marks said.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I think the residents of this city need to have 1,000 questions, all sorts of input.

[Robert Cappucci]: since, you know, they're being basically forced into something.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Please.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Cappucci of 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: So, I mean, just a few questions.

[Robert Cappucci]: When you say that Lauren did her job, there have been, going back a couple years now, reports to the city about this street.

[Robert Cappucci]: It spills out into Central Ave.

[Robert Cappucci]: These rocks are in front yards.

[Robert Cappucci]: They're on sidewalks.

[Robert Cappucci]: My question, I guess, is will we get a time frame?

[Robert Cappucci]: of when this will be done, because it is the summertime now.

[Robert Cappucci]: Kids are out of school.

[Robert Cappucci]: They're going to be all over that street.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's only a matter of time before a tire spins one of these up.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, we've already had injuries.

[Robert Cappucci]: With all due respect, Mr. President, is there any way we can get some type of time frame on when to expect this street to be fixed?

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much.

[Robert Cappucci]: When we consider the surplus amounts in city coffers and you know, we have,

[Robert Cappucci]: an endless list of taxes to be paid, quite frankly.

[Robert Cappucci]: And no disrespect to this body, but this is—it's an abomination.

[Robert Cappucci]: It really is.

[Robert Cappucci]: And the amount of money that we pay as residents and taxpayers, that this wasn't done two years ago when you were first informed of this.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Maybe if they could come by and pick up all these loose rocks that are, if that's possible.

[Robert Cappucci]: But if this gets added to the mayor's capital plan, what does that do in terms of a timeframe of fixing this street?

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, when do they meet on that?

[Robert Cappucci]: When is that discussed?

[Robert Cappucci]: When is that approved?

[Robert Cappucci]: So then my next question would be, knowing this, why would a councillor request to put this on the capital plan that's going to push it out another year or two?

[Robert Cappucci]: It's unprecedented.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Just to address some of the things that were talked about here, I don't think Mr. Reid was coming up here to try to be accusatory.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just think he was asking for accountability and transparency on issues that have been going on in the city of Medford for years, if not decades.

[Robert Cappucci]: When I ran for this body in 2013, my main issue was the water pipes.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're asking the citizens of Medford to pay for the rainwater in the snow melt.

[Robert Cappucci]: You add that to the meals tax, the sales tax, the property tax, which is about to have a surcharge put on it, and we want answers as to why things are not being done.

[Robert Cappucci]: The Honorable Mike Marks asks, well, where do you think that the lack of communication came?

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, you heard my neighbor and friend earlier tonight say four recent

[Robert Cappucci]: additions to C-Click Fix were taken down today as resolved, and obviously they're not.

[Robert Cappucci]: Those pictures I took were yesterday.

[Robert Cappucci]: This gentleman is talking about a state allocation of $4 million that we could be using on top of what is in the excess of the water account now.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's like $7 million or something like that was the last report I heard.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now we're talking about $10 or $11 million.

[Robert Cappucci]: It doesn't need to be discussed or pushed forward anymore.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's not just Devon Street, it's also Pinkard Street around the corner from me.

[Robert Cappucci]: In working on several campaigns that I've worked on and ballot initiatives, walking around the city through the Heights, through South Medford, it's literally the whole city, with some streets being at an emergency condition, with matters of public safety.

[Robert Cappucci]: we're asking questions about all the tax dollars that we pay and the fees that we pay, the parking meters, people paying after six o'clock.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, where is all this money going?

[Robert Cappucci]: I think it's not being done because it looks great sitting in the accounts.

[Robert Cappucci]: And then Medford elected public servants can go around and say, well, Moody's just upgraded our credit rating to AAA.

[Robert Cappucci]: And yeah, that's great.

[Robert Cappucci]: on paper, but when you look through and walk through the city and you're wondering why communications are going ignored from people who work for the city, and you ask a question, it's like, where's the problems and where's the miscommunications?

[Robert Cappucci]: It's right there.

[Robert Cappucci]: And we're just asking for the work to be done that has been years in dire need of it happening.

[Robert Cappucci]: You got the budget next month.

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope a lot of people will come down.

[Robert Cappucci]: and ask questions and hold you folks accountable and transparent to the citizens that are paying for all of this, that are not getting anything back when Dr. Stirello talked about the police department deficiencies.

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope people will come tomorrow night to the town hall that the chief will have at the police station.

[Robert Cappucci]: and ask questions there.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I know you sigh, and I'm talking, and I'm taking too much time, President Dello Russo, but these are very important things.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a matter of public safety.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a matter of work not getting done with all of the money sitting there when petitions are being ignored for months.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm sorry, but it's really at the brink, and this body really needs to come together and do something to light a fire under this.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci again, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's another issue going on at Republic.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm not sure or not if it's supposed to.

[Robert Cappucci]: I believe it is.

[Robert Cappucci]: But these machines are supposed to shut down at 6 o'clock.

[Robert Cappucci]: They're not.

[Robert Cappucci]: In the last month and a half, just walking through the city, I told a good dozen people, just tonight, I went to the store before coming here, and at 6.40, there was a young lady starting to feed money into the meter.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I said, no, you don't have to pay right now.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's 6 o'clock.

[Robert Cappucci]: And she said, well, I didn't know that.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I said, well, it's on the parking sign, but it's written very small.

[Robert Cappucci]: She said, well, it would have been a little bit more helpful if it was actually on the meter.

[Robert Cappucci]: itself, that it closes at 6 o'clock.

[Robert Cappucci]: You cannot put any more money in.

[Robert Cappucci]: Are you absolutely sure of that?

[Robert Cappucci]: Because I've seen people feed

[Robert Cappucci]: If there's a way to request receipts and to look at that, because, I mean, you're putting in your personal information.

[Robert Cappucci]: If people are paying after 6 o'clock, and, I mean, as Councilor Marks alluded to, they're trying to generate revenues, I wouldn't be surprised a bit if some of these machines are taking money after 6 o'clock, just my opinion.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I would look into their receipts, see if they are or not.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I know you've already had the discussion about Evans Street and you've taken action on that.

[Robert Cappucci]: But it looks like now you're, it's like piecemealing something when, you know, stepping outside of the box and look it in.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think what a lot of people in Medford see is, like Mr. Reed spoke of before,

[Robert Cappucci]: You have allocation of funds on the MWRA for, I believe you talked about sidewalks or something like $3 million, which 75% of which would be grants.

[Robert Cappucci]: We see in the free cash account, something like six or $7 million.

[Robert Cappucci]: What we don't understand as citizens paying all these taxes is how come it can't be that this commissioner's office can't be staffed?

[Robert Cappucci]: with the right amount of people to survey the city, make the proper assessments, hire the people that we need, and get the job done when there's all this money that's at your fingertips to be used.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're talking about $500,000 that we don't even know what it's going to be used for.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're talking about

[Robert Cappucci]: complaints and registers made to SeeClickFix that are taken down and closed and resolved when they're obviously not.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's just a hard thing to wrap your mind around, seeing almost tens of millions of dollars, when an understaffed department that doesn't even have the manpower to go out there and assess what needs to be fixed.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm sorry, Mr. President, but it has to be said.

[Robert Cappucci]: Leadership has to come in.

[Robert Cappucci]: It has to be accountable and transparent.

[Robert Cappucci]: It has to look at what we've got in order to fund the resources to get these jobs done that are years past due.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's something to consider when you look at the budget next month.

[Robert Cappucci]: I would like to say this, though.

[Robert Cappucci]: The parks project that has gone on, because a lot of hits and a lot of criticism has been made, I've got to give kudos to.

[Robert Cappucci]: You've got to also reward what's good as being done.

[Robert Cappucci]: And Morrison Parks, our new basketball court and a few of the other parks, excellent job.

[Robert Cappucci]: Excellent job.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Rob Capucci of 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank Councilor Marks for bringing this to our attention tonight.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I couldn't agree with him more about what he said.

[Robert Cappucci]: But it speaks to a larger measure.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, for this thing not to be appealed, that ruling to not be appealed, if it can be, by our state delegation is a question that I have.

[Robert Cappucci]: People are disheartened in this state.

[Robert Cappucci]: And, you know, it speaks to one party being in domination of this state for decades.

[Robert Cappucci]: They can pretty much do whatever they want.

[Robert Cappucci]: A few years ago,

[Robert Cappucci]: We had a petition, and it passed, and it was on the ballot to lower the sales tax or keep it at the same rate.

[Robert Cappucci]: The state legislature said the people didn't know what they were talking about, and they went ahead and raised it anyway, even after a petition and a vote of the people.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's disheartening to a lot of folks in this state.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's why the census release in December of last year showed Massachusetts lost

[Robert Cappucci]: 21,805 people from July 2014 to July 2015.

[Robert Cappucci]: People are disheartened, and quite frankly, they're giving up, and they're voting with their feet, and they're moving out of our state.

[Robert Cappucci]: At a time when we have the best education, some of the best technology, other programs that we're either leading the country in, or we're only second or third, we're still seeing a net loss of people, of almost 22,000 people in one year.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's unprecedented.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's unheard of.

[Robert Cappucci]: I would respectfully ask this body if there's some way to reach out to Senator Jalen or State Rep.

[Robert Cappucci]: Paul Donato to, like Cheryl said before me, to either resubmit this home rule petition or appeal the ruling of this committee.

[Robert Cappucci]: To just be shut down in silence like that after 30 years of the same charter, without even so much, I mean, this wouldn't have even have changed the charter.

[Robert Cappucci]: It would have either to keep Plan A or make a few amendments to it, to tweak it a little bit.

[Robert Cappucci]: And after 30 years, that was unreasonable to ask?

[Robert Cappucci]: We get that one little piece of paper?

[Robert Cappucci]: It's embarrassing.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, it really is.

[Robert Cappucci]: I would like this body, I request this body to please write up a letter and send it to their committee and express not just your feelings, but as the voice of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I tried to get the signatures with Dr. Stirella about four or five years ago.

[Robert Cappucci]: Another team came in after that under former mayor candidate Antony D'Antonio.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's another team out there

[Robert Cappucci]: In all of that time, we got a lot of positive feedback, but it's hard to get these signatures.

[Robert Cappucci]: I was on the team that got the signatures for the tank, the gas tax.

[Robert Cappucci]: We had a team of about 500 people across the state.

[Robert Cappucci]: It took a lot of time and a lot of effort, and we squeaked it in there.

[Robert Cappucci]: And what's the state legislature doing now in the face of that?

[Robert Cappucci]: They're trying to pass a new law saying the cities can raise the gas tax if they want to.

[Robert Cappucci]: step forward, you go three steps back.

[Robert Cappucci]: Please, send a letter to this committee and let them know that we're in charge of the government.

[Robert Cappucci]: They're not in charge of us.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Robert Capucci of 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, my, my first question on this matter is has, has the city council of Medford, uh, decided to, uh, become a, uh, a union talking point.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now I don't really take either side on this issue.

[Robert Cappucci]: My question is the function of the city council to represent all of the citizens, citizens of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, if you're going to start taking up every single union issue that

[Robert Cappucci]: It reflects badly on this body, in my opinion.

[Robert Cappucci]: Why not take up the issue of the local 25 here, where the new mayoral administration has pretty much nearly wiped out their overtime?

[Robert Cappucci]: But that's another matter.

[Robert Cappucci]: Councilor Knight has brought up some very good points, but he doesn't just cite Verizon.

[Robert Cappucci]: He cites all of corporate

[Robert Cappucci]: corporate America.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now, the unions in this case are actually representing the work line, not the entire workforce, as Councilor Knight alluded to.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's the work line force of Verizon.

[Robert Cappucci]: Since the year 2000, their responsibility, their Department of Verizon, in terms of their overall economic intake, in 2000 it was 60%

[Robert Cappucci]: Today, in 2016, it's actually less than 7%.

[Robert Cappucci]: What Verizon is doing is actually, in my research, and I got this all from the public record that anybody can look up, what Verizon is doing is conforming to the 21st century and the times.

[Robert Cappucci]: What is before this union and the company is a contract, and that's up to them to decide.

[Robert Cappucci]: If the councilor wanted to, you know, make a statement on it, but to actually call for this city to take action, I think sets a precedent.

[Robert Cappucci]: Point of information.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, Mr. Citizen.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I thank the Councilor for his comments.

[Robert Cappucci]: Being a longtime worker for unions, I'm sure he's representing them well.

[Robert Cappucci]: But he's here to represent the city of Medford, in everybody's opinion, not just the unions.

[Robert Cappucci]: The contract that's before these workers.

[Robert Cappucci]: Point of information, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, Councilor Knight has said a lot about corporate greed and one of

[Robert Cappucci]: outsourced jobs and things like that.

[Robert Cappucci]: Let's take a look at what, first of all, Verizon is offering the workers right now.

[Robert Cappucci]: A 7.5 percent wage increase.

[Robert Cappucci]: No, this is a part of the public record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, the Councilor has brought up an agenda item.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is an open forum.

[Robert Cappucci]: He's brought up points about corporate greed and everything else.

[Robert Cappucci]: I have the full right to offer my opinion in refusion to him citing corporate greed and everything else.

[Robert Cappucci]: Let's talk about what's actually being offered here.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: May I continue?

[Robert Cappucci]: You may.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, what's actually being offered here,

[Robert Cappucci]: is a 7.5% wage increase, a no layoff provision, a 401k plan matching a pension plan, with three annual increases and access to health care.

[Robert Cappucci]: Last year, Verizon invested $7.8 billion in America's technology infrastructure.

[Robert Cappucci]: They paid $8.4 billion in taxes in 2015, added that to 2014

[Robert Cappucci]: and they actually paid $15.6 billion.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's a 35% tax rate.

[Robert Cappucci]: In salaries, they paid a combined $16.1 billion.

[Robert Cappucci]: They've purchased $4.25 billion from diverse suppliers.

[Robert Cappucci]: Those purchases alone create jobs in other industries.

[Robert Cappucci]: They paid $8.5 billion to shareholders in cash dividends.

[Robert Cappucci]: They paid $2.3 billion in pensions and retirement benefits.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is all just last year.

[Robert Cappucci]: $3.2 billion in health care benefits covering six

[Robert Cappucci]: 170,000 beneficiaries given top-of-the-line access to medical, dental, prescription that was so robust that it qualifies for the Cadillac tax under Obamacare.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're looking at almost $100 billion here.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. President, if I have the floor, I would appreciate you ruling on civility in the forum, so I'm not shouting it down.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Verizon, just a month ago, signed a contract with Boston to bring in fiber technology to Boston, Mass., making it one of the most

[Robert Cappucci]: advanced, industrialized, and technologicalized cities in America that Mayor Walsh has partnered with because it's going to bring jobs and benefits to the people of Boston that many of these Metro residents that are working on.

[Robert Cappucci]: One of the things with— Point of information, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: So not only are they corporate greedy people, they're also

[Robert Cappucci]: Is that what you're alluding to?

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, with the fact that this particular department has declined over 53 percent, what Verizon has done is expanded in fiber for broadband services.

[Robert Cappucci]: They invested in workers and tools.

[Robert Cappucci]: to keep a lot of these jobs.

[Robert Cappucci]: What we're talking about here, actually, is a private case that the council has brought forth that the city of Medford is now going to clamp down on corporate evil greed America.

[Robert Cappucci]: And that's what's really fueling all of this, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Right.

[Robert Cappucci]: And the reasons for that, Mr. President, as the Councilor outlined, are corporate greed and not doing things for poorer cities.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's what you said, Councilor.

[Robert Cappucci]: will wrap it up shortly.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm from a union family.

[Robert Cappucci]: What happened?

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm not against unions.

[Robert Cappucci]: No, you're not, Bernie.

[Robert Cappucci]: Yeah, sure I am.

[Robert Cappucci]: Yeah, I am.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you for calling order to this forum, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much for not doing that.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm not drinking any Kool-Aid.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm just reciting facts of what Verizon did.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's all I'm doing.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's all part of the public record.

[Robert Cappucci]: that people can go home and look up.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm personally proud of a country I can live in where it can pay out this much money and provide all of these jobs.

[Robert Cappucci]: Look at what's being offered to these union workers.

[Robert Cappucci]: A 7.5% wage increase, no layoff provision, 401k

[Robert Cappucci]: They're offering you a medical plan that's so good that it qualifies for the Obamacare Cadillac tax.

[Robert Cappucci]: They paid $15.5 billion in taxes in the last two years under a 35% rate.

[Robert Cappucci]: Who's being greedy?

[Robert Cappucci]: Who's being greedy there?

[Robert Cappucci]: I lift paycheck to paycheck.

[Robert Cappucci]: I have no pension.

[Robert Cappucci]: I pay a lot for my health care.

[Robert Cappucci]: A lot of this health care gets paid for by Verizon.

[Robert Cappucci]: Would someone move the question, please?

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm a Medford City resident for 46 years.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Rob Capucci of 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Let me start with the city is being denied a service that we're paying for.

[Robert Cappucci]: The last figure I heard is somewhere around half a million dollars from our Verizon and cable bill is going towards public access that's been shut off since, I believe, 2013.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's years of a disservice to Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: So on Friday, I actually took a day off from work and I drove around to Melrose Community Public Access Station, SCAT TV in Somerville,

[Robert Cappucci]: and Stoneham.

[Robert Cappucci]: Just to give an idea of what we're being denied here in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: First of all, jobs.

[Robert Cappucci]: Somerville employs eight people full-time.

[Robert Cappucci]: Malden, I found out from one of the station managers that I visited, employs nine people full-time.

[Robert Cappucci]: Melrose has three people full-time with three part-timers, and I think it's the same in Stoneham.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's jobs being denied to Medford residents.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's number one.

[Robert Cappucci]: The programming that's on some of these stations is unbelievable.

[Robert Cappucci]: Self-help programs, community awareness programs.

[Robert Cappucci]: I think of some of the organizations here in Medford, like the Medford Community Coalition or Prominent Citizens that were just honored a few weeks ago, Jay Campbell, the fine things these folks do.

[Robert Cappucci]: With a public access TV show,

[Robert Cappucci]: it could be compounded and bring more great services to the city.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, you all know I'm a political activist, so my forte is, you know, we're in a big election year here.

[Robert Cappucci]: Candidates, next year's a municipal election year.

[Robert Cappucci]: Candidates could have a forum, another avenue to bring their campaign and talk about different things.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, I think about in 2015, some 2,500 people blanked

[Robert Cappucci]: the ballot question.

[Robert Cappucci]: It might not have been so many if we had, you know, a public access TV show where we could discuss the pros and cons of the ballot question.

[Robert Cappucci]: Other things, too, that could happen, the Honorable Breanna Lungo-Koehn talked about

[Robert Cappucci]: communications from the police in terms of different things.

[Robert Cappucci]: He could have a show on there.

[Robert Cappucci]: You can talk about different neighborhoods in Medford that might be having problems or might need more attention.

[Robert Cappucci]: Boards and planning meetings that happen in this building could find a show from somebody who wishes to produce a show on things like that and bring more information

[Robert Cappucci]: which is power and knowledge to the taxpayers of this city that deserve public access.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now, in talking with other station managers and the wonderful things that they're doing, at least one of them, the station manager at Somerville, knew a little bit about what we have here in Medford, the equipment, and they offered, you know, they said if I'm successful in bringing a positive message and do get the ball rolling,

[Robert Cappucci]: They're going to reach out, and they're going to help us get us up on our feet and running.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm sure there's a lot of other residents.

[Robert Cappucci]: The students, they have great teaching going on at Medford High School, but having our own public access, this could be almost like an internship for them to get real world experience to move on to whatever college and future careers they might have.

[Robert Cappucci]: In closing, I just want to say that I

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope that the mayor's office is watching this because I believe ultimately it resides in the mayor's office to get this back up and running or not.

[Robert Cappucci]: But if there's any kind of vote or any influence that you find city councilors can have on the mayor's office to get this going, it would be great.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, in terms of helping this city, there's so many things a public access station can do for children, for working families,

[Robert Cappucci]: and for our senior citizens.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I hope you take that into consideration.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you for your time.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much.

[Robert Cappucci]: Your name and address for the record, please, sir.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Really briefly, what these other cities and towns do to offset costs, as I'm sure you probably know, is they charge a membership fee for the year.

[Robert Cappucci]: So that brings in money to the station to help pay for some of the employees that work there.

[Robert Cappucci]: And a couple of other quick points, too, is obviously not everybody has cable in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: So what Melrose does is they put all of their shows, you know, if everybody has the internet at home, even without cable, you can still be watching local access in that town.

[Robert Cappucci]: And one final point I want to make, and it's something that I brought up here.

[Robert Cappucci]: that, you know, I don't want to say it was pushback on doing public access, but some of the comments I hear is that nobody will watch it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, Comcast actually does internal ratings.

[Robert Cappucci]: And in Melrose, 75% of the Comcast subscribers are watching their community local access TV.

[Robert Cappucci]: So the interest is there.

[Robert Cappucci]: The funding is there.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's just a political will to get it done.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Please state your name and address for the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, Rob Capucci, 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, really brief in this meeting that's coming up, uh, possible, uh, question, uh, the meters we don't have to pay after six o'clock, but I've, I've noticed many times parking around the city.

[Robert Cappucci]: that I know there's signage for it, but the signs kind of blend into one another and a lot of people don't notice.

[Robert Cappucci]: And many times, I've been walking down the street or parking after six, and I see people pumping money into the meters at 6.15, 6.30, seven o'clock at night.

[Robert Cappucci]: If there was a way to perhaps make these meters either shut down or not take money after six o'clock,

[Robert Cappucci]: If that's possible with Republic in any meetings that you have, that would probably save a lot of citizens some money that they don't need to be paying after 6 o'clock.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Welcome.

[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street and through the chair.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Councilor Knight.

[Robert Cappucci]: I was out to dinner the other night and a citizen sitting next to me has worked for the Lawrence Memorial Hospital for 23 years.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I know the gentleman who spoke before me, Councilor Penta, when he was on this body, he brought up the merger that never went through and such.

[Robert Cappucci]: But to be brief, this gentleman who worked for the Lawrence Memorial for 23 years has told me there's doctors that are leaving and that the hospital is up for sale.

[Robert Cappucci]: If this body could, unless you know already, find out for sure what's going on so that the citizens of Medford know what's going on with their local hospital, the urgent care, the emergency care there, if in any way one of you councillors could

[Robert Cappucci]: could possibly reach out to the current leadership of Hallmark and maybe have them come before this body to discuss it.

[Robert Cappucci]: That would be highly appreciated.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Robert Capucci of 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to fully concur with the last speaker, Jean Martin.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is not a democracy.

[Robert Cappucci]: We live in a representative republic.

[Robert Cappucci]: To be clear, and I definitely want to congratulate and acknowledge the point that Councilor Knight is making about the voters having a say on this by petition.

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope he'll feel the same way on an upcoming agenda, but that's another item.

[Robert Cappucci]: But to be sure, this proposal, if I can ask a question, this is not a charter review we're talking about here for this particular agenda item.

[Robert Cappucci]: What we're talking about is reviewing just plan a or making amendments to it or keeping it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Is that not correct?

[Robert Cappucci]: We're looking at

[Robert Cappucci]: If I can so we're looking at just either amending the plan a we have or keeping the plan a that we have Is that correct under this agenda item?

[Robert Cappucci]: so then Under plan a so if one of the amendments is to go to a plan C. That's not an option That's correct.

[Robert Cappucci]: So then what we're doing is we're not doing charter review.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're doing one particular

[Robert Cappucci]: And Mr. Mr. President, if I could, please, it's,

[Robert Cappucci]: It's that I do know what's happening here, that I wanted it to make clear through a question for the people in the audience and the people watching at home.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's not that I don't know.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a question to bring clarity so that everybody in this audience and everybody sitting at home watching knows full well that this is not a full charter review with the option of going to another charter.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's either accepting Plan A or amending it, and that's it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I want to thank Councilors Lungo-Koehn, and Marks for bringing up these topics.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm of the humble opinion that government's first duty is protection of the citizens.

[Robert Cappucci]: Councilor Caraviello, I think hit it right on the head.

[Robert Cappucci]: I do attend the first Wednesday of the month police chief town hall meetings where there are sergeants and detectives.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's every first Wednesday of the month at 7 o'clock.

[Robert Cappucci]: We need to fully staff our police force and we need to get them a better station.

[Robert Cappucci]: On March 18th, four officers will be graduating from the academy.

[Robert Cappucci]: given us a total of 105 offices in Medford, putting us about 25 offices short for a city of our size.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now, these informational meetings, I would encourage people to go that might be watching and listening to me right now.

[Robert Cappucci]: They have refreshments there.

[Robert Cappucci]: You can ask any questions.

[Robert Cappucci]: The things you find out are very pertinent.

[Robert Cappucci]: Like what I found out at the last meeting was, with just an additional 10 officers, they could be able to be doing so much more for the citizens of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: They just got a Twitter account.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm pretty sure it's at medfordpolice.com.

[Robert Cappucci]: But I would either Bing or Google search that to make sure.

[Robert Cappucci]: But one of the reactions of having this Twitter account now is that the media will be asking them questions about different things that they're working on.

[Robert Cappucci]: And this takes a lot of time away from the officers to be able to do their duty.

[Robert Cappucci]: They're making about one arrest a week on drug charges.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's somebody else going around the city now targeting Hondas, stealing the tire right off the car using a silent drill.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's a lot going on, and there's a lot that can be learned at this informational meeting.

[Robert Cappucci]: But as Councilor Riccabiello pointed out, they need the offices to be able to have good communication with the people, to be able to be in every

[Robert Cappucci]: neighborhood of our city to be enforcing the law and having a much stronger and sounder public safety.

[Robert Cappucci]: But they need the officers.

[Robert Cappucci]: Just 10 more officers would do a world of good for Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: And as far as communication goes,

[Robert Cappucci]: This city is sitting on almost a half a million dollars in collected fees from the Verizon and Comcast accounts.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's long past due that we open up our TV3 station.

[Robert Cappucci]: We could be talking about this.

[Robert Cappucci]: We could be talking about the charter review and explaining it to people.

[Robert Cappucci]: As Councilor Knight points out, people don't know.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, let's really open up the doors of communication.

[Robert Cappucci]: The chief could have his own show on TV3.

[Robert Cappucci]: We could be doing a lot more for communication in this city and a lot more for public

[Robert Cappucci]: safety.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're sitting on the funds to do it.

[Robert Cappucci]: I would respectfully ask you to please get the ball rolling in that area.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I thank you again for bringing this up, and I thank the councillors for their input.

[Robert Cappucci]: And again, Councilor Caraviello hit it right on the head.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Tom Kubler, 1012 Toro Avenue.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Rob Capucci of 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much, Councilman Marks, for bringing this up.

[Robert Cappucci]: Always at your best and doing your due diligence.

[Robert Cappucci]: Love to see it.

[Robert Cappucci]: As you know, Dr. Starella and I tried to get the signatures for this about four or five years ago.

[Robert Cappucci]: And then another group led by a former mayor candidate, Anthony D'Antonio, tried as well.

[Robert Cappucci]: And now I'm glad to see that there's a third group trying to get this underway.

[Robert Cappucci]: To be clear,

[Robert Cappucci]: recent municipal election, why I think the mayor is on board with this, and I want to thank her too, is she won a very narrow election, and half of the city voted for Barpenta, who made it, I think, a forefront of his campaign.

[Robert Cappucci]: And with all due respect, I think that's why we're talking about it tonight.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just had to say that.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm a little squeamish about this Collins, is that what it's called?

[Robert Cappucci]: call-in centre coming in.

[Robert Cappucci]: While I think we should definitely entertain any positive suggestions, this is for Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: It should be driven by Medford residents, as former Councilor Camuso had once said when this was in discussion before when he was a member of this body, and I wholeheartedly agree with that.

[Robert Cappucci]: Without getting into

[Robert Cappucci]: any kind of quirky jokes or real bad municipal law technicalities, just a plain spoken guy.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I'm going to speak as plain as I can.

[Robert Cappucci]: This city has all of its power centered in the mayor's office.

[Robert Cappucci]: The city council's ultimate power basically is to cut the budget.

[Robert Cappucci]: After 30 years, that has to change.

[Robert Cappucci]: As a former candidate

[Robert Cappucci]: for City Council, I struggled to run citywide.

[Robert Cappucci]: Some candidates have the support of special interest groups, some don't.

[Robert Cappucci]: They're able to raise tens of thousands of dollars.

[Robert Cappucci]: I spent $94.50 in my campaign in 2013.

[Robert Cappucci]: I didn't ask for any money because I knew the special interest groups wouldn't support the kind of initiatives.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is it, folks, people watching, people listening tonight, this is the way to get

[Robert Cappucci]: City government change.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's been 30 years.

[Robert Cappucci]: Councilor Marks brought up some real good things that this can provide.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, we're a city with a police station that's falling apart.

[Robert Cappucci]: The force is understaffed.

[Robert Cappucci]: The school is falling apart.

[Robert Cappucci]: The streets and roads are falling apart.

[Robert Cappucci]: One of the speakers spoke tonight about the soul of this city.

[Robert Cappucci]: being the government, government affects the souls of this city.

[Robert Cappucci]: And people that are watching should start calling in and emailing now your state representatives.

[Robert Cappucci]: This should be on the ballot in November.

[Robert Cappucci]: No question about it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Long overdue.

[Robert Cappucci]: Serious changes have to be made in the city of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: We've got people coming in here fighting government to keep a historical house in our community.

[Robert Cappucci]: It shouldn't be like that.

[Robert Cappucci]: The bulk of this people want something in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: They should get it.

[Robert Cappucci]: They shouldn't have to worry about their kids at school with open doors.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I know this is coming up in future resolutions tonight.

[Robert Cappucci]: But this is the way to do it.

[Robert Cappucci]: We take a good, hard look.

[Robert Cappucci]: at the condition the city's in.

[Robert Cappucci]: We take a good hard look at why it's in that condition and what can be done about it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Changing this city charter is paramount after 30 years.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm not, I'm not squeamish about it.

[Robert Cappucci]: Maybe that was a poor choice of words.

[Robert Cappucci]: Like I said, I definitely would, would welcome.

[Robert Cappucci]: But at the end of the day, the city gets all its power and all its money from the residents of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: Whatever this group comes in and suggests, if it's positive and helpful, yeah, I'd be all for it.

[Robert Cappucci]: But at the end of the day, it should be decided by vote by the citizens of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: Right.

[Robert Cappucci]: Well, to me, I look at it, it's not rocket science.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's not really rocket science.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's only one lawyer in this group.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's only one lawyer in this group that knows legal.

[Robert Cappucci]: With all due respect, it's been 30 years.

[Robert Cappucci]: There are serious problems in the city.

[Robert Cappucci]: The water pipes, the streets falling apart.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're all in agreement on that.

[Robert Cappucci]: And power centralized into one office.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, I don't see this call-in center coming in and saying anything different than I'm saying right now.

[Robert Cappucci]: I welcome outside help.

[Robert Cappucci]: Absolutely.

[Robert Cappucci]: But at the end of the day, the citizens who

[Robert Cappucci]: live here, work here, die here, pay all the taxes of a property tax that goes up every year.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now a surcharge on that property tax, a meals tax, a sales tax, God knows what else.

[Robert Cappucci]: Some businesses on the brink of closing down because of a three-year bridge project.

[Robert Cappucci]: Something has to be done.

[Robert Cappucci]: I agree.

[Robert Cappucci]: I am very passionate about it, but

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm just worried about non-Medford residents coming in.

[Robert Cappucci]: If they're a great group and they've had positive results in other cities, definitely let's look at that.

[Robert Cappucci]: But my main point is at the end of the day, this belongs to Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: We have to have that talking.

[Robert Cappucci]: We have to have that discussion and community input in a public hearing so that the solicitor

[Robert Cappucci]: can take that input and create the document.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's what creates the document.

[Robert Cappucci]: So we can have, you know, definite item a for chatter review to have a discussion and further meetings.

[Robert Cappucci]: As Councilor Penta pointed out, it took 26 meetings and 6 public hearings.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's where it starts.

[Robert Cappucci]: Councilor Marks, 100% behind you.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're absolutely right.

[Robert Cappucci]: We have to have this meeting.

[Robert Cappucci]: It is the City of Medford's government.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's where you start it.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's where it starts and the discussion and the talk.

[Robert Cappucci]: And yeah, everybody's going to have an opinion and there are going to be times of contention

[Robert Cappucci]: That is never ignorance, it's passion.

[Robert Cappucci]: We love our city and the Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: We want it to work right.

[Robert Cappucci]: Let's have that discussion and invite Medford to this podium to talk about it next Tuesday night.

[Robert Cappucci]: Please, thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Cappucci of 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Councilor Lungo-Koehn, for bringing this up.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I have to second and echo the sentiments of the previous speaker, Mr. Robert Penter.

[Robert Cappucci]: public official that's appointed to be getting the kind of money he's making a year on taxpayer dollars, to put out a letter like that that accuses, by name, private citizens of using inflammatory speech, was, I think, the exact word that he used, it's reprehensible.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're talking earlier about the Charter Review and getting signatures and having an open podium.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is all part of a free country.

[Robert Cappucci]: Using words like that from the superintendent of schools of all people against private citizens, talking about instilling fear, that might scare people away from this podium, which might be the objective.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm not saying it is, but it might be.

[Robert Cappucci]: And that's unconscionable.

[Robert Cappucci]: That, to me, instills a lot of passion.

[Robert Cappucci]: We live in a free country.

[Robert Cappucci]: It comes with responsibility.

[Robert Cappucci]: can't run in here and scream fire and not have consequences of that.

[Robert Cappucci]: But this city council last Tuesday night had a very good resolution brought forth that was excellent for this forum, since it's this city council that decides the budget for the protocols to be made by the superintendent and the school committee.

[Robert Cappucci]: I am beside myself when I comprehend this letter put out by the superintendent of schools that would frighten people away from this podium.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's not what this country is all about.

[Robert Cappucci]: And he really should either consider retiring or the mayor should consider replacing them.

[Robert Cappucci]: Because this, I think, is something that could be the grounds for a recall vote of the administration if action isn't taken.

[Robert Cappucci]: on this letter.

[Robert Cappucci]: I wish he would apologize to the citizens he named specifically and to the citizens of Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Good evening.

[Robert Cappucci]: Welcome.

[Robert Cappucci]: Please state your name and address for the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Bob Capucci, 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, I too am a former educator in, in, in Massachusetts and, uh, there are definite ways and orderly in, in,

[Robert Cappucci]: constructive way for parents to come in and retrieve their kids can happen without it breaking down into chaos.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, you know, school could be put on lockdown.

[Robert Cappucci]: Everybody stays in their room.

[Robert Cappucci]: And as parents showed up, you know, they're notified where their kids, uh, they communicate and they get them out in an orderly fashion.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now I went to, uh, chief Sacco of the method.

[Robert Cappucci]: Police holds a informational town hall meeting every first Wednesday of the month.

[Robert Cappucci]: And this was the main topic.

[Robert Cappucci]: The police got this threat and the threat was an automated robotic threat to the school.

[Robert Cappucci]: So that was one of the things that they used to determine the legitimacy of the threat.

[Robert Cappucci]: It came at a very inopportune time around 10 in the morning.

[Robert Cappucci]: The police did go through the school and make a search.

[Robert Cappucci]: But some of the things that they brought up that I think makes it pertinent for this council to talk about was that something like half of the cameras in the school don't work, not every single door is locked and being looked at.

[Robert Cappucci]: Another thing to consider is that it wasn't the police

[Robert Cappucci]: department's decision to put out the information about this bomb threat at six 30 at night, uh, hours after it happened.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, uh, I believe that was on, uh, the superintendent of schools, his decision, uh, and, uh, going forward.

[Robert Cappucci]: I, as you do consider the budget budget in, in June in, in the police department that we have, I mean, there's Metro police officer,

[Robert Cappucci]: that was up there on duty that day also has two kids in the school.

[Robert Cappucci]: So they did sweep the school.

[Robert Cappucci]: They did do a search.

[Robert Cappucci]: I don't know the full extent of that.

[Robert Cappucci]: And they did pass on the information of the call to the state police to try to track where this robotic call came from.

[Robert Cappucci]: But in considering the budget in June with our police department, I think it would be pertinent to do what you can to get

[Robert Cappucci]: uh, uh, enough police officers on, on the method police force.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. Capucci.

[Robert Cappucci]: Mr. Citizen, please state your name and address for the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: Just really brief.

[Robert Cappucci]: We need the community access station for so many different things.

[Robert Cappucci]: It could help, you know, advertisements for the, for the five business districts for the arts and stuff going on, uh, Medford sports, things like that.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, also politically speaking, we got a huge election year next year with state Senate and, uh, state house rep races.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, the presidential primary is on March 1st.

[Robert Cappucci]: You got a number of state committee,

[Robert Cappucci]: keep members up for election running from here from Medford, Medford candidates.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just want to make that statement.

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, all the other things, too, that community access provides on, you know, how-to shows and things like that.

[Robert Cappucci]: We really need to have it in the city.

[Robert Cappucci]: But my question to this body, Mr. President, through the chair is, as Councilor Penta mentioned,

[Robert Cappucci]: $450,000, that's almost a half a million dollars.

[Robert Cappucci]: What happens to this money?

[Robert Cappucci]: Do you know?

[Robert Cappucci]: Is it put in a bank account?

[Robert Cappucci]: Is it getting interest?

[Robert Cappucci]: Is some of it paid out for some things?

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm just unsure as to what happens to almost a half a million dollars.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, sir.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was a real question.

[Robert Cappucci]: It wasn't rhetorical.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, President de la Ruzo.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Robert Capucci.

[Robert Cappucci]: 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Another matter in this property tax that hasn't been discussed, coming up in July, the property owners in this city are going to have to start paying the surcharge on the property tax through the voter approved, even though 2,453 blank ballots were cast on the Community Preservation Act.

[Robert Cappucci]: That's number one.

[Robert Cappucci]: We've seen a property tax increase, and what was discussed earlier was the impact on rents, such as myself.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm a renter.

[Robert Cappucci]: I've probably seen my rent rates go up.

[Robert Cappucci]: But there are other impacts on this.

[Robert Cappucci]: Any time the city or the state or the government taxes people, that's money actually being taken out of the economy.

[Robert Cappucci]: And as Councilor, through the Chair, as Councilor Breanna Lungo-Koehn

[Robert Cappucci]: specified through the emails that she and you all are receiving, we're not getting the services for the tax dollars that we're paying.

[Robert Cappucci]: An understaffed police force, I mean streets and roads that are going neglected.

[Robert Cappucci]: The park, I live near Morrison Park, hasn't had any work done on it in three, four, maybe five years now.

[Robert Cappucci]: There hasn't even been an American flag waving in Morrison Park for at least four years now.

[Robert Cappucci]: These impacts on the city are more than just the rents.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's people leaving these small businesses that are going to see property tax increases as well.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is money taken out of their pockets.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is a young child's dance lessons that they might not get, a young child's baseball team that he might not get to play on, a family, two or three, that might have been planning on going to Disney World that they won't be going to now.

[Robert Cappucci]: I rise in strong favour of Councilor Wong-Tam's resolution to do any tax reduction that you can because when you do that, you're actually putting money back into the economy.

[Robert Cappucci]: You're helping these small businesses that are disappearing by the score from the corner of Salem Street and the Fellsway beyond West Medford Square and all points beyond in all five of our business districts.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's a shame to see this property tax go up again for the 29th consecutive year, is it?

[Robert Cappucci]: And now the added CPA surcharge that's coming, barreling down, added to the water tax that I believe is going up by another 7 to 10% from the last committee of the whole meeting last week or the week before, plus the excise taxes, sales taxes, all these other taxes.

[Robert Cappucci]: And this is why Massachusetts is known throughout the nation as tax-a-chooses.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's literally outrageous.

[Robert Cappucci]: It really is.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I'm trying to articulate the rage that people that are watching that are feeling.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I hope they know that there are people that understand.

[Robert Cappucci]: Maybe it will take a state rep or a state senator candidate or the next one.

[Robert Cappucci]: to start proposing legislation at the state level to reduce surcharges on property taxes, which are in the end run around Prop 2.5.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, the Moody's report that was just discussed in the committee of the whole meeting prior to this meeting,

[Robert Cappucci]: stated that, you know, they look at the surpluses here in Medford as great city management.

[Robert Cappucci]: Did Moody's ever walk through this building and look at that?

[Robert Cappucci]: I mean, seriously, if all they're going to do is look at the money, well then, yeah, the taxes keep going up every year in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: We have almost $20 million in surplus.

[Robert Cappucci]: If that's all they're going to look at, yeah, then that's great city management.

[Robert Cappucci]: But if they actually physically walk through this

[Robert Cappucci]: town, the city of Oz that I grew up in now for 45 years and saw the condition of the police station, the understaffed, the fire departments, the stations that can't even email each other.

[Robert Cappucci]: Seriously, do whatever you can to reduce at least one tax in this city.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Max?

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci of 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: I used to teach public speaking at a university in southeast Kansas, and I have to say that

[Robert Cappucci]: We want to try to bring more citizens to this open forum.

[Robert Cappucci]: I actually looked up in the last week what the policies are in regarding the decorum and the rules, the Roberts rules that we follow in council meetings.

[Robert Cappucci]: And as a member of a state committee, we follow Roberts rules.

[Robert Cappucci]: But unfortunately, the rules aren't always followed.

[Robert Cappucci]: And coming to this podium,

[Robert Cappucci]: Oftentimes, people ask me, why do you subject yourself to that?

[Robert Cappucci]: Because I'm watching at home, and I see the Councilors aren't really listening to you.

[Robert Cappucci]: A few weeks ago, we were discussing, I forget what it was, but I brought up a comment by former president, God rest his soul, Reagan, about the nine scariest words he ever heard.

[Robert Cappucci]: And as I recited it,

[Robert Cappucci]: With all due respect, Mr. President, you were laughing at me from behind the podium.

[Robert Cappucci]: And people mentioned that to me days later, saying that was pretty disrespectful and rude.

[Robert Cappucci]: So I would like to see more people come to this podium, especially with a new council coming in and a new mayoral administration coming in.

[Robert Cappucci]: We're literally going to need all the voices we can get at this podium.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I want to thank Councilor Penta

[Robert Cappucci]: for his years of dedicated service and for bringing up this issue tonight.

[Robert Cappucci]: And thank you for your time, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Bob Caputi, 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: My concern is this bus stop in the work area.

[Robert Cappucci]: I would really like to know what's going to happen here.

[Robert Cappucci]: Are they going to shut down that street?

[Robert Cappucci]: And if so, it might help the local businesses there for whatever part of the street you're going to shut down if you allow, if it's possible, some parking there.

[Robert Cappucci]: I know firsthand, I mean, we all know Carol's restaurant.

[Robert Cappucci]: It's been a tradition in Medford for going on a century here.

[Robert Cappucci]: He's been a friend to me, the family, a lot of you guys here, and I go there a lot, as most of you do, too, and he's losing a ton of business.

[Robert Cappucci]: What I would like to also see is, you know, make sure that these construction crews that are coming in are maintaining that area in terms of eyesore and clutter and whatnot because, you know, along with

[Robert Cappucci]: regular customers of the restaurant.

[Robert Cappucci]: There's also functions and groups that come in there from out of town.

[Robert Cappucci]: Maybe some kind of deal can be made with Republic for a wedding special going on there or a baby shower where carols might be able to print up some cards for these folks and get them in there.

[Robert Cappucci]: And finally, one last thing on the bus stop and what the chairman of the disability community was saying.

[Robert Cappucci]: Maybe somebody from this body can reach out to the MBTA somehow and use that van service that they have and maybe offer some of these folks a ride if they need it.

[Robert Cappucci]: You know, I mean, this, I don't have to tell you folks, this is your job to make sure that the taxpayers, the businesses, and the citizens are well taken care of and that street and area is as safe and accessible as possible.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Bob Capucci, 71 Evans Street in Medford.

[Robert Cappucci]: I just wanted to talk about the third annual Jingle Bell 5K Walk Run that we just had here in Medford on Saturday.

[Robert Cappucci]: First of all, I want to thank the city of Medford, Lonergan's Insurance, all the folks that work the tables at the registration.

[Robert Cappucci]: other places like Carol's Restaurant, like we were talking about earlier, who hosted the night before the Mustang Spirit Night with Medford's own Vanessa Salvucci, awesome vocal talent.

[Robert Cappucci]: Also had a breakfast there the next morning.

[Robert Cappucci]: And to the police and the city officials that helped keep safety on the streets.

[Robert Cappucci]: And that is actually the reason I wanted to speak tonight before this body.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, they closed down Potter Riverside Avenue, but the, the walk run goes behind the McGlynn and Andrew school.

[Robert Cappucci]: And that street wasn't shut down.

[Robert Cappucci]: And, and I was a walker, not a runner.

[Robert Cappucci]: And I was walking next to, uh, a couple of families, uh, uh, Councilor elect, uh, John Falco.

[Robert Cappucci]: I saw in the crowd there that day, uh, because that street was open,

[Robert Cappucci]: There were people making audible complaints and frustration having to pull their five and seven-year-old kid out in front of moving traffic.

[Robert Cappucci]: Next year, if they can also close down that street as well, not that I'm saying that there was an incident or anything, but it would probably be in the city's best interest for a public safety issue to either alter the route or close down that street as well.

[Robert Cappucci]: I forget the name of the street, it's right behind the McGlynn and Andrew School, running alongside Hormel.

[Robert Cappucci]: And also, if I can, a quick shout out to the Medford High Mustangs, who made a valiant effort at Hormel Stadium.

[Robert Cappucci]: Going to miss number 31, especially, DiLorenzo, Anthony, great player.

[Robert Cappucci]: But thank you all for the Jingle Bell Walk Run.

[Robert Cappucci]: It was a great event.

[Robert Cappucci]: I hope more people will come out for it.

[Robert Cappucci]: next year as well.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Welcome.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: I'm Robert Capucci of 71 Evans Street.

[Robert Cappucci]: And speaking specifically to the agenda item that Councilor Knight brought up,

[Robert Cappucci]: What you'll be voting for is a subcommittee to discuss how this City Council is going to go ahead now that this vote is passed.

[Robert Cappucci]: And my question, Mr. President, I guess to Councilor Knight, through you, the Chair, is will this subcommittee be a public meeting that everyone can attend?

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you.

[Robert Cappucci]: Further to, Mr. President, please, if I could.

[Robert Cappucci]: If I understand this law correctly, another question would be, in listening to Councilor Knight speak, is that this body now sets up that full nine-member

[Robert Cappucci]: committee, and from the way I understand it, it's a nine-member seat.

[Robert Cappucci]: Five of the seats are already preordained from various departments, like environment.

[Robert Cappucci]: But the other four seats is what this body has power and control over.

[Robert Cappucci]: As to how.

[Robert Cappucci]: Very good.

[Robert Cappucci]: If I could, Mr. President, this is, again,

[Robert Cappucci]: part of the misinformation that went out to their Councilor, Penta was speaking on the director of preserve Medford, who was one of the lead advocates of this CPA told me personally that what has to happen now by the law is a nine member panel has to be formed in five of those people are already coming from various departments.

[Robert Cappucci]: Now I'm getting different information from Councilor Knight tonight.

[Robert Cappucci]: So it's a very,

[Robert Cappucci]: Very confusing thing.

[Robert Cappucci]: And it's very taxing on the citizens.

[Robert Cappucci]: Councilors, Mr. Capucci, if you would, please just again, state your name and address for the record.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Robert Capucci, 71 Evans street.

[Robert Cappucci]: Uh, as a veteran of the army reserves, I can, I can tell you firsthand what happens with a lot of these reservists, the national guards is,

[Robert Cappucci]: they either sign the title over to a family member, they take their car off the road, and the minimal impact would be just that.

[Robert Cappucci]: This is a great resolution and idea, but if you really wanted to make an impact on these soldiers' lives, instead of deferring their excise tax, which they probably already made arrangements for to defer themselves,

[Robert Cappucci]: There's a long list of other taxes in the cities that could be deferred.

[Robert Cappucci]: This new CPA tax surcharge, for instance, the water tax, the property tax.

[Robert Cappucci]: If you want to really do something for these soldiers, look in that area, because this is, with all due respect, a lot of bark with no bite.

[Robert Cappucci]: Thank you, Mr. President.

[Robert Cappucci]: Aye.