thank you I'll ask my colleagues to please join me for the pledge of allegiance Good evening everyone I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic
for which it stands One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all All right clerk please kick us off for a roll call Council Tenari Garcia present Councelor Jimenez Rivera present
Councelor Ricro here Councelor Taylor here Council Robinson here Council Tesher present Council Kelly Garcia present Council Santigette present Council Vega is absent Council Brown here here and council here 10 members present You have a quorum Madam
President thank you clerk I'd like to remind the public that our dear friend Melinda Vega is still recovering She's doing well and we wish her a speedy recovery but she is not able to join us for this meeting Um we'll start off with memoriams and celebratory resolutions
Our sole resolution is a resolution introduced by the council Oh my apologies Is this better okay All right To my colleagues take note that we have to be very very close to the mic Okay Thank you for letting me know
So um my colleague Melinda Vega is not able to join us She's not feeling well She's um in recovery and we wish her well and she'll hopefully be with us again soon Um so we'll start off now with memoriams and celebratory resolutions We have a resolution introduced by the council president and
all members of the council for Arbor Day Whereas to commemorate Earth Week the city of Chelsea will partner with Green Roots the tree board and other community leaders to highlight the importance of trees and tree canopy cover And whereas as part of this annual celebration residents from across Chelsea will come
together to plant trees on Madison Avenue and Prospect Street in Bradville I'm as close to the mic as I possibly can be without it being inside my mouth Yeah Oh okay Um can we please keep order
we're going to be able to get through Okay So we're going to try our best to be as loud as possible I encourage anyone who's further in the back to just please scooch forward so that we can make sure that everyone can hear but we want to get through them through the beginning so that we can open up for
public speaking Okay Thank you And whereas tree plantings in the fall and spring have become a regular activity that the whole community looks forward to And whereas these annual events help to ensure that the city of Chelsea maintains its status as a Tree City USA And whereas being a Tree City
USA gives Chelsea the benefit of having more resources to further enhance the quantity and quality of trees in our city And whereas the Tree City USA awards are given by the National Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters
in the United States Forest Service to recognize environmental improvement and encourage higher levels of tree care throughout the United States Now therefore be it resolved that the Chelsea City Council hereby recognizes April 25th 2025 as Arbor Day in the city of Chelsea acknowledging the efforts of
the city's Department of Public Works the Tree Board Green Roots and passionate volunteers throughout the community for their constant dedication to improving the environmental well-being of Chelsea and expresses his profound gratitude for the role they play in ensuring the city of Chelsea
continues to secure Tree City USA status Thank you clerk adopted unanimously on the suspension if there are no objections Seeing no objections does anyone wish to speak seeing none Okay Thank you Moving
on to public hearing We have none this evening We'll move on to public speaking Um if I can have if I can ask the audience it's a full room today I see that there are many young ones who potentially may have school tomorrow if
we can allow some of the the folks that are either going to be going to school tomorrow have homework to get to tonight or a curfew if you guys can briefly come up first if that's okay with everyone and then we'll proceed with the rest of the crowd Um please state your name your
address and we have um four minutes for you guys to share Hi um I'm Comey Balo uh a resident of Chelsea Um I live at You want me to state my address please yes I live at uh
134 Clark Avenue apartment number two Um today um I'm here to talk about um the importance of uh sanctuary cities Um Chelsea has always been a place of refuge a city built on diversity on hard
work and on community Sanctuary policies aren't about ignoring laws They're about upholding values They ensure that every resident regardless of im immigration status can call 911 without fear can send their kids to school without worry
and can live with dignity Stripping away that protection weakens the trust between our community and law enforcement It makes us all less safe I understand concerns about funding or federal pressure but our values shouldn't come with a price tag Standing
up for our im our immigrant neighbors is the right thing to do Not just legally but morally Let's stand with compassion not fear Let's show that Chelsea stands by its people Thank you [Applause] Hi Can you repeat what I like just your
name and where you live Okay Um good good evening My name is Christian Vicente I live at 144 Chester A here in Chelsea apartment 1 Um I'm here to talk about the importance of maintaining Chelsea a sanctuary city I've heard arguments that Chelsea being a sanctuary
city puts a bigger target on our back when in reality I think that us being a sanctuary city is the only protection we have [Music] The wait sorry The only thing that maintains our safety
and what makes our our community feel somewhat safe is the fact that their documentation status isn't shared If we took away our status as a sanctuary city then that will give that would give us a bigger target because this will allow this administration to do whatever they
want to our community The city of Chelsea is a great community that is fueled by the city by the community members who run local shops schools restaurants and much more Stripping our cities stripping our city of its safety will destroy this economy because this
will this will bring great fear that will disenourage people to go to work go to school and leave their homes to buy their essential needs I have seen firsthand how resilient this city is Our city didn't give up during COVID Our city didn't give up during Trump's first
administration So why should our community give up now these are some of the plenty reasons why I think that Chelsea should maintain a sanctuary city Thank you for your time Um good evening My name is Jahara Joll
and I live in 213 Central Avenue in Chelsea and I'm here to discuss the importance of maintaining Chelsea as a sanctuary city To begin with the argument I want to point out on why are we now not trying to protect our community who have fought hard to be in this country but now we are just backing
away from them and not trying to protect them just because we don't want a target on our backs for being a sanctuary city But as much as there is a target on Chelsea because we want to keep that we are a sanctuary city the community is together and everyone will help and push through all the challenges that we come
across with the Trump administration Chelsea is a diverse city with a lot of undocumented people but who have also fought hard to have a good life for their children coming to this country for a better life but now for them to be scared to go out and suffering because of the raids that have been happening
The undocumented students also in Chelsea who are trying to make something out of themselves and now getting the privileges taken away just because they don't have documents I don't think we should scare the children in Chelsea having them fear to go to school and knowing that ICE is being allowed to enter schools Especially the parents who
are afraid to send their school their kids to school for the same exact reason The fact that I'm a minor coming up to city hall as a 16-year-old girl who just wants the city council to take initiative on protecting our community Thank you
[Applause] Good evening My name is Cesia Flores and I live on 136 Chester A and I believe removing Chelsea's sanctuary status would be a harmful step backwards undermining the city's commitment to protecting vulnerable communities Sanctu
Sanctuary status is about offering safety and support to those fleeing danger regardless of their immigration status Taking away this protection sends a message of fear and exclusion in instead of one of compassion and inclusion Chelsea has always been a
place that values diversity and human dignity and we must stand strong in ensuring it remains a safe haven for everyone in need Taking away Chelsea's sanctuary status is a direct attack on im on the immigration community and its
disgraceful betrayal of everything the city stands for Chelsea has always been a refuge for people especially our fellow Hispanics who are trying to escape value vi violence and hardship Stripping away this protection isn't just political it's personal It's an
attempt to erase our presence our culture and our dignity We are workers We are families And we are human beings who deserve respect and safety We demand to be heard respected and protected Without the sanctuary t title many families in Chelsea will live in constant fear afraid to leave their
homes to go to work school or seek medical care Parents will be terrified to send their children to school worried that they could be separated from their families at any moment Students particularly those from immigration families will struggle struggle to focus
on on their education com consumed by anxiety about their safety and future workers workers will hesitate to show up for their jobs fearing arrest for deportation simply for doing their part to support the community The entire city will be paralyzed by fear And instead of
thriving families will be forced into hiding unable to live their lives without the constant threat of being torn apart Removing sanctuary status doesn't just hurt immigrants it hurts the entire community by fostering fear and division making it harder for everyone to feel safe secure and able to
contribute to society Thank you [Applause] Hello Hello I'm Juro I live on 102 Chestnut Street apartment 3 I stand with being a sanctuary city Us being a target
while being a sanctuary city is already bad And if we took that away ICE would be able to rip the city apart Chelsea has always been for the people who can't defend themselves And for that to be even questioned to be taken away is disappointing Taking away being a sanctuary city is turning our back on
the people that right rightfully deserve to live in peace that you that you guys represent If the people have to live in fear in Chelsea our businesses will suffer Families will have to question whether to go out to the food pantry for food and be arrested or hide in fear and not eat Chelsea is known for its
resilience providing and standing up And to back down from being a sanctuary city would prove otherwise and let the people down I hope you make the right choice Thank you [Applause] Good evening My name is Corey I'm here to talk to you about the importance of
keeping our city a sanctuary city Creating more fear is not the solution for funding There are more ways than eliminating the one title keeping us safe Just because it's not helping funding doesn't mean it's not helping those hardworking people who have given everything to live in the city as a
community Students and kids are already in fear This is not a light title that should be taken away over funding or over any other reason Although I see the importance of these things I also hear my community and its needs its fears and its right to feel
protected Students don't need more fear when simply walking to school going to a church or sharing their documents with the school We deserve to feel protected Hi good afternoon My name is Jocelyn I live at 62 Marboro Street I'm here to talk to you about how we should keep
Chelsea a sanctuary city because we as a Chelsea we as a community have worked so hard to keep keep fighting for Thank you to keep fighting for our community and our rights that we have
hardly worked for And how we as you as I'm sorry Thank you and and we have worked for our life because
me as a parent me as a kid from a Latino family has struggle a lot cuz I have seen my mom come over here and start a future for all of us as me my brother and all of us just to see people trying
to fear us and get and get the sui name taken away from us It's hard to see and sorry and and how we should like we should keep fighting for our community
and how not scaring us of taking away our funding That could help us as can help us her city and not scaring not scaring us and not going into work not going
into school by saying immigration is all over it Can ruin our future as students We don't we're scared to go to school without without we're trying to go to school without having the fear that
immigration can come and take us or they can come and take our parents It's kind of hard to do Sorry Thank [Applause] you for the youth in the room And I want
to make sure the public now also the rest of the folks in the room get to speak But for the youth in the room I just want to make sure before you head home we don't deliberate these topics after test public testimony Often you have an opportunity to chat with folks at the end of the meeting You also have
phone numbers and emails Those are public for you all You can reach out to us directly But thank you so much for sharing your your opinion I'll also clarify that the topic on switching out um um or going back on our sanctuary city that has not been brought up in any
of our agendas So I want to assure you that that is not something that as a council we have put on our agenda Okay Thank you so much for participating this evening Oh yes Go right ahead State your name please and uh your address And you have four minutes Great Thank you very much
Uh Spettling Bardov 325 Commandance Way Deaxis community Thank you so much for the opportunity I just wanted to be on the record Not great at public speaking but I'm going to try my best to get through eight pages for three minutes It's going to be very easy I'm going to talk about
the Wolves fish processing facility I wasn't able to find much information online Uh there is a simple article that says seafood industry leader poised to bring 150 local jobs to Chelsea which sounds great They're going to bring state-of-the-art facility which for me
is a vague buzzword without substantiative proof primarily used in advertising Uh I'm not here to talk about uh the effects Uh I just wanted to focus cuz in any of these conversations uh and it's hard to find information We do not talk about the
physical mental emotional social occupational and environmental well-being of humans So I just want to talk about humans uh not about traffic not about the factory apparently state-of-the-art The effects of fish processing chemicals on humans I'm not
going to talk about ammonia hydrogen sulfide carbon dioxide methane trietamine and chemicals that I don't understand effects on economic decline in the neighborhood plummeting values I might have to relocate and try to find affordable housing somewhere else I'm
not going to talk about this I'm not going to talk about the effects of the community and the Chelsea and disruption of daily activities I'm shaking because it's hard to speak publicly about such important issues I have grave concerns mostly about the effects of air pollution from the trucks exhaust on
humans Over 40% of onroad nitrogen oxides and emissions in particle light manner Uh it's emissions of harmful pollutants carbon monoxide sulfur dioxide hydrocarbons benzene I don't want to go through all of this but the short-term effects from irritation and
the eyes and throat and lungs symptoms like dizziness headaches chest pain nausea and coughing exacerbations to long-term effects lung cancer cardiovascular diseases chronic respiratory premature deaths And this is because this building facility is only
80 m away from our building This is 260 ft I don't have issues with the facility The parking proximity is 16 mters which is 60 feet away We're going to have 50 trucks poisoning the air from 4:00 in the morning 4:00 in the morning is not a
time when people wake up for work The effects of noise on humans is very well studied From sleep disruption mental health impact psychological stress response We're going to be helpless Repeated exposure to uncontrollable noise can create sense of helplessness reducing capacity increasing
vulnerability to mental health issues People are going to start smoking alcohol consumption drug use just self-medicate to deal with the 4:00 waking up Effects on sleep deprivation on humans cognitive impairments reduced creativity emotional instability increased workplace errors and accidents
decline in motivation career impact how we are going to keep our jobs if we wake up every day at 4:00 in the morning to the noise The noise is about 85 dibb from these trucks 70 dibels is normal 80 I don't want to interrupt you Just want to give you that one minute mark Thank
you so much Uh the noise itself 85 dibels is within 50 ft It's disruptive 85 dibels it's like vacuum cleaners blenders lawnmowers Multiply this by the number of trucks Long exposure to 85 dibels can
lead to hearing loss if you listen for more than 8 hours of a time The relentless noise from trucks machinery and facility operations is going to disrupt the peace in the neighborhood And that's on top of the Tobin bridge repairs the constant traffic on Tobin bridge the horns from the trains that
are constantly passing by the chronic exposure to such noise leads to sleep disturbances and increased rest And we also have planes flying over So this community is already severely the effects on others and false smell on humans You might think this is not
important but respiratory irritations nausea loss of appetite headaches the headaches are not coming from the smell It's not just the bad smell The neurons in your brain are linked to due to the activation of sensory neurons in the nasal passages
You're going to start getting the stress and the anxiety the depression the social isolation the ruining of the community just because of the tracks Thank you so much And I'm sorry I could have spoken better but no you did great Thank you so much
Hi my name is Claris Vega I am the president of LA Collaborative and today I'm here in my capacity also as a resident of 116 Clark Avenue So first in terms of what's happening at um the neighborhood of Middle Hill I rather lose 150 jobs than have a fish market or
a fish processing plant behind a residential place Boston This whole statement that you just read re makes me think of Boston Heisen perur and Boston Heisen Purr with all the chemicals you know very well because that's your neighborhood The chemicals that we had
there all the families that we saw that were working there the conditions of their feet because they were the ones cleaning after and all the sincerely it's an environmental harm that we would we would be doing by having this plan I think that Boston Heisen Fur was one of
those environmentally not sound um companies that we had and they closed down and I was extremely happy that the fish plants never came to this end of the city So um I would tell you sincerely I am the most um strongest
advocate for um jobs and I tell you that I will not support this type of company coming to Chelsea because our residents are the ones that are going to be exposed to all the chemicals and it's a for me it's public safety harm So please
reconsider this Um I've been talking to many residents in Ammeris Hill We have a list of 200 people that signed a petition They came to La Collaborativa and I'm extremely concerned about it and once again as a person that supports everything that has to do with creating jobs We do rapid remployment in my
office One additional thing is it is very true that we're not sanctuary city is not up for discussion but I tell you I have had the proudest moment living in the city of Chelsea standing with Mayor Woo and even when immigration agents
were here seeing that none of the police department in Chelsea were harassing our youth were dealing with federal um government and that's a sanctuary city is about a sanctuary city for me is for me to feel safe with my neighbor who's a
police officer If I see something going wrong I can call that police officer and say "Hey I just witnessed a crime." That's that for me is what the designation of San Trevor City The way that we hiding criminals that is absolutely not true I've been here for
over 40 years and that is not true I want criminals out of the city the same way that anyone else wants them you know but there's a judicial system in terms of sanctuary city It feels incredible to know that while the young people were coming out of school and ICE immigration
agents were in market basket that none of those officers looked like the neighbors that they have in our community And because we have a resident requirement for youth they feel very very safe to be able to talk to police officers as some of them aim to be police officers So I urge you to
maintain the designation For many of you means nothing for our community as soon as the raids were happening in our neighborhood and they were right here outside Chelsea city hall Our people came to look for food and I was like immigration is around Aren't you afraid
and they're like no we are in Chelsea We're in sanctuary space the police officers are not going to help I we know that for a fact So I think that just think about that and continue to support those efforts And thank you to all the youth that speak I know from many of the young people that tell me that they come
running out of school with no extracurricular activity because first they want to make sure their parents are home or because they're afraid that ICE is going to be in the streets and they going to be picked up next And it's not fair to live in that fear that constant
fear So let's continue to be Chelsea a community that has built that was built by the the sweat and tears of many immigrants hundreds of years ago And let's continue to love what we do for the people that we serve My name is Suzanne Perry and I live at
160 Common Dens Way in Chelsea And first of all I would like to say that I 100 this is just me speaking personally I 100% support the efforts that Chelsea is making has made and will make to keep
this city safe for every resident Um and so I think these stories are just heartbreaking Um secondly on another topic um I know that the city council has already adjusted the zoning
somewhat for or made it possible to adjust the zoning somewhat to allow for Wolf's Fish to consider occupying the um space that was since the early 2000s occupied by Signature Bread and before
that occupied by Pillsbury So this goes back decades not just weeks or months or years decades I think the neighborhood has a reasonable expectation that a similar uh plant would replace those PL
people Um and that has not happened I know that the slight change to zoning was already approved However I understand that there are two more zoning meetings to be held to um speak
to the fact that Wolves will be the um the resident of that space and also a planning board meeting Uh it is there that I think we really have the most possibility of impact Several of us have been to Wolves Fisheries and uh walked
around in the seapport And while I must say that the area outside of it is very clean which is not the case further down as you look at the rest of of the Seapport area where the fish peers are that there is definitely the smell of
fish not cooked fish Fish smells like the sea And if you take a pound of fish and it's on your counter it smells like the sea If you take several hundred or several thousand pounds of fish it smells like the sea
And that is something we don't experience in Chelsea never mind um the trucks And the last time we spoke to um the person uh who manages or owns Wolves Fish he mentioned that those
trucks would be coming and going from Common Dance Way which because of the produce center right down the street is already very very congested But more than anything I think um we in Chelsea uh particularly on Emeralds Hill whether
it's the water or whatever also face a very significant rodent problem which we spend a lot of our uh condo fees trying to mitigate the idea that anything is coming into the area which might attract
more vermin or rodents or anything of the type even in the cleanest of possibilities is not not something that we look forward to So I look forward to us being able to present this at the zoning board meeting in a more serious
way Um I realize that you have done for now what you can do but also thought it was important to speak at a public meeting about this So thank you very much Thank you Uh hi Uh I'm Joe Lefond I live at 325 Command Its Way Uh I'm also here to talk
about Wolf's Fish moving in Um I would just like to express my dissatisfaction with how the whole process has been handled Not really giving residents any notice that a factory like this would be moving into
what was previously a bread factory And let's be honest a fish factory and a bread factory are incredibly different smelling Uh I my unit looks right out at the factory I work from home so I'm sitting there watching that building all
day long Uh so I would have no escaping Wolf's Fish Um no matter how you slice it it would wake me up in the mornings with their trucks I get it People got to work Things happen early in factories But there are a million other
places that Wolves Fish could relocate besides Chelsea We already have enough um we already have enough trucks going up and down Williams Street with the produce center down the road It clogs up traffic already It's going to be a gridlock all the time Uh frankly I don't
think Chelsea needs more factories period I think it could probably use a bit more green space So if you want to reszone it and extend Island End Park that'd be rad too Um but uh I don't appreciate how we've didn't get really
any notice We were given a brief meeting where we were able to meet the owner of Wolf's Fish Uh where he repeatedly tried to lie to us and tell us that his factory was not going to smell which I think we all know it will Um and frankly
Wolf's Fish contributes nothing to Chelsea besides 150 jobs which we're going on his word the owner's word that he will hire folks from Chelsea So unless there's some mechanism to ensure that he's hiring folks from Chelsea putting money back into our economy he's
doing nothing for us It's not a consumer-facing business that Wolfs Fish runs They are supplying high-end restaurants in the Seaport I don't know about you I'm not frequenting high-end restaurants in the Seapport and I would wager that a lot of
people in Chelsea are also not going to Seapport all the time to eat seafood So really Wolfs Fish gives us nothing So at the very least if it's a done deal and if he's and if they're going to move in anyway at least hold them accountable Make them hire people from Chelsea make
them like clean up the neighborhood I spent my morning picking up garbage on that property that has been neglected So if it's if we if it's going to happen anyway hold them accountable Make them be a good neighbor and make them give
something to Chelsea if they really have nothing to give us Thank you Thank you And and also thank you Thank you to you youth for talking You guys are going to save this world and you guys are what makes America great Keep at it
Your name and address please Um my name is Derek Morales 174 Chestnut Street apartment 3 About a month ago I unfortunately lost my brother to ISA He
was unfortunately detained by them He's currently being held in Louisiana Um he's a very hardworking man 28 years old two kids Uh he was authorized to
work here legally Uh but fortunately he was still taken by ice Um it's okay So uh just wanted to bring that out you know for you guys to hear And it's been a very very diff difficult
time with my family especially with my mother and my uh sister-in-law especially Um really hurts a lot to know that I'm never sure if I will be able to see my brother again
Um especially the kids is what concerns me the most because um they might have a chance of not to they won't grow up with their father So that's all Thank you Thank you Thank you Just real quick
Jere wanted Jerick wanted to mention that just because he has he wants to make sure that people understand that not every immigrant that is in Chelsea is a criminal and he was authorized to work Okay Thank you Thank you
Hello my name is Eddie Gaffne I live at 100 Comedons Way Um I uh I definitely support Chelsea and the St Cruz City after especially thank you to you guys You guys I agree with you guys They're the youth are the best and keep fighting
Hopefully you guys save us Um I I I understand you guys were changing the zoning to allow seafood processing into industrial area into Chelsea I obviously I looked at the zoning map There's a lot of industrial
area in Chelsea Um I agree with all the other people here that I don't believe that it believe belongs in Chelsea period Um we already have hot dog smells and oil smells to deal with constantly So why what seafood is going to smell
like who's going to want to come to Ali Park we're constantly battling noise already with airplanes Uh you got the the hot dog smells the the oil smells now there's going to be seafood close by Um the other thing though I think it's that site is a missed opportunity You
guys got to look at a bigger picture here All the stuff that's happening with the casinos the possible soccer stadium coming in that that that piece of land is a cornerstone That's your that's people have been coming from Somerville and Chelsea What are they going to see what's their first impression of Chelsea
the seafood processing plant and smells like seafood Who's who's going to want to come into Chelsea coming from the casino or any of that area who's going to want to come to Chelsea like that you're missing the opportunity If you've seen some of the renderings of the soccer stadium there's
a beautiful park They're activating the waterfront Why wouldn't you want to connect that to to activate people to come into Chelsea i just think you guys need to rethink this I understand that this is not a done deal Um there's going to be zoning board of approvals needs to get it And I believe that we're gathering a lot of support in our
community because all this stuff was pretty shady right before Christmas slide it into zoning board change all this stuff Don't tell anybody It It happens a lot I've been in a lot of ZBA meetings and timing is everything I know that So um that's all I have to say
Thank you very much Thank you [Applause] Uh my name is Elizabeth Shahin and I live at 72 Captain's Row in Chelsea Um that was wonderful Um You can't hear me
yeah Yeah Yeah Okay Um I guess everything kind of surprised me about the Zoom call that was announced or not announced that we all kind of found out about through networking
Um from what I had read and I'm not you know I'm not a lawyer So it was that when anything re regarding zoning had to be presented publicly to the the community that it would affect Um and
that was not done So I want to know if we have any guarantees that if there is an upcoming zoning committee meeting that we will be made aware of it in advance so that we can come to that and voice our concerns Um I think as this
gentleman did say it's a big missed opportunity as to what you could do with that parcel of land There used to be a restaurant there Cool Blues It was wonderful They had you could you could smell the garlic in the air but they were on the waterfront It was a restaurant a bar and they had music
That's been gone for I don't know like at least 15 years Um and so having something that would bring a community together that would be for everyone I think as he said would be a better use of that parcel of land Thank you Thank
you Hi good evening My name is Amy I live at 120 Commandments Way And kudos to youth for coming out and speaking out I'm not a good speaker Closer to the mic My name is Amy and I live at 120 Commandants Way I'm new to the neighborhood and also I
want to um give strength to the youth that came out tonight as well I'm emotional I I'm not a good speaker so if I cry it's like a normal thing But I was just informed about the fish meeting by going to get my mail um uh on Saturday There was a a sign posted to the mailbox
about the meeting tonight So I was a little disappointed that I never knew about this fish plant coming into the community And I used to be a neighbor of the Boston Hides and Furs So I did was part of that team that went up against the Boston Hides and Furs It's a very
deploring um environment Um and I'm afraid that if this type of an environment comes into um this location is going to draw the same type of environment like the gentleman said earlier the health the the um the pollution of the trucks the smell of the
fish There's there's not only does it cause rodents but there's also blowflies that lands on the fish and cause maggots I was in my backyard You literally could be having a cookout in your backyard and then you see blowflies and what do we know what that causes so with fish
that's going to cause a more nasty environment And I'm just a little disappointed I never knew about that And I hope it isn't a done deal And I hope that the neighborhood will be more informed But I think that it's a very bad location to put an environment like that Like the gentleman said earlier
that is a good eye zone to Chelsea Like we were saying there's a casino over there There could be a soccer park coming there and that's we want to beautify the location not to make it into a a factory that Chelsea is already known to have dirty factories We have the airport which we all immune to that
Now we're going to have the fish like they said that in the environment there was um the rats That's just going to cause more um filth to the neighborhood We want to have a nice healthy clean environment that we all want to go out and smell And um I hope that this fish
um environment could be located in a different area because Chelsea is full of empty buildings that can justify another environment especially coming from the seapport district I didn't know that there's a lot of factories over there and if they're going to be h having seafood this fish environment
coming from there to come into our neighborhood that's pretty fishy disgusting Is this good right here awesome I'm Jane Emerson I'm from 50 Boat Swaines Way in Chelsea I've been here for 35 years Admiral's Hill is such
a wonderful pristine place to be and to everybody else's comments here right now tonight especially the last one There is so much many other things that we could put into where we're going to put Wolf's factory So some of the things is the smell which everyone's talked about
We've got 1,700 units there Once again it's just a very grand place and it could choose once again the restaurant like a cool blues or something like that 150 jobs is not that much The other thing is the fact that they're talking about bringing in Amazon trucks Now a
fish factory requires refrigerated trucks to come in and out So an Amazon size truck is never going to be able to support that How what is the traffic there i'd also like to know was there any kind of environmental study done by the city bring before bringing this in
because there's odorous stacks there And I just want to quote this one article if I can find it It was a research that um on fish factories and so from the article there's much more included It says the the substances in the vapor from fish handling and processing
operations including fish meal manufacturing are normally much diluted not harmful but they can be odorous even when present in low concentrations Thus while the public may be conscious of an o odor from a fish meal factory on
occasions it could be unaware of a possible harmful air pollution caused by industrial processes that produce little color no little or no order It is not yet possible to prevent odor completely but by the adoption blah blah blah of the filtering systems Now it doesn't
sound to me they're coming out of the seapport area and is there a reason for that is it because they're odorous down there and it's not you one I I'm going to say it again I don't think we need it All right There's other ways to bring in 150 jobs Everybody's talking about all
the empty buildings that we have there There's got to be other things that it can be And what it it gets back to did you do a real environmental study i'd be very curious about that The other thing is too is the trucks that are coming in The congestion that you're going to have
down at the bottom of the hill coming in off of the um I can't think of the name of the road there but you're going to have a lot of congestion Amazon size trucks How many trucks a day will that be it's going to be a ton So then you get back to who's going to maintain the roads Now I know
up on the hill and there was a gentleman here earlier talking about the hill We pay to re to repave all our our roads up there Okay we handle the whole the whole hill maintenance-wise So who's going to
help maintaining those roads down by where Will's factory is going to go but more importantly it's not good for the city of Chelsea has the opportunity to make Admiral's Hill look like a really class environment There's
other things that could go in there that add value One minute Sure Okay A one minute Well okay So anyhow I'm against it I think that there's been very poor communications from the board here The from you from here I don't know where it
was at Chelsea record There was no announcement You could have put Thank you Kelvin I voted for you Kelvin Anyhow um there's just so much more opportunity to make us a high class city Okay versus what the perception of Chelsea is And
after 35 years here I can see Chelsea coming up It's you know it's it's making its presence that uh the 250ear party down at Ollie's Park last last summer was awesome If you have odor down there why would anybody come to something like
that and I'm going to just wrap it up here to say that I'm from Emerald Hill I've been here for 35 years I think this is the absolutely most wrong thing you can do with that property and let's make ourselves high class We've got the casino over there We got a stadium coming in and let's just put something
that that has value there And that's all I have to say Thank you Any other speakers hi I'm Louise Silver 50 Boat Swain's Way And uh speak closer to the mic hun please Okay I'm Louise Silver 50 Boats
Wayne's Way And uh I'm just going to underscore what's already been said and that is that the odor of the fish is going to be there From everything I've read you can't you can't negate that fact It's going to end up having
neighbors leave people sell property values perhaps go down And also you know I like the idea and I've been really moved by what's gone on here previously about keeping a sanctuary city here
which I'm for But you know one of the things that I do like about Chelsea is that it always is talking about supporting families supporting children having um I forget the name of that group over there for gangs and
stuff that that is um is it Elcasa or I don't remember the name of the place but here we have this green land that people from all over Chelsea come They used to play soccer They they they have
barbecues there They hang out there Um I I can't understand why anybody would want to compromise that Okay that's all I have to say Thank you Thank you [Applause]
Anyone else wish to speak nicholas Gregory 65 Breakwater Drive I've been so fortunate to call Chelsea home for the last three years And just in that short period of time I've seen a city that is on an
incredibly positive trajectory And I think what some of my fellow residents here have so eloquently stated this is something that's going to impede that progress I think we see something that is going in a positive direction and sure promises of jobs and greater uh additional tax revenue for the city
sounds great now but think about what that represents as an impediment to the progress of the overall city especially Admirals Hill which is as been stated by so many other residents just such a great place to live already Do we really want to damage that do we want to detract from something that is going to help really lead the charge as Chelsea
continues to grow uh and develop into the even more beautiful community than it is already today and anything that impedes that is going to bring down our home values which would then also decrease tax revenue And I think the net impact of it is just overall going to be very negative So I would encourage the
council to oppose uh bringing in the factory and seek other opportunities if my resident as my fellow residents have so eloquently stated Thank you Thank you [Applause] Anyone else no
Okay Okay Yes Yeah Yeah Yep Yep Yep Yep Um Okay So that closes our public speaking portion I just want to clarify and just share similar to how I um shared with the youth earlier we often do not deliberate
these topics after public speaking this evening There is absolutely no topic on the fish market on the agenda Um however I do appreciate each and every one of you for voicing your opinion I know that there have been a few meetings I think there was a community meeting a public
hearing I unfortunately was not aware of the concerns that were raised today but I am very thankful that you guys have taken upon yourself to come here and share with us Um I am not your direct representative but as I sit on this body that makes decisions for the city I am
also accountable for the things that are happening in your community And so I thank you for sharing all of your concerns We will obviously keep all of this in mind You each one of you have access to our emails and our phone numbers I'm a phone person give me a call I will respond at any time Um but
you also have access to your atlarge counselors and your direct counselor for these concerns Thank you so much for for joining us this evening [Applause] Next item on the agenda Next item on the agenda we have approval of the minutes
of the regular meeting of the council dated March 24th 2025 Move to approve the minutes from the March 24th meeting Thank you counselor Seeing no objections moving on to the next item We move on to communications from the city manager
First communication received from the city manager responding to council order 2551 update on Forb's development Want to y um can I ask the public to please use the hallway so we can continue with the
agenda thank you so much Have a good evening guys Thank you Uh talk to Fidel Talk to Fidel Translation Talk to the manager right here Okay Right over here in this corner Yes Yes Thank
you All right Full house this evening Dear counselors I am writing in response to council order 2551 requesting the city provide an update on the Forbes development The council will remember that after the devastating nine alarm fire at the Forbes property the Chelsea
Law Department petitioned for the property to be placed into receiverhip The courts granted the petition and a receiver was appointed to address the concerns at the property The receiver has been working with our public safety teams to ensure that the property is in safe condition The receiver has hired a
company to board up the vacant buildings and has hired a security president I'd like to wave the rest of the reading except file under communication if there are no objections and I'd like to speak on it Seeing no objections you'll have the floor counselor Yeah So I just uh I just want to really quickly just lift you know what the communication is about
Um we have this property in Forbes It has been sitting there for years and years um unused and it's it's such a humongous opportunity for our community This is a really really exciting development Um it's a sale to Mass Ottabbon Green Roots and the neighborhood developers um where we're
going to be really looking to do something with this and open it up to not just the people um who are going to be living there if there's housing developments there but also to the general public So I just want to really lift this up to to the council to the community Um we are going to be doing something with this property which is
one of the largest areas of open space that we have in our city So um just want to highlight how exciting this is for our city uh that we'll be using this property for for something for the community Thank you Thank you councelor
Counselor um Robinson Yeah just a quick update Uh that the the group has been awarded the rights to build that Forbes but it's also being appealed And I think
this is an opportunity for us to develop a a parcel a property that will generate taxes to the city and also help our residents get their taxes lowered at some point once some of the developments that we're going to talk about tonight
get developed that'll um help the community Thank you councelor Um can we leave the door cracked open just a little bit please thank you uh Councelor Taylor [Music] So I also uh just wanted to say that uh
I'm glad that the the the land has changed hands And uh I just want to make sure that going forward that we have uh an appropriate plan for the land that will uh
sufficiently provide the type of um income for the city uh that's going to help ensure the long-term financial stability of this city And um you know I
I I think that everybody likes u open space and um you know parks that everybody can use and I I I do too Um but there needs to be a balance I think with the financial uh uh so I look
forward to seeing the plans and uh I just think people should uh be cognizant of the fact that uh that this is the this is the last kind of big undeveloped parcel in Chelsea where we really need to make it count financially
Thank you councelor Teshi Yeah I'm just going to say um I'm really happy with the result Um I know the city cooperated in making sure that uh this uh parcel could be developed in
a way that's going to be beneficial for the city So I think uh we have a lot of opportunity to do something great here Um as we've already heard from a couple of the members of the public um we're going in a good direction Um we just got to steer it properly and um make sure
that we do amazing things with it So I definitely look forward to um working on that in the future Thank you counselor Uh before moving on this is my district and of course I am very excited that we are finally doing something in my backyard Um I can literally see the
property through my back window Um but I am really glad for those residents that have for many many years endured the neglect that has been um in that property And so this is definitely as my C fellow counselor said the right direction to head All right moving on to
the next item Next communication received from the city manager responding to council order 2552 update on the market basket development Dear councilors I'm writing in response to council order 2552 requesting that the city provide an update on the possible redevelopment of market basket I'm
excited to share that the city reach received a $1 million grant from the MBTA community's catalyst fund This grant will focus on improving infrastructure on Second Street and Spruce Street paving the way for development on the Market Basket property as well as development on Spruce Street that currently houses
Bunker Hill Community College As shared in a previous communication Market Basket has hired the architectural team to conduct a planning analysis for the property The city has not yet seen this analysis but we expect to receive it in a few months Part of this analysis could include the creation of a new zoning
overlay district to encourage development Attached to this letter you will find a draft submitted to our staff by North Colony This draft includes several changes but two that are particularly interesting is raising density to 150 units per acre and the maximum building height to 14 stories
Our staff has now completed their review of the proposed zoning and the zoning has not been reviewed by our boards We will complete our review and provide a recommendation on how to move forward Thank you in advance for your support accept and file this communication on the suspension with no no objections And
uh just to be brief actually the city manager and I had met a while back with um market basket to keep them on track as to what their plan is for the development Um this goes back to 2005 We
had a memorandum of understanding that they were going to develop the property laid dormant for a number of years and we were able to restart it um a couple years ago and it's moving in the right direction and one of my comments to them
was if they would have started in 2005 we might have had an assembly um at market basket site at this point in time So hopefully this property will be developed in a manner that'll benefit the city overall
Thank you counselor Moving on to the next item Next communication received from the city manager responding to council order 2553 update on commuter rail quiet zone Dear councilors I am writing in response to council order 2553 requesting the city provide an update on the commuter rail quiet zone
We understand our community's frustration with the train horns Our administration continues to make this project a priority while advocating to our state and federal partners for a swift resolution Our commissioner of public works is leading this effort but unfortunately we are on hold until the MBTA completes their safety upgrades to
the commuter rail called ATC PTC In order to complete our design we must receive updated drawings from the MBTA showing the changes they implemented The MBTA stated that they will receive the remaining drawings by April 15 2025 Once we receive the MBTA's drawings our
consultant will incorporate the city's design Once this is done the city will submit the package for approval to the Federal Railroad Administration It is unknown how long the approval from the FRA will take but we remain ready to complete construction once the approval is obtained I will keep council updated
as we make progress on the issue Accept and follow communication on the suspension Um just briefly the as we all know the Hanss have created a lot of havoc in our community It has a big effect on the hotels as so many airlines
have canceled their contracts at staying at the hotels But I think most of all we are losing money by not receiving mail tax or room tax So those are some of the things that we need to keep in mind and hopefully we can get to the conclusion
and addressing the MVTA on this issue so we will be able to move forward Madam President thank you counselor Councelor Brown Thank you Madam President Excuse me for being out with the residents Uh again um thank you city manager for the work on this Um we are desperately in
need of help of this issue It's been going on 15 years Um I know we have done everything that we're supposed to do on our ends but we just actually need someone to have that hammer to put it in the ground and just continue to work with the federal government because um call my colleague um Robertson is
correct Um I hear from the owners um especially the folks um at the um the hotels they have pilots they have residents that come in and they sleep they need to get rest and every morning at 4:00 you get this that long blowing
of the horn and now you have that on top of the um the commuter rails and all of the activity It's just really been an eyes sore in our community here and um I know they keep saying that they're doing what they can but we definitely need to
get some prioritize under this here because it's really hurting our bottom line far as attracting folks to really want to spend the night here and also continue to rent here Thank you Thank you councelor Moving on to the next item Next communication received from the
city manager responding to council order 2554 update on Broadway housing projects Dear councilors I am writing in response to council order 2554 requesting the city provide an update on the housing projects at 375 and 440 Broadway I am happy to report that the old Salvation
Army building at 440 Broadway has been fully demolished This project has been years in the making and we are very excited that it is finally here We expect construction to take place over the next 12 to 18 months The development will be a new building that will house 29 units of housing with 10 of them
being affordable home ownership opportunities at 80% AMI The ownership would be prioritized for local first-time home buyers The 19 rental units would be affordable at various levels from 30% AMI to 60% AMI The project at 375 Broadway closed on all
its construction financing on February 28th allowing the project to commence construction The garage building at 154th Street is currently undergoing materials abatement so that it can be safely demolished Once this is complete the contractor will demolish the roof and eventually the entire structure The
existing residents of the 19 rental units at 375 Broadway will remain in place Renovation work in these units will not commence until 2026 allowing these residents to remain in place undisturbed until the new construction portion of the project is further along housing to home and experience
relocation coordinator has been engaged to help facilitate the eventual renovation work and any needed daytime or temporary relocation while renovation work is ongoing Thank you for your ongoing support for these two transformational projects Thank you Move to accept and file under communication
if there are no objections Seeing no objections Thank you councelor Moving on Next communication received from the city manager responding to council order 2555 repair of pothole at 250 Congress Avenue Dear councilors I am writing in response to council order 2555
requesting the city provide an update on the pothole at 250 Congress Avenue This pothole was created by a water repair by the MWR several weeks ago Move to um wave the rest of the reading except file under communication If there are no objections thank you to the city for filling the pothole Yes Thank you
councelor Seeing no objections moving on Next communication received from the city manager regarding all American city award Dear counselors I am writing to share the incredible news that Chelsea is a finalist in the annual All-American City Competition Chelsea won this prestigious award in 1998 and in 2014 We
are very excited about being a finalist Like we always do we will outshine the competition and bring home the gold Over the next few weeks we will be assembling a planning committee that will get us ready for the final competition which will be held in Denver Colorado June 27th to June 29th We will make sure that
the city council plays a big role in the planning process and the trip It goes without saying that Chelsea winning this year will be will bring much needed celebration and joy in the city we have built together We will work hard to make this victory a reality Thank you To accept and file under
communication if there are no objections Seeing no objections moving on Next communication received from the city manager regarding in-house citywide vehicle maintenance Dear counselors I am writing regarding the city's proposal to bring citywide vehicle maintenance in-house Over the past year our public
works team has explored this possibility and we are confident that we can perform a better job by hiring city employees to do this work and we can do it in a more costefficient manner Our team has reached out and met with neighboring communities including River Everett Melrose and Reading to understand their
operations Our team has also met with the company that is currently providing the service to let them know that we are pursuing this possibility The city has outsourced vehicle maintenance since receiverhip Over the over the years the city has slowly taken back services in-house when it is prudent and
financially feasible More recently our public works department took in water and sewer operations after outsourcing it for nearly 20 years to a private operator Our water and sewer team is now fully operational and is doing a tremendous job More importantly the city created 10 well-paying union positions
which are filled mostly with Chelsea residents With several years under our belt we now have well-trained staff that hold important licenses and are committed to the long-term success of our city In the FY26 budget we have incorporated two positions that will allow us to complete this transition Our
contract for vehicle maintenance ends on November 1st We would like to complete two hires in July of 2025 so that these employees can be onboarded and so they can shadow the contractor over several months The two positions budgeted in FY26 are a mechanic supervisor and a
mechanic In FY27 we foresee hiring a junior mechanic creating a pipeline for growth and an opportunity to hire a young person in the role Madam President move to wave the rest of the rating exception file under communication If there are no objections seeing no objections Thank you counselor Moving on Uh councelor Brown you have the floor
Thank you Madam President I want to thank the city manager for this u proposal here It's a great idea Again um similar work has been done It's an opportunity where we can actually do this some of this work that's required um could be done inhouse maintain these
vehicles We have a list of copy of the departments with the vehicles the amount of vehicles but it also helps us to employ local residents to do these jobs that we feel could um benefit them especially um some of those young um
folks to go to the northeast trade so we can work with their mechanics and skills too Thank you Thank you counselor Moving on to the next item Next communication received from the city manager requesting approval for departments to pay prior year expense The councilors I'm writing to request approval for the
Chelsea Police Department and Chelsea Public Works Department to make payments on prior year expenses from their respective FY25 budgets Madam President move to wave the rest of the reading Accept file under communication If there are no objections uh something coming up under new business Seeing no objections
Thank you councelor Moving on Next communication received requesting approval of appointment to the historical commission Dear counselors pursuant to section 4-2 of the charter of the city of Chelsea I am writing to recommend the following individual to a board and commission in the city for appointment to the historical commission
Mr David Matoule of Chelsea to fill the unexpired term of Mr David Vinces who resigned in February I respectfully request your approval of this appointment Resume attached Madam President move to um move this to a second reading If there are no objections Seeing no objections moving
to a second reading Next item Our final communication received from the city manager requesting council approval to transfer funds from stagnant CIP accounts to downtown Broadway Dear councilors I am writing to request that the city council approved transfers from various capital improvement accounts to fund our water and sewer construction
project in downtown Broadway Since the start of our administration our finance team has been diligently reviewing old capital improvement accounts with remaining funds that are no longer needed Our finance team reviewed capital improvement accounts from fiscal year 2012 to fiscal year 2019 specifically
focused on accounts that have not been used for some time The first round of this review was completed and yielded a significant amount of funding that will be used to complete critical city projects Madam President move to wave the rest of the reading except and file under communication If there are no objections uh it's coming up under new
business Seeing none thank you councelor Now uh on to communications and petitions to the council Our sole communication or petition is a communication from the assistant parking clerk regarding the agenda items approved at the April 1st 2025 meeting of traffic and parking commission Madame President I move to wave the rest of the
reading and accept and file the communications Um I also move to postpone the agenda item number two uh to next meeting Uh the TPC has approved it but the zoning board has not made any decision yet Seeing no objections thank you counselor
Moving on to committee reports Our first committee report received from councelor Jimenez Rivera from the meeting of the subcommittee on labor and workforce development held March 28th 2025 Move to accept and file under minutes and I'd like to u read out the report You have the floor counselor Wonderful So uh this
was a meeting of the subcommittee on labor and workforce development Um we were discussing a uh an order that I had introduced uh around allowing unionization for city council office employees Uh these are the the two uh council uh employees that we have
including our clerk uh who was uh clerking this meeting Um so we met with the city solicitor Uh she noted that city council staff already have a right to unionize under Massachusetts general law Um therefore this order would not codify any rights that they don't currently possess Uh she expressed the
view that it may be challenging to have staff in the same bargaining unit Um especially since one supervises the other um since receiverhip council staff have been deemed confidential employees so they can take advantage of some of the other benefits uh afforded to the city's exempt employees And so she
suggested looking at some uh additional um uh documents like the legislative code personnel policy for the city um so that we can then uh work something out with our staff uh that gets to uh the challenges that they may be um uh having uh that may have to do with uh wanting
to to bar collectively bargain Um and so we are going to continue the meeting that we had uh and include the council staff to go over our different uh policies and handbooks so that we can uh draft something for the rest of um draft something for the council uh to eventually then uh send that to the full
council revise it and then final approval uh so that our staff can continue to be um you know happy with what we're doing and how we're doing it and make sure that uh anything that comes up uh is handled uh in an adequate manner Um so yeah excited to continue
this conversation uh with them and with the rest of the council Thank you counselor Moving on to the next item Our next committee report received from councelor Kelly Garcia from the meeting of the subcommittee on public health held April 1st 2025
Madame President I would love to speak on this If there are no objections you have the floor council Awesome All righty team So on when was it uh on April 1st we held a uh subcommittee on public health where we discussed the
proposed lead service line replacement During that meeting we heard from several key stakeholders that are both on the ground and who represent uh not only folks doing the work right but also the experts in the field and who u they shared the harmful impacts of lead
across all ages right and so um it was essentially so I'll now read over a few of the meeting notes The uh Department of Public Works Commissioner Kat noted that the city has a policy where it will remove lead service lines from the water man to the meter in a process that can
take between 4 to eight hours The city allows homeowners to book free appointments to confirm the water service material entering their building In addition any lead material found during road sewer infrastructures projects are also replaced It's also really important for us to know that the
city maintains a revolving list of all lead pipes found with approximately 30 to 80 replaced per year However there is an unknown number around 3,000 that are still within the city of Chelsea Federal law requires a complete inventory of all
lead service lines by 2027 So shout out to the team who is on the ground doing the work Thank you Thank you councelor Councelor uh Jimenez Yeah just a real quick question I'm not sure um this was I just want to make sure that we know
for the folks watching how do they book the appointment do they just call DPW or 311 i see the city manager nodding his head So I will just tell everyone watching if you don't know whether your uh home uh lead service line has lead please call 311 call DBW have them check
It is better to be safe than sorry Um especially if you have little kids Uh really really important Um thank you for everything that's being done around this because it's incredibly important Can I also share it's free Thank you
Counselor Henne I also want to say as a resident that I actually went down to the Department of Public Works to have a look to check to find out um about our own circumstances in our building and was absolutely fascinated by the records
that have been digitized So um you're able to actually see when your pipes were replaced And our pipes in our building for example had two um they were replaced two different times but one was in like
1927 another time was in 1960 And it's they were DPW was incredible They welcome residents there and it's a chance for you to see um what they do and what water and sewer is doing and it
was a great experience So um please just make sure you do this This is so important for our public health Thank you Thank you councelor Seeing no other comments moving on to the next item Our final committee report proceed
from the council president and from the meeting of the subcommittee on conference held April 1st 2025 Uh I would ask one of my colleagues to either share or allow permission for me to speak from the chair No objection Okay So this is a meeting
held on April 1st Um the meeting was introduced by council Cooper regarding a um a proposed home rule petition uh limiting property taxes uh increases for senior citizen homeowners And so um we
had our chief assessor Jim Sullivan provide us um some information from his office on the um uh average of Chelsea property tax in comparison in comparison to other communities Um our rates are
already lower Um I think that through the conversation we became more and more inclined to work on this uh very important topic in-house Um and so um it was almost unanimous that we um we we we
agreed that this is something that may not require a home rule petition but instead requires some work on the existing programs that the city hall currently has And so more to come on this I know that council has been working on this for a while now and so
the conversation will continue and obviously will continue with um more of our partners here at city hall Thank you Moving on Move on to second readings We have a communication received from the city manager being read for the second time requesting approval of
reappointments to boards and commissions Dear councilors pursuant to section 4-2 of the charter of the city of Chelsea I am writing to recommend the following individuals to boards and commissions in the city Reappoint to the board of library trustees Miss Anna Venegas Rivera of Chelsea Reappointment to the
licensing commission Miss Alexandria Christmas of Chelsea and reappointment to the women's commission Miss Kayla Lorbis of Chelsea I respectfully request your approval of these appointments Madam President move to adopt um under suspension if there are no objections On a roll call vote
Seeing no objections we'll proceed with a roll call vote Yes Vote to adopt Councilar Garcia yes Councelor Jimenez Rivera yes Councelor Rupo is absent Council Taylor yes
Council Robinson yes Council Tesher yes Council Kelly Garcia yes Council Santa yes Council Vega is absent Council Brown yes And council Davis yes Nine members voting in favor zero opposed two absent Appointments approved Thank you to the members that are here this evening I
really appreciate you joining us and for us to get to put a face to the name on some of these positions Thank you for your time All right moving on to new business First item under new business Madam President just real quick to the folks
this is a pretty short meeting that we have left over So if you want to stick around to say hello to us we won't be taking too much longer I believe unlike other meetings Thank you councelor Order introduced by council Taylor order that in accordance with Mass General Law chapter 44 section
64 budget management procedures whereby costs incurred in FY24 and 23 were not paid and are owed to the vendors and to meet this obligation funds are required from the current year FY25 budget as noted the Chelsea City Council hereby authorizes the following expenditures to
satisfy the unpaid balances that total $3,7911 from prior years as follows Move to ways and means Seeing no objections Thank you councelor Moving on we have an order introduced by council Taylor Order that in accordance
with chapter 44 section six section 20 of the general laws the sum of [Music] $990,6924 representing the unexpended portions of projects appropriated under fiscal years 2012 through 2019 capital improvement plans for the projects as
noted in the attached listing and which remain available after completion of the projects for which the funds were authorized and that's to wave the rest of the reading and move to ways and means seeing no objections Thank you councelor Moving on we have an order introduced by councelor Robinson ordered
that the city manager request an update from the city's delegation to the Massachusetts General Court and report back to the city council regarding the proposed soccer stadium at Encore Um I'd like to amend that to invite our senator our state rep uh for a
conference here along with the city manager to get an update on the stadium where it stands and what our position is going to be when the stadium is put in place I second the amendment
All right Thank you counselor Order amended Moving on to the next item Our final item under new business We have an order introduced by councilor Santigette Order that the city manager work with the parking clerk to review the city's existing penalty structure for traffic and parking
violations with an emphasis on overnight parking without a residential sticker Madam President I move to adopt and file under suspension seeing no objections and I'd like to speak on it You have the floor counselor Thank you We all know that uh parking is an
albatross around our neck in Chelsea among other things Um but I I really would like the city manager and the parking clerk to take a look at the fee structure particularly for a violation
for residential parking for people who are not involved in the residential parking program and don't have a sticker Um currently the fee for uh parking without a sticker or without
participation in the residential program is only $25 And I personally do not think that that is enough of a deterrent People are parking on our streets uh who do not
have uh a sticker to park And um I believe it's because although our parking enforcement is rigorous people are taking a chance And even if they do get a violation twice a week say they
get two $25 tickets in a month that's $200 And that's even less than paying for a parking space off street So I just think it needs some attention I don't think our fee structure has been looked
at in some time Um this is not my goal is not income generating That may be a byproduct of it It's just more to um put forward a a more serious deterrent from people taking limited spots that do not
have the right to participate in the parking program Um while I'm on the subject of parking although this is uh enforced by the police as a member of the disabled community I also want to really ask people
um to be respectful of the handicapped parking spots that are allocated around the city Um I can't tell you how many times I have tried to park with my placard and been unable to because there
have been cars without placards in those spots on Broadway Oftent times there are people who park with their hazard lights on but remain in those spots for I have waited sometimes for 20 minutes and uh I
just want people to be more considerate for those who do need to park closer to business leisure etc Um it's just very disrespectful to people who have any kind of mobility
issues to park in a spot because you want to be close to pick up your takeout So I just want people to um be mindful of that I wish I didn't need the placard I wish I could walk further but um I
can't And so please again be respectful of those spots Thank you Thank you councelor Councelor Tashi Um Madame President I would just like to say um I definitely agree with the fact that everybody should be respectful of handicapped parking spots
Um I do think you know if uh you commit any violation because you're standing in a place that's not yours such as a a handicap uh parking spot you should definitely face some harsher consequences But when it comes to regular parking um we already know that in Chelsea we have a very difficult
parking situation Um however we do also have a very vulnerable population Um a good number of people rely on food being being provided by La Colorativa and by other entities throughout the state as well Um so increasing any punishment
from $25 to $100 just to try to get them to not park on a place where they likely live Um you know we're we're not talking about getting them to not park there We're talking about getting a meal off
their table Um and I say this with all honesty right because the people that are parked here in Chelsea is likely because they live here in Chelsea and because whatever their living and working situation is they have barely manage to get that one truck or that one
car which they used to labor and provide for their family You know accounting for the cost that we're seeing with inflation and accounting for all the costs that we're seeing with everything around us with housing Um I just feel like it's not a proper direction for us
to go and charging people more Uh but I do agree that it is a concern and we just have to find a different creative way to approach it Thank you councelor Councelor Rubbero Um as far as if you park on a handicap
parking spot is it a $300 parking ticket 100 100 Well maybe we should make it 300 That like the other the other ones though you park in Boston is a $300 fine As far as what my fellow counselor says
increasing the amount for tickets I don't believe that's either because here like he said you have a vulnerable population People here are not rich people Sometimes they forget So they pay a $25 ticket It's happened to me from 25
it became a hundred Right Can I just clarify please that I wanted the focus to be on the residential overnight non people who aren't involved in the residential parking program I thank you counselor So counselors I
just want to make sure we go through the chair and then we can do deliberations after the meeting I was still talking Okay Go ahead counselor Just reminding folks we don't want to do the back and forth Okay So I can understand what my fellow counselor says That is correct
But as far as anything in this city there's even hard time to find a place at night To get a place to park at night you have to find a place at 8:00 in the at night to make sure you get one because there isn't none So
I I I don't know what we can do What can we do we can we up the fees higher they try we few years back they were trying to do that We're trying to make the the fees higher and it's not going to help the people that live here making it
higher Uh as far as we have maybe we need more parking enforcement at night All right To go around Thank you so much Councelor Counselor Taylor So I'm not I'm not exactly sure if this is a good idea or a bad idea uh to raise
those fees However one idea that we already had was was to get the public's input on parking Now unfortunately we we did have a subcommittee on this and it was you know
a lot of counselors did not want to have uh meetings in their districts Uh um I postponed mine because it was during the winter and and I I still intend to have a public uh meeting about uh parking in
Prattville at some point this spring um if we can if we can get a place uh you know secured uh in enough time to let people know But I encourage this conversation about parking because this
remains one of the sorest topics in Chelsea among our residents and that they need to have an input in this process So I would encourage all of you and all all my colleagues to you know
don't don't be don't be timid about it go and talk to your your constituents and and see what they say about not just this issue but lots of other related issues and the problems that they see and how the city might mitigate these
things and come up with a new policy that works a little bit better So you know I I I just think that this is important for good customer service on on our part Thank you Thank you councelor Councelor Himenez
So I I think I want to go back to the the meeting that was mentioned uh that where we had these conversations about having parking meetings or not I I think what I recall in that meeting was that folks decided to lump those conversations in as part of the strategic planning uh the
Chelsea onward Chelsea Palante uh process which I think is what is going to be happening in the future Um so I I think that we we definitely want to be having engaging people around this issue uh in the city um and we will be as this process moves forward Um and I think I'm hearing a lot of folks debating whether
this is a good idea or a bad idea I think what um the order is is asking is to to ask the city manager to to consider you know what options might be So I think it's a good idea for us to just you know we we approved the order already Let's make sure that we um wait to see what the city manager brings uh
back and then we can have a conversation with the information that we have requested um and then decide on whether we want to increase it or not I I don't know if it's a good idea or not right now Thank you councelor Uh councelor Ricko you already had a chance Once we
close we can have more deliberations as we're walking out of the city hall Please let's uh move on now to some public announcements Uh councelor Garcia quick reminder on Monday is um Chelsea
Day at Northeast And so counselors you are more than welcome We are starting at 9:00 so we can visit our students our Chelsea students who attend the Northeast Vocational High School Yes Thank you Kelly also for your leadership in coordinating with Blanca I'm excited
to visit our youth Councelor Vupero Okay What I was going to say I want to say in a public announcement Here's a simple thing right now People are asking you cannot get a resident parking sticker in this
city If you if you the unit you are renting that they're building now you cannot go and apply to get a resident parking sticker They won't give it to you because there is an ordinance which tells you you cannot get a resident parking sticker So the developers that are developing these units should tell
you that once you rent this house unless there's parking you cannot get a resident parking sticker one The next thing is councelor Rubbero please limit it We will have more conversations as councelor Hman has mentioned There was a public this is another public announcement Okay This one's a real
public announcement The other one was a public announcement and this one to me it was anyway So now this is another one Um this one I'll tell you in Spanish and in English Be careful on Central Avenue because now they have put a stop sign between Central Avenue and Shaman So
people are used to going there and They're not stopping They're supposed to stop Be careful because there might be a policeman waiting on the other side that's going to get you give you a ticket Your mic is off C Okay I'm sorry Uh be
careful going down Central and Shaman because there there's a stop sign now You have to stop There never was one there So watch out when you go down because you might have a policeman on the other side that's going to give you a ticket And once you get a ticket from a policeman it's not a ticket It's a
moving violation which cost you for seven years So you better be careful what you do right and and the next thing over there is that you have to be careful regardless because there's children there and many accidents have happened in that
area on Central and Char stop sign [Music] Stop Was in a violation So just be careful without Okay Thank you counselor Any other councelor Sigate
hi Um yeah that we have a number of things that are going to be happening in the city and since we're not going to meet again until the 28th um I just wanted to remind people of some of the great offerings So um one thing is you may have noticed there's an art
installation out in front of City Hall called Be the Change So there's going to be an actual opening for that on the 16th of April at 6:00 here at city hall Um we also have a series of events um at
the Governor Bellingham Kerry House including one about Cuban history um from a Chelsea resident of Cuban ancestry That's at the Bellingham Kerry House from 6:00 to 8 on the 17th Then we
have Earth Day on the 26th sponsored by Green Roots and that's from 9 to 12 followed by our peace vigil at 1:00 here at city hall So um just wanted to remind people of all of those events since
we're not going to um be here again until after Thank you councelor Councelor Brown Thank you I got just a quick shout out I just want to say thank you to all the folks who's been working over at the cemetery right there from Central A What
a terrific job If you haven't seen that the restoration the cleanup effort over there it's unbelievable Our work to everyone that's played a part in doing that is just um remarkable Thank you Um thank you Thank you for that work I agree Thank you
counselor I will add a huge shout out to Charlie our director of um sports and um his work over the weekend Um he held a uh football clinic over at the high
school and I know that the youth were all very very excited and grateful for this opportunity I think you're doing an amazing job Charlie and we are so lucky to have you here in the city Um I would also like to share that um on Thursday
uh there's going to be a huge uh delegation of youth in Chelsea um reaching out to the state and visiting state legislators to advocate for youth jobs funding As you all know that is something that the state in the past has
um impacted with budget cuts And so they want to make sure that next year's budget is not impacted as it has been in the past And so if you are um the parent of a youth or if you're a parent yourself please make sure that you're um
reaching out to um La Collaborative they will have a delegation um visiting the state house this upcoming Thursday for youth jobs funding Um Councelor Taylor I also uh wanted to inform people that
the Chelsea Rotary Club will be having its annual Kentucky Derby event on May 6th at uh the uh an Anony's of Malden and it's a good opportunity to support um a great organization that really does
a lot for this community um including uh scholarships for our seniors at Chelsea High um and all other kinds of uh things that we provide Um the tickets are $100 and uh if you would like to find uh come
and and buy a ticket you can reach me at 6178723174 Thank you Thank you counselor See moment of silence Yes A moment of silence for Vel Kilmer a great actor that just passed away at a young age of 65
Any other moments of silence all right Okay Meeting adjourned Thank you