Good evening. All rise for the pledge of >> allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America and to the stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice
for all. >> Thank you, clerk. Please start us off with a roll call. >> Council Garcia, >> present. >> Councelor Jimenez Rivera, >> present. >> Councelor Cooper. Council Taylor
>> here. >> Council Robinson >> here. >> Council attach >> here. >> Council Kelly Garcia >> present. >> Council Santigette >> here. >> Council Vega. >> Council Brown >> here. >> And councelor Dezos >> present. >> 10 members present, one absent. You have a quorum, madam president.
>> Thank you, cleric. Let's uh start off with memoriams and celebratory res resolutions. >> You have one resolution on the agenda this evening introduced by councelor Robinson. Whereas Michael Lush is a longtime Chelsea resident who recently served as baseball coach at Chelsea High School.
And whereas he followed in the footsteps of his father, Albert, who was active in baseball and softball leagues, while his mother, Wanita, worked as an interpreter and social worker with Capic here in Chelsea. And whereas Michael attended Chelsea public schools, graduating from Chelsea High School in 1976. And whereas
during his time at Chelsea High School, Michael was an all-American in baseball in 1975 and made all Scholastic in 1976. later attending college in Florida. And whereas Michael has been employed in the transportation department as a chauffeur at the Chelsea Veterans Home for over 21
years and is widely regarded by his co-workers and the many veterans he interacts with on a daily basis. Now therefore be resolved that the Chelsea City Council congratulates Michael Lush for his athletic accomplishments as a student athlete, expresses profound appreciation for his decision to pass on
his knowledge, experience, and spirit of sportsmanship to new generations of student athletes as the head coach of Chelsea High School's baseball team. >> Thank you, Cler. >> Adopted unanimously on the suspension. Mike's a little under the weather, so he couldn't be here tonight, but I'll make sure that he gets a copy of the
resolution. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, counselor. All right, moving on now to a public hearing. >> Public hearing before you is on a proposed zoning amendment section 34-78, special dimensional requirements to
include new regulations prohibiting enclosed seafood processing, seafood packing and packaging, seafood loading, and seafood distribution within 300 ft of a residential use. >> We will speak very close to the mic for you all. All right, we will now start
our public hearing. Um, if I can have anyone who is here for public hearing please go up to the mic and introduce yourself with your address. You have four minutes. Thank you. >> And just to clarify, this is for only
the fish amendment zoning, not public comment for the I know that we have a lot of folks coming for the petition. So, I just want to make sure that they know that it's not yet. >> Thank you, counselor. Yes, this is only for the fish company.
Good evening, members of council. My name is Nicholas Gregory, 65 Breakwater Drive and I'm speaking tonight as a private citizen. I also want to be clear, I'm not an attorney. Any references I make to statutes or zoning concepts are for illustrative purposes only. [clears throat] not legal
conclusions. I'm here tonight to speak in support of the 300T buffer amendment because it is good for all of Chelsea, for our neighborhoods, our businesses, our long-term planning vision, and because there has been some confusion. I wanted to state clearly what this
amendment does and what it does not do. There's four major misconceptions that I've heard circulating around this amendment. So, we'll list them out at the start and we'll go through them one by one. So, seafood processing requires a special permit. So, safeguards already built in. That's misconception one. Uh,
this amendment will harm current businesses. It's misconception two. Uh, buffer zones are new, unusual, or not part of Chelsea's zoning structure. That's misconception three. And number four is this amendment will hurt the entire zoning district and discourage industrial activity.
These claims sound plausible on the surface, but each one is incorrect. I'll address them one at a time. So number one, right, seafood processing already requires a special permit. So safeguards are already built in. The special permit process is not a guaranteed safeguard.
Special permits are discretionary, political, and determined case by case. And in Chelsea, where many residents work multiple jobs, manage child care, care for elders, attending a series of evening hearings is simply not possible. Relying on the special permit process
alone places the entire burden on residents to defend their own neighborhood, often without the time, the scheduling flexibility, or the technical expertise needed to participate fully. A buffer zone, by contrast, is predictable. It's
proactive. It's self- enforcing, and it's equitable. It protects residents automatically regardless of who can attend a meeting or challenge an application. Number two, this amendment will harm current businesses. That's just
inaccurate. Under Massachusetts zoning principles, again, speaking illustratively, legally established uh existing uses are fully protected. They cannot be forced to move, close, shrink, or change due to a zoning amendment. This means no current, lawfully
established business is harmed by this amendment. Not one. The amendment applies only to future decisions, which is exactly how zoning is intended to function. The misunderstanding that this amendment hurts current businesses comes from a basic confusion about what zoning
actually does. Number three, buffer zones are new, unusual, or not a part of Chelsea's zoning structure. Uh, buffer zones are not new in Chelsea. Uh, Chelsea already uses buffer zones extensively. Auto repair and vehicle
facilities have 100 foot buffer zone. Uh indoor recreation facilities 25 ft. Most notably, the Chelsea Creek Harbor master and designated port area master plan adopted in 2022, signed by a number of folks in this room, um explicitly identify certain uses as incompatible
with industrial processing and directs the city to ensure appropriate separation between incompatible uses and sensitive areas. Buffering is not new. This amendment simply applies an existing planning tool
to a higher intensity industrial use. This amendment will hurt the entire zoning district and discourage industrial activity. That's number four. This amendment applies to one single high impact use, fish or seafood processing. It does not restrict or discourage manufacturing, logistics,
warehousing, distribution, trades, fabrication, or the many industrial activities that keep Chelsea's economy strong. Industrial development remains fully supported in the district. This amendment simply uh ensures that one
high impact use is cited responsibly consistent with Chelsea's long-term planning documents and best practices in industrial zoning. This amendment is good for all of Chelsea. And despite the misconceptions, the special permit does not guarantee protection. A buffer does. The amendment
does not harm current businesses. Buffer zones are not new to Chelsea. And this amendment does not harm industrial activity. This is responsible zoning. It's predictable planning. This is how we protect residents, support businesses, and build a healthier, more sustainable
future for our Chelsea, for for our city. I respectfully urge you to support this amendment because to advocate for our own health, safety, and general welfare is not to be a privileged view. It is to be human. Barante. >> Good evening, counselors.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Martza and I live at on Commandance Way here in Chelsea. I'm here because I love this city. I believe we have all have a
responsibility to protect the place we call home. And tonight that that responsibility feels like supporting councelor Tesh's 300 foot buffer between enclosed fish processing and our neighborhoods.
I want to begin with something simple. A buffer zone is not a radical idea. It's not an I business. It's not a barrier to growth. It is a promise. A promise that the families of Chelsea, families who work
hard. Families who play by the rules deserve a little space between industry and the front doors of their homes. That's it. That's all that it is. You know, across the country right now, we're watching federal protections get
rolled back. Rules that kept our air cleaner, our water safer, our kids healthier, they're disappearing. And too often when that happens, it's communities like ours that pay the price. Workingclass families, immigrant
families, people who don't have lobbyists or lawyers speaking on their behalf. The good news is that Chelsea is not Washington. And tonight, you have the power to choose a different path. Because here in our city, we know the
truth. We know that Chelsea is one of the most densely populated communities in Massachusetts. We know our children already grow up next to highways, truck routes, fuel tanks, salt piles. And we know that when
we talk about ending one more heavy, noisy, high traffic industrial use right next to our homes, we're not talking about an inconvenience. We're talking about people's health, people's sleep, people's dignity. A 300 foot buffer, barely a block. It's
not luxury. It's the least we can do. We're not banning fish processing. We're not shutting the door on business. We're simply saying yes, you can operate here, but do it responsibly. Do it at a distance that respects the people that
respect the people who live here. This is fairness. It's balance. It's good government. And so tonight, I'm asking you to stand with us. To stand with the parents whose kids wake up at truck noise at 4:00 a.m. to stand with seniors
whose windows shake when loading ducks dogs run through the night. To stand with the families who have carried more of the industrial burden burden than any other community in this region. Chelsea has always been a city where
people look out for one another. And when you vote for this buffer, you're saying that Chelsea workingclass families are not invisible. We are not disposable. We matter. So let us draw a clear clear line not against business
but for our people. Let us show that progress and protection can live side by side. And let us choose a future where Chelsea grows, but never at the expense of the folks who call it home. Thank you. Anyone
[applause] else here? Hello. Hello. [clears throat] Eddie Gaffffne at 100 comedants way. Um I'm here in support of Manuel Tesy's proposal for a 300 foot buffer zone for seafood processing uh in regards to
residential use. Um as you all uh I sent you all an email today with some maps and information and and facts. I just like to share repeat some of the information I uh sent with you. Um the first one in particular is the the
original zoning ordinance um allowed for 8,519 linear feet of existing seafood adjacency to residential zones. This new change that they did um in trying to
put seafood into an industrial zone. Now there is two thou two Now there is 23,981 linear feet of new seafood adjacencies to residential districts. That's uh almost three miles of length of um
potential issues now with residential zones touching um industrial zones. And the only two districts, the only two lucky districts up there are districts one and two where you don't have any residential and any uh industrial zones touching each other. Other than that,
all the other districts are affected. [snorts] Um, and buffer zones are used for exactly this purpose. When you introduce a new uh use into a zone, you either have to do it with dimensional requirements or a buffer. So this is something that I feel like should have
been vetted uh when this change was introduced last year. Um but in my opinion um it was um flawed and rushed um for some reason and here we are um trying to um remedy that. Um so uh in an
example finally I'd like to conclude with an example of a 300 foot buffer so everybody's uh clear with the distance. We have a great example. We had um election recently and there's a 100 foot buffer zone on each side of the entry of the high school and that's the area 300
feet total where you're not allowed to do any election interfering. No soliciting, no anything like that. So that's a good example of 300 feet. It's not that big. It's not a big buffer. So I just like to conclude with that and thank you very much for the time.
[applause] Anyone else uh willing or in interested in speaking? No. Okay. Seeing no more, >> I have a a point of inquiry. It's nothing before the council at the
moment, but just for the public here. Um would would the clerk be able to explain what happened to to the proposed uh amendment and why we will not be able to vote on it on this council? >> Clerk, >> as of right now, the zoning amendment is
pending before subcommittee. Subcommittee meeting did not happen. So, it hasn't been moved out of subcommittee yet. And given the time frame for where we are at right now, council was required to have its public hearing within 65 days after receiving after
sending it down to the planning board. We are at that point and beyond at this point. So even if council were to have a subcommittee meeting before the end of this year, you guys would be well beyond the 65day period to act under the zoning law. So it would the vote would be moot in my opinion in the opinion of our
legal department as well which does not preclude the council from reintroducing it next year should you choose. >> Thank you clerk. And this is because a one of our counselors requested for it to go into subcommittee. >> Correct. And no subcommittee was
scheduled by the council was involved. Um, I would just like to leave for the record that this was my fear when I said that we should not move it to a subcommittee u because we would not get to vote on it and I was told that that would not happen. Um, and that is
exactly what happened. Um, so just leaving that for the record. Uh, it will have to be reintroduced again next year and go through the process all over again. Um, that's uh so the public knows what happened. Um, you know that why today we only have a public hearing.
Thank you, counselor, and thank you to everyone who came and spoke today. Uh really appreciate your time and really appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It's very important for us to have public comment. Okay, closing our public hearing.
Um that was not required, but um we're going to move on now to our public speaking. Is anyone here for public speaking? All right, please come to the front.
>> Perfect. Perfect. Please come to the front and state your name. Um, city manager, our interpreter is in the crowd, correct? >> Okay. Okay. >> Um, my name is Crystal.
I am also a resident of Chelsea and I will be translating Good evening. Yeah, absolutely. Um, good evening and thank you for your time. Um, >> he did not imagine to be here. Um, so when I was going out shopping with my
wife, >> I saw this beautiful group of people signs fighting for some rights that we have lost within the city. >> So on the 10th of November >> of November uh I was detained by ICE in
Burlington >> on a regular check that happens once a year. I don't have a criminal record, >> but they decided to detain me anyway. >> I give thanks to God for that. >> And he wouldn't change this for,
not for the conditions of the environment he was in, but because of the people that I met while in there. When I saw one of the signs saying ice out of schools, >> I remembered my friend that I had met in Plymouth
Vasquez. >> His name is Benito Vasquez. December 3rd, he will be completing six months of being high school. a Chelsea High School student.
>> He's 19 years old and he's a marvelous person. >> I've been scared of participating in stuff like this because I am an immigrant. But I cannot permit that my friends stay in.
And because of that, I'm here. a marous kid and the city is truly going to lose someone who is making the city better. >> He doesn't have a criminal record.
He's got a lot of musical talent. He can play all of the instruments >> in prison. He I'm sorry I'm getting emotional while translating. Um in prison he was using a cup to go ahead and use that as a
musical instrument called the VA. >> He's also one of our church singers and that has been forgotten back in. >> Please help us get out of there and please don't let any more of our students get there.
You are very large with powerful I'm living here for seven years. You've supported me and helped me out with the permits for my car. >> And I'm sure that you have a wonderful heart.
And I'm sure that you will do what's in your power to make sure that my friend and no one else gets taken to that environment. >> He dreams of coming back to Chelsea and eating at his favorite restaurant. I already had the opportunity of going
to my hungry restaurant. No one else. This is a marvelous city. And I feel very proud. My children are currently in Brown. and they received a lot of help from
their teachers. This place is marvelous. >> Good to the schools and overall our community members. You wouldn't have to worry about us the immigrants, but you do.
I apologize for talking so much. Thank you so much. And if there's anyone here who knows how to help my friend, I ask you with all my heart. I've only been there for 15 days.
That changed my family for its entire six months. Do you have Okay, perfect. There are other people fromsec because he was in the same cell as me. >> [applause] >> Madam Madame President, [applause] point >> councelor >> point of order.
>> When you're speaking in Spanish, can you please translate into English? so that people can understand exactly what's being said for transparency purposes, please. >> Absolutely. Absolutely. I got you. I got you. So, um I was telling our community
member here that um I don't want to interrupt him as he's sharing this very touching story, but I want to make sure that we have sufficient time to hear the rest of the folks in the audience. um and that our city manager please take down his information so that we can
connect them with the departments that can support him in the situation that his friend um is confronting. >> Thank you. >> Of course. Um, so Okay. So, I just want to make sure everyone in the audience gets an opportunity to speak. So, I wanted to re
uh repeat in Spanish that I want to uh ensure that everyone is able to be as brief as possible with their unique story so that they can allow their neighbor to also share their unique experience. >> Councelor Brown, >> thank you. Can you also make an announcement that we um the city has
translation here? So, we do have a translator from uh that's paid by our city. So, we the persons can feel comfortable. Gracias. Um, so Good evening everyone. >> My name is Hilda Ramirez.
>> My name is Hilda Ramirez. >> I'm a survivor of ICE. I was the woman who was attacked the 26th of [snorts] September >> in front of my [snorts] son who has autism >> and in front of my daughter.
I believed blindly in a friend. [laughter] Fore. [snorts] So I do apologize because she did say a lot. I will try to grasp everything. Um she confided in an organization where
she went to go um receive help and she left her license there. Um from that moment she was attacked by ICE in front of her children. Um
>> her son has has autism. Oh, um there was also a gun brandished um during her arrest. There was also a gun brandished during her arrest. >> She's in occupational therapy. And with
the brace, she can't uh get her health back. >> She has a severe trauma >> psychologically. My children are suffering [snorts]
and that's why I want to share my story. uh you can't trust your friends and because of that now I'm suffering >> and the police came to get her because all of her information was shared with them [snorts] after she went to get
help. She is a resident without a criminal record [snorts] >> and she is a permanent resident. But I was attacked and almost lost my life. And the Chelsea firefighters
were carrying me as all of this was happening. And thank you for those who called um to assist her. Um it wasn't said that ICE was the ones who were attacking her and there was people who responded. So thank
you. And if not for those people, she wouldn't be here [snorts] today being able to say her story. And only if you were a parent would you understand the pain that I'm going through. However, I've been gathering
all of the data and all of um the stuff that has been going on. >> Thank you so much. >> [applause] >> English. >> Okay. She will start uh speaking in English and then um she will ask me if
she needs my >> um hi um I'm from the community of Chelsea for 22 years living in Chelsea and never please give me your name. >> Um Marilyn Cases. >> Okay.
>> Yes, I'm here for 22 years in Chelsea. And never I see things happen right now in Chelsea, but I here for my community. Um
it's terrible losing families, separate families, and nobody want to do nothing in the city. Everybody covered with the same blankets. Nobody want to know what
happened with the immigrants in Chelsea. Okay. Why? Why nobody want to the people in charity? They don't want to hear nothing stories but ICE but immigrants like me. Because I say to my people, cities like Chelsea
with a lot of immigrants, they receive a lot of money from the system. Nobody want to lose the money. The people in charge from the city, they don't want to lose the money. For me, for you, for everyone. That's right. I'm here for my community.
You know why guys? I'm wake up at 5:00 in the morning walking the street with my neighbor. Make sure my neighbors go safe to work. And right now in Chelsea, Jurro got door to touch.
to express what's going up in the city. How are you feeling? And you know why now I'm the bad person in Chelsea? Because these people in charity, they don't want to hear nothing but immigrants because they don't want
to help. They don't want to lose the benefits this city have for the immigrant people. That's why I'm here. And I want to say to everyone, nobody will me. I see on Chelsea core every day
how I jump in people over there. They jump in this poor woman. Ice jumping this poor woman. They arresting her her two family. After the rest arresting her family, they come and jump in her. Why they come and jump her?
Ice broke her arm. She not receive help from nobody from the city. Nobody want to nobody want to hear the stories but immigrants. Nobody want to lose nothing. Nobody want to lose the benefits.
That's why I'm here to let her know to everyone. Nobody was stopping me and I'm continue and do this. I go put one example one example. and in Chelsea court following following following the cases
and helping people. You guys want to hear why I'm helping people. The poor kids like like this uh like this teacher uh what is his name? The guy No, the guy arresting Benito sending
Benito back and send them to he died back home. I want to contain my story very fast. I'm bring my son from back from back home few years ago in the back government from the system to deport my
son. >> Okay. I'm sorry to interrupt but your time is up. Thank you so much for sharing. >> You see what I say? Everybody want me. >> I would like to know. >> Does start with these people. >> I would like to know. >> Everybody want to choir me and nobody go
me. I got stories to continue. Thank you. like the next person who speaks to please come up to the podium. Thank you. [applause] >> I would also like for anyone in the audience who wants to speak to please make sure to state your name so that we
can follow up. Thank you. And address. >> Hi everybody. My name is Katherine Anderson. I live at 15 Powder House Terrace number three in Somerville, Massachusetts. Uh my name I'm the middle school special education teacher over at the Brown Middle School and I'm also the president of the Chelsea teachers union.
Um I'm speaking here tonight in favor of the city putting uh meeting the requests in the petition. I really think that this is about two things. It's about taking back our agency and it's about regaining trust in our institutions. Uh we saw back in the spring a terrible
incident with several children being detained by ICE after an incident at Chelsea High School. Subsequently, there was a change in policy and we have not seen children detained since then. We know that we can take actions that help protect our families and keep them in this community and we need to continue
to take those actions moving forward. The other part about this is about regaining trust in our institutions. Our families are struggling to maintain hope and safety in Chelsea right now. Chelsea public schools has lost 300 students,
which is a 5% drop in our student population. that is greater than the drop that we saw during CO. Um, we need to make sure that we are proactively doing things to keep families reassured that they are safe. Right now, there's more that we could be doing to make sure that people
understand that they are safe within the city of Chelsea and that they their children belong in our schools. Every single child who is a resident, no matter their immigration uh documentation background, is entitled to an education in the state of Massachusetts. And it is our
responsibility as a city to make sure that every single family is receiving that. And there's much more that we could be doing to make sure that that's happening right now. And I hope that the city council takes the action to take back that agency and hope to help support our families. Thank you. >> Thank you. [applause]
>> Thank Thank you, Katherine. And uh give me one second. So, um, Katherine, if I can please get, um, at some point, um, we should connect so that I can get a sense of the folks that in your network. I know I bump into folks every time when
we're driving around or on bikes and and trying to respond to the movements in the community, but there's also been efforts in place for us to pick up Chelsea folks that are released at Burlington that don't have any way of communicating with anyone because they have no cell phones. So if we can
connect afterwards Absolutely. Burlington Burlington. Good evening. My name is Vanessa Mendoza. I am a resident in Chelsea, 318 Chestnut Street. I am a first grade teacher at the Kelly School and the vice president of the Chel Chelsea teachers
union. I don't have formal remarks, but I did want to share my experience that I had with a couple of agents, um, ICE agents on October 16th while they were parked using our school parking lots. Um, that morning students, um, that morning we received a report through the
Lucay chat that, um, people were reporting suspicious vehicles that were parked in the parking lot that is further away from the school, but still a school faculty um, parking lot. Um, family members eventually were told of
that information, but it wasn't until about 100 p.m. when the initial reports happened around 8 in the morning. Um, I'm here to share the story because it's important that we're proactively communicating with our families when we know that there is ICE or federal agents
present near or on school property. We want to make sure that our families are aware of the um of what is around them and the precautions that they'll need as they're thinking about um picking up their students or their children from school.
It's important that the city council make sure that we are um listening to the Lucay uh requests that we are not allowing ICE agents to use municipal parking lots or other spaces because this is how we can build trust and let
the community know that we are here. We see you and we are protecting you because you are an important part of our community. It also then reassures our students that we are here to protect them. As a teacher, my number one job is to keep you safe and we cannot do that if you're coming to school worried that
your parents may not may not be there when they are picking you up. So, I just wanted to share that it has happened and we need to address these concerns because it's it's not just us here, but it's our students who see it every day. Thank you. >> Thank you,
[applause] Alas. Someone else. Hi. Um, my name is Julian Manets. I live on a lower Broadway close to the court and I I really like Chelsea for its diversity and we really should understand that the 80% foreign born
doesn't come for nothing. So, we really have to step up to do our very best, not only everything, we have to go beyond everything to really create a neighborhood and a community of trust. and we don't see that trust. I'm uh
frequently uh doing court watches at Chelsea court and I recently want to share a story where I recently have a company neighbor and um she was she was thinking back and forth whether she's going to renew the restraining order
that she had or not because she was afraid that ICE is being called on her by this exartner and that is really not a very nice situation to be in and I know that a lot of neighbors have these struggles. So
the not only is it a very painful situation to go through by yourself and that day I have spotted a person in the court who was clearly identifiable as ICE and having that that process for her going
through and then at the same time having to be concerned whether to be picked up by ICE for simply trying to protect yourself and not really knowing what's the worst enemy there. So fortunately she was able we were able to get her out of the court at back home
safely. However, other people were picked up that day and there were students just trying to set their record straight. People are not criminals and people deserve a due process and going to court and setting their record straight should be a doo process. And we
see a lot of collaboration and we see a lot of peaceful transfers and it's not peaceful. It looks like collaboration and it does that does not help building the trust of the community and we really you probably can guess from my accent I grew up in Germany. I've seen those
history books. Silence and complicity will not be on your side. We have to go above and beyond to get eyes out of Chelsea. And we really have to make sure that we implement each and every point of that petition because in this
community we have to be first out there to really show what building a community a protected community looks like. Thank you. [applause] Alas, anyone else? Hi, good evening. My name is Juliana Morris. I live at 8 Orient Avenue in
East Boston. I am a primary care provider of adults and children at the MGH Chelsea Health Center. I'm speaking here as myself, not uh showing the views of my employer. Um I just wanted to comment briefly. I mean, I think it's
kind of evident how everything that's going on is impacting the health of our community. Um, the increased rates of um mental illness, the impact of stress on chronic disease. Um, you know, I have
many patients who have uh lost loved ones to this to the system to detention or deportation. Um, the impact that that's having on their health is incredible. Um the what I wanted to comment on specifically right now in
terms of building trust is what the current climate is leading to um in terms of people even being able to take care of their health. We are seeing a lot of people not coming into their appointments, cancelling their appointments. I've had patients tell me
directly, I didn't go to my appointment because I heard that ice was that market basket. Um you know that's just the people that we hear from. there are a lot more people that are just kind of fallen off and we don't know what's happening with them, what's happening with their health, if they're simply
just too afraid to come in. Um so just thinking in terms of the public obviously what's most important is the health impact on those individuals that are suffering and thinking about the public health impacts on our community
if we're not able to adequately reach people and take care of their health needs because of their fear to leave their homes or come into the clinic. Uh there was also an incident, I don't remember the specific day, uh right next to our clinic where there was a staging
ground and ICE was transferring people. So things like that also worsen the whole level of trust. Thank you. >> Thank you. [applause] Good evening. My name is Fran Rnnowski. I live at 11 Cottage Street in Chelsea. And I'm the granddaughter of an
immigrant who came to the US when he was 17 years old. And if he came in this day and age to Chelsea or anywhere else in the United States, he would be threatened. He would be threatened with a lack of
due process. Let me start over. He would be threatened with being arrested and with lack of due process and probably end up in jail with no criminal record. We heard that from Jose. We heard it from Ila. It is happening over and over and
over again. I have been in Chelsea courts where the judge has told people, I know the case of two specific people because I witnessed their arrest. They are 18 and 23 years old. The judge said, "Go home." ICE was waiting in our
courtroom. They were masked. Under no circumstances should people be masked in our courtrooms. They were masked. They took the people out and the parents had no idea where they were for weeks. Many of you in this sub in this council are
parents. Can you imagine what it was like? Your child goes to court. Your child goes to work. Your child is coming home from school and they never come home. And you have no idea as to where it is. And we can be told by ICE. All
you have to do is have their name, their address, and their A number and you will know immediately where they are. Except that does not happen. What I'm hearing from people, it takes two to three to four days. Lawyers don't even know where these people are. So back on October
29th and again in November, mid November, this the ice out of Chelsea, which was a petition that came from Chelsea Luc was sent to the leaders in this room, elected officials as well as Fidel. What we heard was that a number
of people did not get it. And so I just want to go over a couple of the points which they are. municipal property. Under no circumstances do we want ice being on elementary school play uh parking lots. We don't
want them at the high school parking lot. We don't want them at the middle school parking lots. We don't want them at city hall parking lots. If they have no business in those municipal areas, they should have no right to be there. The second one that I want to point out
uh has to do with fingerprinting. There's been an issue with minors being fingerprinted as soon as they get to the police station. And again, I want you to imagine what it's like if you're a parent. Unfortunately, your kid ends up
in the police station. You go to get your child, they are not there because ICE has already hauled them off. This is something that we can do in our city. And I think also it should be happening statewide. The last one that I want to
share is no cooperation with ICE. We need to clarify and codify the police non-core cooperation with ICE. People have seen ICE agents and our police officers drinking coffee and Dunkin
Donuts. Under no circumstances should that be happening on work hours, off of work time. None of us has anything to say with it. But if you're working as law enforcement in Chelsea, you should not be interacting with ICE. So I would
encourage people, if you've not seen that, please let us know. We'll make sure that everyone has it. I am proposing that we have a subcommittee so that you can review this and see are there some ordinances that we can have in Chelsea. And once again, I want to
hope that Chelsea can be an example for the rest of the state. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. [applause and cheering] Good evening. Three minutes, right? And 22 Garish Avenue.
And um how do I go after that? So I will be brief. as a mother, as a school committee member, as a fellow longtime resident
and a concerned resident, I empathize. I will do my best to state everything that I want to as eloquently
and as well let's just cut to the chase. How can we create how can we talk about collaboration when we have been cherrypicking who we invite to the table? Because in Puerto
Rico, my friend, I can say that you're also in that because when we're standing here and calling out someone who's actually being fair for pointing out that your time is up,
We can't sit here and say that you're being silenced because you don't like that your time is up. If my time is up when she says, "Hey, Clary, your time is up. My time is up." All I'm saying is sometimes equity is unfair and we have to examine
where we stand. That fact that ICE has been running rampant in our city, it is unfortunate. But unfortunately that is not our purview at the moment. Do I agree with it? No. But do we all
have to sit at a long table where it's going to be messy? Yes. Is it fair to say that our police department has not been leading well before this has come to the table? Hell yeah.
That is unfair because our police department has been doing things very differently before this situation has come up since 2017. If I'm not if I'm not mistaken, counselor uh Robert uh
Jimenez, that was what our um police department, our chief of police when he sat with you um via Zoom at the at your meeting or at your uh hearing, he said, "Chelsea has been doing things
differently. We have been uh considering juveniles and when it comes to fingerprinting, we have been going before the state house when it comes to you guys advocating. You have advocating advocated for different situations and
different circumstances in many different forms. when it comes to our school department, I don't believe that it should just be the purview of our Chelsea um teachers union to advocate alone because we have our superintendent who can speak for our leadership that is
not just a one collective bar uh unit. You know, I literally was in my pajamas with my children. I asked my sister to please send her up so that I could come here and speak. I am just one member of the committee. So, I do not speak for all of my com my school committee
members. That is not my purview. But I can speak for myself, for my district, for some of my members and say that yes, enrollment is down. But fear-mongering is not going to help. As last time that I that I understood the deportations,
it's been self-deportation because people are scared. So if we're not reporting accurately, if we're sitting there and ening the wrong information because lack of accountability for our from our so-called city leaders, the people that our community has learned to
trust is not giving accurate information, not putting out the resources that our community members, that our leadership has given out, that they have taken the time to do and construct um a a insane amount of
research to put together >> then it's not fair. But there's resources out there at at our website. So let's be fair because if not thank you. >> Thank you Clary. >> Anyone else here for the public speaking
portion? Going once. There we go. You know, I saw these people, my name is Craig Murphy, 50 Bozes Way in beautiful Chelsea. I saw these people out there today and you know, seeing everything on
the news and I may or may not have papers. You you you you also may not have papers, but if I came in this room, I'm safe. So, what I see, and it hasn't been said
out here, but I know we all feel it. This is blatant racism. The way they're going after this, taking children out of school, it's just racism. It's hate. And to be part of America that sees this
is really hard for me to live here and enjoy it. You know, I was lucky enough when I first moved to Chelsea, I was um at Lefna and I met this gentleman who closed his doors in Colombia and walked
300 miles to meet me for a beer at Lefana. And uh he he works hard. He's amazing. And there's there's there's different ways of doing this, right? They could just simply look at a person like this who would leave his house and come to Chelsea and
have a beer with Craig after 300 miles and say, "Boom, you're American." You know, if you're going to work that hard to be here, we should just allow it. There is much better ways and more profitable ways of handling this than giving billions of dollars to ICE. But
just to make these people with no criminal records and people who work here and and uh be part of the community and do what they can move them right to Americans and have them be a full community member. It is really hard to see this.
So I just want to say that from the bottom of my heart I'm so sorry that I see this from our country. Uh, and I, you know, one last thing, I I look at those boats coming from, you know, Venezuela and other ones are being shot
with no due process and these people are talking about no due process. It's the same bloody thing. And then when they shot that boat twice with the two people that were swimming on the sides, that just shows you the the level of hate that a good portion of this country has
right now. We in Chelsea should stand up. Everyone in Chelsea should stand up because this is wrong. It doesn't matter what your beliefs are in this situation, but human dignity does count and we're not seeing it today.
[applause] >> Thank you, sir. Would you like to say a few words? Hi, my name is uh Jan Po Fera. Um I'm an East Boston resident, but um I've been to Chelsea a number of times. Uh I go to market basket all the time. Get my
haircuts here. Uh played Metro lacrosse when it used to be in Chelsea uh over here. Played soccer games over here. Spent my whole life, you know, East Boston, Chelsea. Um, and you know, one of the things that I kind of want to
think about and also direct to uh the council too is, you know, what's the point of being a sanctuary city if we're not being a sanctuary city? if we're still seeing, you know, um the court um officials, if we're still seeing, you
know, police department, you know, collaborating with ICE, you know, directly, indirectly, um you know, how is someone like Thomas Ambrosino, for example, um back in August, um I I was working with some some
uh some of the organizers here at Lucay. Um and they brought to attention that Thomas and Brino had had told them that hey you know ICE you know they can secretly you know uh use right the the
um the courts um you know office or not offices but they basically told people that you know they can't stay inside you know waiting for folks but they can still be stationed you know in the perimeter in the actual building of ICE
um And people have still seen ICE, you know, coming out in their vans um outside of the district court. And Thomas Ambrosino, all of you guys know him, you know, for the most part, right? He was a city manager. He's, I believe, you know, the district court official.
Um you know, many of you guys um have definitely had multiple interactions with him. Leo Robinson, um other city councilors as well. um someone who was applauded here is still allowed, you know, to um work, you know, or allow
something like this to happen. And so what I what I really want to ask the city council is how can we let other public officials, you know, violate, you know, the the rules and, you know, the um I guess the sanctity of being a
sanctuary city, right? um your your constituents, right, count on you guys, right, to maintain that justice and order. And that's why we need this petition to be signed. But ultimately, why does a petition even need to get signed in the first place when this
shouldn't even be happening? And I think there needs to be, you know, also concrete action taken at um public officials within the police department and uh the court as well um in order to you know bring this to attention and
actually show force um and you know uh punishing people for violating what it means to be a sanctuary city. And direct action needs to be taken and this petition should get signed. it needs to get signed in order to really, you know, stand up to what's happening across the
nation. Um, and also to really show um that you guys support the constituents of this city. But um there needs to be, you know, uh more action, you know, ahead of that for, you know, public officials that are violating, you know, um
this this sanctity of being a sanctuary city and, you know, violating this this petition of um having, you know, ICE on municipal um property. And I'll end it there. Thank you. [applause]
Any other speakers? Any other comments? Good evening. My name is Jasmine Castong. Um 164 Spencer A. I live and work in Chelsea. Um, this is my community and has been since I was young. Um, I'm here because I've been
doing I've been doing this work with Lucay since that incident with the teenagers um that went straight from CPS to the police station um and out the back handed over to ICE all because they were fingerprinted. Um, and
let me tell you, seeing a CPD officer open that door for an ICE car, that back door, to me, it was devastating to see. It crushed my trust, as it does for many members in the community. Um, and same thing happens at the courthouse
constantly. I'm here because I was there when ICE walked right into that same courthouse and grabbed another set of teenagers out of a courtroom where they had just been released because they didn't have lawyers. They were released because they wouldn't have had due
process without that and then detained, kidnapped really by ICE without due process. I'm here because I've seen the fear in my friends, my family, my community, myself to go to that same courthouse, to go to even city hall, um
anywhere, any municipal properties, people are scared. Um I'm here because I was at the school um fearing that for every child in elementary school, as ICE was circling the parking lot, the elementary school.
I'm here because my community is being terrorized. Because I get calls on a weekly, sometimes daily basis about mutual aid for families that have just lost their breadw runners for I've I get calls for letters speaking about family members for their
characters to try to get them out of detention um centers like Burlington. This petition is based on what people that are out there every day talking to folks in the community responding to ice sightings and these are the protections and the
holes that we see in our sanctuary protections. Um, believe me when I say this will help everything in this position, including pushing the state and the court to pass some of these some more of these protections and trailblazing that for the state and giving business owners um,
the police and other municipal leaders encouragement and tools to protect a community that really is truly under attack. And that's [snorts] why I strongly urge you to pass this these protections. Thank you. [applause] Anyone
else? Going once. Going twice. Okay. So before concluding I just Oh yeah. Good evening everyone. I'm an immigrant who came to United
States to uh Chelsea since I was 18 years old. >> Chelsea, >> I had a family uh I have a family in Chelsea um in United States.
in Chelsea >> for for many years. I can say I lived like happy and safe in Chelsea. uh when what's happened
with ICE lately? Um I'm sorry. Yeah. I dreamed like for um every uh like immigrant in United States have um uh city like Chelsea
>> in September >> in September 18. ICE arrested um two family member >> ombres >> two men fathers, workers, criminal
>> without any criminal record >> and it was something very hard uh to live [snorts] like a family. >> Thanks God. um they being out both of them. Hey, I know this is not the um the case
for many others um other people who gets arrested every day. >> And I just want to say to the people present here in this uh that we are not just immigrants.
>> We are a person who are ser like human being. >> Uh we are um workers uh dreamers. Uh >> we're humble people. humble people >> and we just came here to dream
to work for our dreams to look for a better life for our families and I was here a few days ago on another meeting and I was hearing of a lot of business owners of Chelsea
seeking for help because their business are struggling too with all this situation. And that made me think that as immigrants we are also contributing to
this city. We are working. We are going to restaurants to local shops. And I just wanted to tell that we want to live safe and we just want to
work and contribute to the city. Gracias. [applause] [applause] Last call. No. [snorts] Okay. And so before we conclude, I just want to repeat what I always repeat and that is that we don't um enter
conversations after uh our public hearing. But we do wish to enter conversations individually with you all. So please reach out to us, give us a call. Um thank you Fran for sharing uh the points um on the email that was sent
out. We look forward to continuing this conversation. Um Madam, so uh she wants to hand it out so that we all have what we received via email. >> Madam President, >> thank you. Councelor Himenez, >> I would like to move out of order to um
move the uh item discussing this petition, item 25130, out of order if uh under suspension. If there's no objection, >> I see no objection or I do counselor. No. Okay. Yeah. So u so just for the folks still here um
I don't know if you want to just let them know that we are discussing this counselor. Uh, sorry, clerk. >> Moved out of order. Order introduced by councelor Jimenez Rivera. ordered that a meeting of subcommittee on conference be held to discuss requests made by the ICE
out of Chelsea petition sent to the city council by Loose Immigration Justice Network of Massachusetts and any followup of activities related to the ongoing federal immigration and customs enforcement presence in Chelsea. >> Thank you, Cler. Councelor Himenez,
>> apologies. I I would like to move this to the subcommittee on conference and I'd like to speak on it if there are no objections. >> Seeing no objections, you have the floor, counselor. So, I just want to thank everyone who came to speak, especially those of you who are directly impacted by this. Um, and just for context, I was named earlier about a Zoom with Chief H. Hot.
Hotton. Um, I just want to mention what that was. Uh, there was a hearing at the state house for the Safe Communities Act, which would codify statewide many of the things that we already do in Chelsea. Um, so that is what that was. Um, now I don't think it's a surprise to anybody here that Chelsea has been a target of the Trump administration and
that many of our families have been broken up, some of them illegally, and our residents are constantly being terrorized by the mere presence of ICE on our streets. Although the Trump administration says that this is about public safety, those of us who work with our police and with impacted community members know that this is making our city less safe. Community trust is
essential to keeping our city safe so that our residents, regardless of their immigration status, believe that they can reach out to CPD when they need to. Otherwise, we're just creating opportunities for domestic violence, child abuse, negligent driving, and so many others to go unchecked because the people suffering don't feel safe going
to the police. The priority of CPD is to keep people keep Chelsea safe, and that begins with trust. We've worked hard in Chelsea to earn that trust. And over the past 11 months, we have not felt our community is safer. We are losing that trust because of the overreach of an anti-immigrant federal government that would rather turn our hardworking
residents into political ponds that they are willing to dispose of. I want to thank Luc and the organizers of this petition for holding us accountable to doing everything in our power to protect the residents of Chelsea. Some of these asks are to just codify long-standing practices in our city. Some of them we're going to have to look into if and
how to best implement them so that we can have the greatest impact in restoring trust and in increasing public safety. That is why I'm moving to hold the subcommittee on this which should involve the organizers here, Chelsea Police, our legal department, and all the members of the council. That [snorts] way we can best hash out what
we are allowed to do, what our community would like for us to do, and ultimately what the council would like to move forward with. This isn't about federal policy. It's about Chelsea policy and how we care for our residents, all of them. Thank you. >> Thank you, councelor. Counselor. Okay, I'll go down. We'll start with Brown.
>> Thank you, Madam President. Uh just want again um the Chelsea City Council, the Chelsea State City Police, the schools, we've been working with the what we call the police in blue where we go out, we work with community um houses of
worships throughout because we believe different houses of worship allows you to meet different people and so you know the say that the city is not doing something. I mean it's things that by
statute local federal statutes that we're bound are bound to but more importantly we go out throughout this year we've been to number of places where we've actually had meetings to engage folks and and ask people to be
embraced in these meetings to find out how we can be more approachable and find out more about these activities. Um, some of the things we hear are alarming. Some of the things we hear are very sad. But again, our police department by no
means from what we're told are playing any favoritism or meeting with ICE um about deportations and and trying to go up and and do something wrong. I'm looking forward to this meeting that
we can work with our community, the members of the community here that like to present this um resolution to find out how collectively collaboratively that we can actually work together and continue to strengthen our community.
Um, we've had hundreds of folks throughout the last two months meeting with the police and that's a big start because now folks, they see us as local police officers and local officials um,
gathering to hear their testimony. These testimonies we heard here tonight were very, you know, very heart-wrenching and and and you I'm sure everyone here felt a little sorrow, but we as elected officials are doing as much and as much
as the law allow us to do um to continue to hold off any fingerprinting of anyone. I mean there's certain statues you can't hold off fingerprinting. There's certain activities when someone get arrested certain things have to take place but by our police department is
working with our city and our local officials in our schools to try to do if if the if it's a you know hit and run. We're not taking you to jail. We're not taking you to get fingerprinted and stuff like that. There's certain things that the public should know that we just
can't cross the federal line and state lines. Thank you [snorts] Garcia. >> Good evening everyone. I want to thank those who have spoken tonight. I want to thank again the members who spoke tonight uh who brought to to light
and just >> to this courtroom courtroom. Lord Jesus uh to the city of Chamber. Thank you. Um your story it is it takes a lot of courage. >> Um I want to highlight and shout out the Luc community and Fran who texted me
like hey did you see the petition? I quick story Fran and I go way back. My mom uh uh took care of her daughter and so she was like hey did you sign the petition? I'm like what petition? So I know that a lot of us on the council did not receive the petition. I proudly
signed the petition as soon as it arrives in my email. And I want you to know that I'm committed to supporting and keeping our community safe at all costs. And so I will be in support. I will definitely be in attendance of this meeting. And I and I look forward to the many conversations that need to be had.
Uh while I agree with councelor Brown to a certain extent, I think we could do more. And so thank you for pushing us and for holding us accountable. Counselor Garcia. >> Hi, good evening. I hardly have a voice, so bear with me. Sorry. Um, I want to
echo the sentiment of everyone who just spoke. Um, I also want to say, um, you did an excellent job at translating. Wow. Okay. Um, but I also want to mention that we have been working and we
have been thinking of our community. I've, um, personally have been, you know, um, studying how Chicago's mayor has been working and, um, many orders have been passed to protect families. uh
and and we we are definitely in the talks of of protecting our community. We are with this community. We are part of this community and the least thing that we want to do is have our children be at
harm. Um especially our everyone but um to think that a child is frightened at school and terrified of losing their parents is insane. and we shouldn't be living through these times, but here we are. Um, but thank you, Lucid. Thank
you, um, to our residents, and this this has been a an emotional roller coaster for the whole community, and we are here for it. We we are here in support. So, thank you, >> Councelor, um, Todd Taylor.
So, I want to actually thank Councelor Jimenez for calling for this subcommittee. I think that I've been calling for subcommittees on a great number of topics. I'm glad he's interested in this one. So, that's
great. This is a subject that needs to be discussed. I think there is a great misunderstanding among the public about what the laws are, about the roles of certain levels of government and what
supersedes what. So, I can tell you that the the city of Chelsea has done just about everything, including suing the federal government to,
you know, try to aid those undocumented people in Chelsea. So we need to understand the limitations of what the city can do. If you like
councelor uh Jimenez had had said that you know this zoom call that he was on was was to advocate at the state house. the state house is where you're going to get more of the uh remedies to this uh
problem uh than than the city of Chelsea. The city of Chelsea is already doing everything that it can do. And as for collaboration with the Chelsea police and ICE, there is no collaboration. And you if if people if activists want
to say that there's collaboration uh because the Chelsea police are merely upholding the statutes of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, that's that's their privilege to try to do that, but that's misinformation.
So I I would I would urge everybody no matter what your view on on all of this is to stay calm, not to, you know, jin up fear about all of this more than there needs to be and
let's have a discussion about what actually can be done and what can't be done by the city of Chelsea. I agree. The subcommittee should not be on federal policy. We have zero control over that should be on the policy of
Chelsea and and what if anything uh can be done about that and and please if you disagree with I mean I understand people being upset about a situation but when things are beyond
the control of this body there's nothing we can really do. So, let's sit down and talk about it. I advocate this is how we ought to approach all of our problems here in Chelsea, not just this one. People care about this one, but there's a lot of other problems going on too
that we need to address, and we should be doing it in the same way. >> Okay. If I may have um permission to speak from the chair briefly. Okay. Thank you. I'll just highlight real quickly. We've been seeing a lot of advocates. Um, you know, some are from
nonprofits, some are case workers, some are actual victims. Um, tonight is the first night I hear from a health care worker. And I think it's so important that we continue to expand um to all the
different fields that can voice um and advocate for for our families, right? we're all impacted, but to hear um a room full of teachers and um and and to hear that that um individual who spoke
from MGH Chelsea is huge. So, thank you so much for um uh the efforts in mobilizing this evening um to the Luc community. Thank you. The conversation continues. All right, moving on now to our approval
of the minutes. All right, seeing no objections. Thank you, Councelor Brown. >> We'll move on to uh communications from the city manager. >> Your first communication received from the city manager regarding mattress disposal fee effective February 1st,
2026. Dear counselors, I am writing to inform you of an important upcoming change regarding the disposal of mattresses in box springs. Effective February 1st, 2026, the city of Chelsea will no longer provide free mattress disposal. This decision, while difficult, is necessary to address the
rising costs associated with waste management and the especially high expense of mattress recycling. Since the statewide mattress disposal law took effect in 2022, Chelsea has incurred over $200,000 per year in mattress disposal costs. We have additionally
received reports that residents of neighboring communities as well as certain property management companies are taking advantage of our free service by bringing mattresses into Chelsea for disposal. This cost is ultimately borne by Chelsea taxpayers and has become increasingly challenging to sustain free
disposal while responsibly managing the city's overall budget. Madam President, move to wave the rest of the reading and accept and file under communication if there are no objections. >> Uh seeing no objections, councelor. Uh thank you. Moving on to the next item. Councelor Brown, >> you have the floor.
last years. We believe that will be $25 for local votes. for business, hotels. I look forward to meeting. >> Thank you, counselor. Moving on to the
next item. Next communication received regarding grant recommendations from the community preservation committee. Dear councilors, the Chelsea Community Preservation Committee is pleased to send to the city council four recommendations for grants from the Community Preservation Fund at
the 2020 at the 2016 general election. 66.5% of Chelsea voters voted to adopt the provisions of the Community Preservation Act and impose a 1.5% search charge on residential and commercial properties with exemptions for low and moderate income homeowners
as well as an exemption on the first $100,000 of property value. On December 19th, 2016, the Chelsea City Council voted to establish the ordinance to establish the Community Preservation Committee to make recommendations on expenditures authorized by the Community
Preservation Act. The recommendations of the committee are sent to the city council where amounts can be affirmed, rejected, or lowered. Funding recommend >> Madam President move to wave the rest of the reading and accept and file a communication if there are no objections. And yeah, if we could just
read the amounts for the four projects. >> Okay. Can we proceed with reading the amount and then councelor recuper has the floor. >> The four proposed grant funding requests are as follows. Stitching against the heat for $50,000. Creekide Commons Park
rehab and renovation for $200,000. Fitzpatrick Bradville pre-development for $200,000. And TND's top off rental assistance for $50,000. >> Thank you, Clerk. Councelor Ruparo, you have the floor. >> I believe this is a bunch of crap.
All these things I know, excuse my language and it's might be the wrong way to approach it, but for years I pay CPA and every time it's the same organizations, they get the same money. Why don't they give some of this money
to the people like fixing their homes, the ones they can't afford it? But I don't see them giving money. But by state law, they can't do that. That's what I was told. So, my money goes to the same ones. I don't understand here.
There's something here for $200,000, right? What is it over here? Fitzpatrick Privial Development. Now, why are we paying them $200 grand for what? What are we giving them the money? I
know they're going to do it's the same thing. Like, isn't the housing authority part of the state? Doesn't the state fund them? So, I don't understand why we're paying for them. WHY DON'T YOU HELP THE POOR PEOPLE THAT need it? There's a fund.
People don't know, but there is a fund, you know, that if you are low income and you can't afford to fix your home, you go downstairs and they will give you money. But in five years, only two people have gotten, maybe four people have gotten it. BUT ALL THE TIME, THE
SAME PEOPLE THAT APPLY KEEP GETTING THESE GRANTS. WHY? Because that's how the system made it. The system made it WHERE THE AVERAGE INDIVIDUAL CANNOT GET IT. IT ONLY GOES to the same individuals. AND I'M TIRED OF THAT. I
DON'T CARE WHO GETS MAD AT ME WHO SAYS, "OH, RUPRA, YOU TALKING." I DON'T TALK. I talk for the average individual. He's the one THAT NEEDS IT. NOT THESE CORPORATIONS AND NOT THESE ORGANIZATIONS. They keep getting the same thing. HELP THE POOR MAN. HE'S THE
ONE THAT gives it to you. And and we hear this so much. WHY DON'T THEY EXPLAIN WHAT THESE things are like? Do people know what stitching AGAINST HEAT MEANS? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? You know, I know what that means. They want a cooling program. The whole point I'm
trying to make is excuse the way I present it to you. It might be inappropriate. It might not be the right way to present it to you. I could present it to you in an eloquent way, but that's not me. I don't talk that way. I'm going to tell you how it is and that's all there is to it. And this is
how it is. The average individual does NOT GET NOTHING. IT'S EVERYBODY else that knows how to use the system that gets it. ISN'T IT ABOUT TIME YOU understand and really understand how IT WORKS? THAT'S MY MONEY. The CPA is my money. All of us that own homes. But why
can't the people that own homes use it? Because the state says you can't. Maybe we should change it where the people that contribute can take some back for what they give. If they CAN'T AFFORD IT, WHO'S GOING TO HELP them >> or go to the bank and get a mortgage?
>> Council, >> is that it? Well, is there a month of time I have to speak? >> I'm just wondering if we're going to reach the end at any point. >> Yes, I'm going to reach the end in a few minutes. Here's the bottom line. The bottom line is this. Every time you see these grants come up,
you come and you look who gets them and then you tell me if it's fair how the system is set up. The system is not set up for the average person. It's set up for the ones that know how to use the system. And the average individual does
not. That's all I'm trying to say is we pay. I'm an average individual. All the people I represent are average individuals. they should deserve and get something just like the ones that know how to use the system. Maybe that's our
job. Our job is maybe to see that they get it. Thank you. >> All right. Uh, Councelor Todd Taylor. So, I just I would just like to say that um the count the count the counselor
uh actually hits near the mark on some of this stuff. I was originally, for the record, I was originally against the Community Preservation Act for this reason is that
this is an extra tax. And now that we have established that that tax, which the state was originally supposed to kick in money, which it basically has not, uh, and and so we're stuck with an extra
tax. the money has to be spent. >> So then we have to look around for who's going to who's going to come up with a project where that money has to be spent. And inevitably, and I know
because I was at one time on the community preservation commission as a member of the planning board, these this this is the worst way. The intent was good. The intent was to have
more green space and to have more affordable housing. Um, but what it boils down to is is that we could have done all of this on our own. We're not getting any money from the state. uh and it's an extra tax
that we're just, you know, basically uh they're siphoning off that that uh that extra tax into the usual suspects of uh community organizations. So,
I think that we do need to take a look at whether Chelsea wants to continue to support the Community Preservation Act. I think it's a bad deal. uh for for Chelsea. But I would say this,
as long as we're going to have the Community Preservation Act, we need to put more funds into historical preservation. It gets its its its uh obligated 10% every year and and
they go on their merry way. I was just at the Chelsea Public Library during reading day. and I went to go see the archive. It is in complete disarray.
The documents are deteriorating. We need to spend money on the preservation of our history instead of what cramming one more building into Chelsea,
one more affordable housing building. Let's take care of preserving our history, preserving the documents that that sorely need to be uh preserved, to
hire a professional archavist, and yes, to establish a Chelsea museum so that we can have a place where our grandchildren and their grandchildren can learn about the history of this
great city. Thank you. >> Thank you, councelor. If I may have permission to speak briefly, councelor Brown, >> I wasn't I I was not going to speak, but again, um this is this is actually really good for our community. Um these
dollars that the council has already um appropriated. Um the first one, we talk about stitching against the heat. I mean, this is work to help out our seniors. This is something that our seniors use. Um this is something that we work in the community development
department and Chelsea senior citizen and also the the climax to work with the climax and lower temperatures and stuff not just um sprinkle systems in the park. Um we talk about the Fitzpatrick um that's all renovation. You're talking about poor people living in deplorable
situations. Now this is increasing. this is going to improve their living situation and improve the building and the work that we want to see and the dignity that we want to offer for folks. Um, you're talking about green space. People are talking about green space.
You see this in this $200,000 appropriation. This is the Creek Commons rehab. We want folks to be able to go out and look at our parks and sit in our parks and enjoy our parks. We have to invest in our parks. This is all these things here really is four of them and
the definition is if anyone wants to read it it's right in our notes. This is something that we really and and more so it comes from the public the public we voted on this preservation to take the 1.5% and the money to go back into
enhancing our community. So that's a vote that was taken by the public and that's something that we should honor and also support. So, um, just wanted to say that, Madam President. >> Thank you, counselor. If I may please have, um, permission to speak from the chair.
>> Thank you, counselors. Um, um, city manager, would you be able to please share with us your process of outreach and also, uh, clarify, um, how the CPC is currently functioning in terms of
funding and matches with the state. >> Motion to suspend the rules. Thank you, councelor. >> If there's no objections. >> Um, thank you, council president. The the state is providing an 18% match. Um, initially when the CPA funds were rolled
out, it was about 40%. Um, and the the the reason why is is in decline is the more communities join, right? Uh, uh, then the farthest the farther those dollars have to be stretched. Um the the
the state made it so that the the the matching funds are are are made from from a a fee that is paid at at the registry of deeds which which I think uh uh signals that the matching fund uh will be there forever basically. But but
it is true that that the the uh percentage of match has been in decline. Uh I just looked that up and and for FY25 the match was 18%. Right. So for every dollar that we put in the the state give us 18 cents
basically. Um so the the we have a a community preservation comm uh committee is made up of of of a lot of residents. Uh they have two funding routes, one in the spring and one in the fall. uh the the um the fundings are are open to
anyone. Of course, it's an application that is complicated, right? That and you have to do a lot of contract documents. Uh absolutely. So, so it lends itself to be uh uh more uh prone for organized
entities to get it right. I mean, absolutely. But it is no different than uh than doing any business with the city, right? I mean it requires a legal entity and an ability to accept funds uh u u back and forth. I will tell you that
when I was in DBW we we use these funds for uh restoring the statues out front, right? We use this the the funds for uh renovating our parks. Uh and it's no different than what what is being is
being today. Ultimately the uh um the committee has a discretion right and and they interview the the uh um the applicants uh and they grade them right in terms of uh what they think is is a
good match on the uh um on the funding. Obviously it it is up to the council to approve this funding. If the council feels that that uh all of these projects are not worth funding, it is at the council's discretion to deny that
funding. the the practice in the past is that uh uh the recommendations of the committee are sent to ways and means. Uh and at Ways and Means uh uh we it gives an opportunity for the city council to learn more about each project and we
invite the committee and the applicants to attend these meetings and answer any questions. Right. U I will tell you that that uh um in looking at at two of the bigger uh funding projects. Uh they are
projects that the city council is very well aware of. One of them is the the renovation of our Creekide Common Park. It is a a a city-owned park. Uh and what we are doing essentially is renovating a
portion of of the park. Uh um the other project which is is the bigger funding of a portion. Uh it it is uh supporting the renovation of of the Prattville property in uh uh um uh in
Prattville, the the the Chelsea Housing Authority property. So it is both projects that we are are well aware of and have been talking about. Of course, it is at the city council's discretion to uh deny these projects. >> Thank you, city manager. Um, I would
like to continue on if there if there is someone who has not spoken and would like to speak. >> Councelor Teshi, um, can I get a point of clarity from our clerk on our rule number eight, >> city council rule eight states, one
counselor may yield his or her time to the maker of a motion if the five minute time is insufficient. Technically, there is no motion before you. It's a communication. So technically there is no counselor who has precedence to be given an extra yield of time. So it's my
opinion that the request is invalid. >> Thank you councelor Bubbero. I would ask that we please continue on with the agenda. It's lengthy. I um I thank you for always having uh longer responses so that our public can be informed. Um that is also precisely why I wanted our city
manager to go up to the podium and share more clarity. Thank you to everyone who has spoken. This is very important, but we can also have these discussions later on. Um, let's continue on with the next item on the agenda. >> Next communication from the city manager providing an update on Chelsea
Electricity Choice. Dear councilors, I'm writing to share with you the October 2025 program report for Chelsea Electricity Choice, our community electricity aggregation program. The program continues to deliver exceptional value to our residents and small businesses, and the latest data
demonstrates just how impactful this initiative has become. Since the launch of Chelsea Electricity Choice in June 2024, the program has generated over $2.2 million in total cost savings for our community. These savings reflect actual reductions in electricity costs
compared to what customers would have paid had they remained on Eversource's basic service supply. Residential customers saved nearly $1.4 $4 million and small business customers saved nearly $850,000. These financial numbers are not theoretical estimates but real dollars
retained by residents and small businesses. Just as important as the >> president move to wave the rest of the rating and accept and file in communication if there are no objections. >> Seeing no objections. Thank you counselor. Moving on. >> Next communication received providing an
annual report from director of athletics and sports tourism. Dear counselors, I am writing to share the annual report developed by our director of athletics and sports tourism, Charlie Jupida. Mr. Jupiter's work over the past year has exceeded expectations and delivered exactly what the council envisioned
through council order 24105 filed in May of 2024. That order directed the city manager to develop a position dedicated to strengthening athletics in Chelsea, providing additional support to our leagues, and increasing opportunities for our young people to engage in
sports. I am proud that Mr. Jua has more than fulfilled this charge. In a short time, Mr. Juida has revitalized the athletic landscape in Chelsea. His leadership has helped create an environment of growth, collaboration, and shared success for all leagues in our city. He has strengthened
communication among league organizers, fostered cooperative planning, and ensured that every league, new or long-standing, has access to city support. One of Japida's most impactful contributions has been his ability to expand the city's access to new forms of funding through targeted outreach to
regional partners and coordination with philanthropic organizations. He has secured equipment donations and financial resources that were previously unavailable to the city. These efforts have not only supported our leagues today, but have helped build a foundation for long-term sustainability.
Just as importantly, Mr. Dfreda has earned the trust and respect of Chelsea sports community. His strong work ethic, professional integrity, and can do attitude have been hallmarks of his service. Parents, volunteers, and league leaders consistently recognize his responsiveness, commitment to young
people, and steady presence at games, practices, and community events. He has truly brought new energy and life back into athletics in Chelsea. Looking ahead, Mr. Jua will play a central role in preparing Chelsea for the 2026 World Cup, an opportunity that holds
tremendous potential for our city. His charge is to ensure Chelsea becomes a destination during next summer's festivities. We need to highlight our community's rich character, deep love for soccer, and vibrant cultural identity. The World Cup represents a unique opportunity to bring visitors to
our downtown, support local businesses, activate public space, and create a celebratory environment for residents. Under Mr. JREA's leadership, we are confident that Chelsea will rise to the occasion. Attached to this letter is Mr. Jeda's annual report detailing accomplishments and ongoing work to
elevate athletics and sports tourism in our community. We are proud to celebrate his achievements, thankful for the council's vision in establishing this role and excited for what is yet to come. Mr. JRE is only getting started and we look forward to celebrating even greater success as we approach 2026.
>> Thank you, Cler. >> I'll move to accept and follow communication of the suspension and just acknowledge that Mr. graffiti is here in the audience and he's done a remarkable job in connecting with all the sports
here in Chelsea and he's been at quite a number of football games and athletic events um more so than most other people in the past. I just want to say he's done an outstanding job and just continue what you're doing. You're
doing a good job. >> Thank you, councelor. Councelor Ricaro. Yes. When I started this program years ago under Tom Brazino, I never envisioned that it would be this far, that it would help so many kids.
It's a good thing. I know you're saying, "Why are you saying that now?" Because I never envisioned that it would be this great, that it became what it is. It only started with $10,000 when it first when we first did it. It was only for
$10,000. Now, I think there's much more money, but when we envisioned it, when I first proposed it to Tom, that's what he gave me. He gave me $10,000 for the the youths, whatever it was for the city, and it grew. And I'm proud that it grew,
and I'm happy with all my fellow counselors that we still give more to the benefits of the children of the sports. It's a great thing. That's what it needed. So, it was a good thing. But my honest opinion is that I never
thought it would be that much money and it was split up in two different sections because now it's broken into two sections. Before it was only one section. And when I when I when I did that, it was it was something called for for
mothers in needs. They couldn't send their kids to sports. That's what it was envisioned to be was poor mothers that were just on the verge of being poor but not poor. So, I gave this fund to help them and and I'm happy that it it I it
worked and I'm happy that it grew this much. The intent was good and the progress that it achieved is much better and I hope it continues and it becomes even much better than it is and Mr. Jua is the right man for the right job and
he does a great job. Thank you for doing the job. >> Thank you, councelor. Counselor Taylor and then councelor Sneigate. So, I've risen many times to sing the praises of Charlie in this endeavor. So,
I'll I'll refrain from from going through what I've already said many times before and and uh what a great job he's done. What I do want to say is I would ask the city to post this report on its city website so that the
residents can see all the things that that man has done all the programs everything that I mean this is comprehensive. And so, um, you know, it's one thing for us to get up and and and say we like
this or we like that, but when parents can go on the city website and look and see all of these things and and and the opportunities that they have to give their children, I mean,
this is such an important part of the city being proactive with its young people that this This is this is saving us tremendous amount of money and and heartache and hardship [snorts]
down down the road. So in doing this, so um I say thank you again, but please, Mr. City Manager, make sure that that gets posted on the uh on the city website. Thank you. >> Thank you, councelor. Counselor Sandate. >> Yeah. Um I agree with councelor Taylor.
I was hoping that we could share all of the work that Charlie has spearheaded. Um, and I just wanted to say that I've worked with Charlie on a number of things and um have found him extremely approachable,
very down to earth, full of ideas and um just such a a great person who works really hard. So, it's been great to get to know him and I look forward to working with him in the future. >> Thank you, counselor.
Counselor Tes, >> every time Mr. Jafida walks in the room, he gets welldeserved praises and um you know, I just want to say that one of the things I really appreciate about Mr. Jafida is that um he provides us with
information. He tells us what he's working on. He tells us what's next, what's already been done. Um, and sitting, you know, in this position, it just makes me feel like I have the information and whenever somebody asks, I can tell them, hey, you know what? This is actually something that's coming
up or, you know, I know somebody you could talk to and Mr. Jafida is definitely that person. So, thank you and continue doing a great work. >> Great work, Charlie. >> Councelor Brown. >> Thank you, Madam President. I just want to echo um obviously he's done a great
job. His resume speaks for itself. Um for most of us actually go out to the games and get to meet him and see him on the sideline. Not only is he a worker behind the desk, but he's also out there, you know, encouraging our youth and working and hugging them and, you
know, high-fiving them um and pushing them. So, really want to just say we appreciate your work and look forward to continuing growth. Thank you. Man, are we lucky that we took you from River? >> All right, moving on to the next item. >> Next communication received regarding
Chelsea master plan update. Dear counselors, I am writing to provide an update on our comprehensive master plan, Chelsea Palante, Chelsea onward. The plan is progressing through its phases and is tremendous community support. Earlier this year, we commenced phase one, learning and listening. We are now
actively transitioning into phase two, visioning and testing. This summer and fall, we completed extensive community outreach and engagement activities as part of phase one. This included a series of discussions and focus groups with stakeholders addressing critical areas. We held a meeting convened by the
Chelsea Chamber of Commerce with local downtown business owners focused on economic development. We dove into community safety with the downtown task force. We tested our value statement with community leaders in Chelsea. We hosted various conversations on housing and the environment with various
community organizations. We also held a workshop with city employees who will be instrumental in executing the recommendations of the plan. These engagements have provided invaluable insight into our community's needs. These voices will be the foundation of the plan going forward. The plan has
identified our values as a community. Community solidarity which emphasizes fostering strong networks, collaboration, and mutual aid. Pride in our cultural diversity, celebrating Chelsea's rich historical heritage and multicultural character. Access to
opportunities, valuing Chelsea's role as a gateway, connecting residents to opportunities both within and beyond our city. Progress for everyone, which prioritizes development that benefits all residents, preserves Chelsea's working-class character, and ensures meaningful community input and future
decisions. These values underpin our ambitious vision statement. By 2040, Chelsea is a vibrant city where families can stay, businesses prosper, and strong community networks help everyone thrive in safe and healthy neighborhoods. Our city continues to be a gateway for
culture, diversity, and equity, drawing people from near and afar. The plan has identified that we need to address crisis response and stabilization while working on long-term prosperity for everyone. [snorts] These include ensuring our families can stay by producing and preserving affordable
housing, fostering conditions where our businesses prosper, supporting local enterprise and cultivating industry, strengthening community networks, cultivating safe neighborhoods, and many more. The plan is also working on a development framework that includes identifying areas for strategic
investment categorized by their potential to transform, enhance, or maintain our community. We are now deeply engaged in the vision and testing phase. We will create drafts of the plan based on that feedback. This phase will develop conceptual ideas and scenarios for our city's future. The phase will
also refine potential action and recommendation. The phase is critical for translating our shared vision and values into concrete strategies and actions. Thank you for your support. >> Thank you, Cler. Councelor City. We're not there yet.
>> Thank you, counselor. All right, we got about four more sections to go. We're going to make it through the night, guys. Moving on to the next item. >> Next communication received from the city manager regarding fiscal year 2026 tax rates. Official rate approval. Dear councilors, fiscal year 2026 Chelsea tax
rate has been certified by the Bureau of Accounts Department of Revenue at the following. Residential rate at the amount of $1148 per thousand and commercial industrial at the rate of $23.79 per thousand. Madam President, move to wave the rest of the reading and accept
and file under communications. If there are no objections, >> can I speak on it? >> Seeing no objections, you have the floor. Counselor, >> I'd like to thank the department. >> Counselor, turn on your mic. >> I'd like to thank the assessor department for each year they do a great
job and um it seems like we instead of raising our taxes, they're going down a little. So there must be something good when our taxes instead of increase and decrease even if it's just for a few pennies. It's better to decrease than increase. So I'm happy
like last year the single family were little. This year the tree family got buried. Last year they didn't. So they fear each year they go according to what it is. They don't bury one particular one. One year they bury one, another year they bury another. But overall,
it's a fair and it's a good one. So, I'd like to thank them for it. Thank you. >> Moving on to the next item. >> Next communication received requesting council approval of donation from Good Sports Foundation. Dear councilors, pursuant to Mass General Law Chapter 44,
section 53A1-2, I am writing to request the city council formally approve a donation of athletic equipment to the Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs from the Good Sports Foundation. Madam President, move to wave the rest of the rating except file of communications. If there are no objections, it's coming up under
new business. >> Thank you to the good sports foundation. >> Thank you, councelor. Moving on to the next item. >> Next communication received requesting approval of donation from good sports foundation for baseball. >> Dick. >> Madam President, move to wave rest of the reading except file communication if there are no objections. Same as the
last one. >> Thank you, counselor. Moving on. >> Next communication received. Requesting council vote to reaffirm October 18th, 2021 vote on proposed charter amendments. Dear councilors, I am writing to respectfully request that the city council vote to reaffirm its prior
vote of October 18th, 2021 regarding proposed amendments to the Chelsea city charter. As you will recall, from June 2020 through January of 2021, the city council conducted a thorough review of the charter as required by the charter's mandate to undertake such a review every
10 years in each year ending in zero. Throughout the process, the council held multiple meetings and public hearings to examine the charges provisions, receive community input, and consider recommendations for improvement. Following the extensive public process, the council voted on October 18th, 2021
to approve a set of proposed charter amendments and submit them for consideration by the state legislature. Recently, we were notified that unfortunately the proposed charter amendments were not adopted by both branches of the legislature and signed by the governor prior to the end of the legislative session. Madam President,
move to wave the rest of the reading and accept and file under communication. If there are no objections, it's coming up later. >> I'd like to speak on it, please. >> Seeing no objections, councelor Taylor, you have the floor. >> So, I [clears throat] think we ought to the the direction for this is not just
to reaffirm what we did, but to reconvene the charter uh review. Um, I think that there are a lot of things that could really be a lot of problems that could
really be solved. And because of the people that were on the board, I was on the board, councelor Robinson was on the board, councelor um Brown was on the board. Uh, [snorts] but I think that we could actually solve
a lot of the the the the problems that now exist and we keep on, you know, and I think just reaffirming this is is, you know, we're just going through the motions when the legislature wouldn't even approve it. So, you know, I I I
know it's a lot of work. I would happily volunteer to be on it again. Uh if if some of the counselors don't have the time to do it, um I would I would uh I would happily do it and um I think it's
worth another goound to try to tackle some of these problems that we have. And um that didn't that couldn't get done last time because of the the uh uh really combative nature of the where the city
council was uh four years ago. So uh that being said, I I hope uh we can consider it in the new year. >> Thank you, councelor. Councelor uh Jimenez, Councelor Brown, and then councelor Tes. >> Um yeah, I just want to say I I agree with councelor Taylor on this. Um I I
think to me it's more of a question of whether it's worth it to submit this and then submit another one. Like is there any changes that were made that are worth just getting across, right? or will they just ignore the second one if we submit one now, you know, I think I have many questions about how things move at the state house or don't move
very often. So, I think it's worth the conversation of what would be best to make sure that we can get an updated charter review process sent and and move through as well. Um, because I think councelor Taylor is not the only one who has expressed wanting to look at the charter again. I think many of us want
to want that to happen. Um, so I I I agree and I and I think it's it's worth the conversation on whether we just want to move it forward or um actually stop just review the whole thing and and and do it again. >> Yeah, >> I I'm a little um lost here. I I don't
believe that we can because according to our charter now it's every 10 years. So we've already met that obligation. I again if we can get a an amendment to it. I believe most towns and cities they have um charter re um what is it? Um
>> revision >> revision but they have to you have to elect a board member. So I'm not sure if we can look into that and get an legal opinion. I'll be all for it. >> Councelor Teshi. >> Yeah. I'm also in favor of revisiting the charter. you know, um, reaffirming
what a prior council did. I I'd rather just do it over and see what the new council says. >> All right. Thank you, Councelor Teshy. Moving on now to the next item. >> Final communication received from the city manager requesting approval of
appointments to boards and commissions. Dear counselors, 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. Planning board, Miss Geneise Herrera of Chelsea. Appointment to the tree board, Miss Lauren Patterson of
Chelsea. Appointment to the cultural council, Miss Floyd Dearia Guerrero Alana of Chelsea. Appointment to the cultural council, Mr. Magno Garcia of Chelsea. Then reappointment to the board of registars of voters, Mr. Jacob Resnik of Chelsea. and reappointment to the
community recreation advisory board, Miss Hillary Paul Metaf of Chelsea. I respectfully request your approval of these appointments. I have attached resume for new appointees. >> Madam President, move to a second reading. There are no objections. >> Seeing none. Thank you, councelor. Moving on to communications and petitions to the council.
>> First communication received by the city council comes from the assistant parking clerk regarding the agenda items approved at the November 5th, 2025 meeting of the traffic and parking commission. >> Is there a motion? move to accept and file and recommendations.
>> No, no, no, no. I don't Once you accept and file it, it means you accept it and it goes into effect. >> You would like to object? You are more than happy to object. I am making a motion. >> I'd like to send it to a subcommittee to be talked about.
>> Okay. A point of clarity from our clerk. >> I'm right. I know some things. >> So, if we do not act on this now, we do not have enough calendar days to book this meeting. It'll go into effect
within 30 days either way. >> It will go into effect within 30 days. >> Either way. >> Wow. So, we want to act on it now because uh I think on there it has something that's affecting all of us and that's between Essex Street where they
want to extend it. That's Mr. Tesh is important to him too, his constituents. We need to talk about that. We don't need it to be crammed down our throat because this was brought in a late communication. Now we got a little amount of time to act on it. So if we
adopt it, it goes into effect within 30. How can we fix it? >> So yes, with permission from the council, I'd like um uh our clerk, if you could please give us the options at hand. If you want to have it sent to a subcommittee, the problem being it goes
into effect if council does not vote to reject or affirm it 30 days after it was received. You'll note on the communication the time stamp, the date. >> All right. So, we vote to reject >> that would be 30 days. So, if your choice, if the desire is to reject a specific agenda item on this
communication, council can vote to separate that one. >> Yes. >> And have that treated separately if you choose. >> Okay. >> Madam President, point of order. >> Councelor Himenez. I I just I I want to make sure that I understand and and what is it that requires us to approve
or reject this? Is that the charter? That's correct. Okay. Thank you, >> Councelor Teshi. >> Yeah, I would ask if we can single out item number 11, the bus network redesign. >> Um,
you know, I think we need a little bit more information. um especially you know what the impact ultimate impact would be to the residents. I don't have a problem with any of the other items. Um I would just ask again you know this doesn't mean it gets shut down completely. We
can always revisit it next year. Um, so I would just ask the council since this is in between Recuper's district and my district uh to just be considerate of our work in responses to our constituents as we try to do you know the best we can um so that we can
revisit this u you know the the upcoming year. Thank you. >> Thank you councelor Councelor Todd Taylor. So, I would just I would ask uh through the chair um the city manager whether there's anything um really on here that
is that is really uh pressing. Um I suppose the person who wants the handicap sign that thinks it's pretty pressing. Um but uh uh other other than that um and can we can we we cannot
approve we have to accept or reject the entire thing >> otherwise the time expires. >> So your options would be if you if council specifically wants to reject one particular agenda item you're free to
make a motion to separate that one and roll call voted separately. the other items council can either vote to directly affirm them tonight >> or vote to accept and file in which case they'll go into effect in 30 days anyway. >> Councelor Teshi has highlighted 11. So,
so Madam President, um I would I would say I would say this that in in deference to my uh fellow counselors here in their district, um if if they want to have a conversation about this and about what it means in their district, I would happily vote to reject
that item so that it comes and we can re that the the uh the the traffic uh commission can re uh uh assert it in the new year with the council and uh and
then we can uh go ahead and and and yay or nay on it. I I just I just think that, you know, we we've seen a lot of these things come up. When we don't talk about it, there's a lot of trouble and so I'm trying to be proactive and trying
to get people to, you know, talk about things and invite the invite the people to come to the subcommittee and >> voice their opinion. Thank you. city manager on that. Would you like to share a few words and then I know another counselor also has questions. >> Yes, my question was councelor Taylor's
original question about if there's any urgency. So, thank you. >> Thank you. Um the first item is is uh vision zero which which the council already voted on. Right. So that's all that's it's
it's it's the same. Um and then the a handicap sign is regular business that that uh we have a a lot of requirements to apply for a handicap sign. Uh and the the commission reviews a whole lot of things. I I don't think that is is
controversial. So it does appear that that what was controversial is is item 11. Uh I I will say that this is not a request from the city of Chelsea. It's a request from the MBTA. Uh it and it relates in particular uh um to uh the
bus stop on the back side of ROA. Uh so so it's it's uh and by the way, as as the clerk has shared, the city council is the approving body. So it is within your right to to reject item 11.
Um, but I just want to clarify that that uh uh what the MBTA is requesting is uh is is for the sidewalk to be widened by one foot. So that 12 in uh and uh the
reason for it is is that the uh when their buses pull up to the sidewalk and they lower the gate on on the sidewalk, there's not enough width of the sidewalk in order to allow a wheelchair to leave properly in into the uh uh into the
site. Uh um what what the Department of Public Works has done is is they they went out and and they and they striped a a a one- foot line basically. So as you drive home, if you want to stop by that area, you'll notice that there's a a a
one- foot line, right? That that is is basically is demonstrating what what where the new sidewalk would be. Uh again, this is not a request from the city of Chelsea. is not something that that was was uh uh initiated by us. It
was initiated uh by the MBTA in order to make that bus stop handicap accessible. >> What can I say? >> One second. >> Okay. I just want to clarify one thing. >> The MBTA says, right, Mr. City Manager,
that uh that's for the handicap ramp. How about the other bus stops where the handicap ramps still goes the same way? So why do you choose that one particular one to say that? So if you're going to do that, do them all. Why just pick on that one? So in other words, you're
saying we need it there for the handicap, but never mind the handicaps on the other side. They can go on and do it the way they are. So it does not make sense that you're going to do one and not the other. And then I know my fellow counselors ready to say, well, I'm not
against handicapped people. I fight for handicapped people, but I also I'm not I don't want to that place is so congested. I asked them to have a study done. They said it cost too much money to do a study. So I asked them, he said he was going to put a stripe and put
cones for a month to see how it works, right? So they want to move everything over. He says to me, "You could put three cars." This is what they told me. They said, "You could put three cars in that lane." No, you can't because one side is parking and the other side is
only 30, what do you say? 35 feet. They said you can fit three cars. But now, if that's the case, why is that place so congested every day? Why is it that you can't move? Even if you shrink at one foot, it will make it worse and worse. If you want to do it, I'm not against
what you want to do, but bring it to the resident, have a study done, and see what the impact will be on the people that use that and go there every day. So what is wrong with wanting to do that instead of saying this is what we're going to do. That's what's wrong with too many a lot of times is that we have
a study and we say this is the best thing for you but you don't live there. So how do you KNOW IT IS THE BEST THING FOR me because you had a study and you saying this is what it is. Don't go by all your studies all the time. Ask the actual people that live there HOW IT
FEELS. GO AROUND AND ASK THEM AND SAY what do you think of this? go over there and try it for a month and see what it does. I live there. >> And anybody that drives through Chelsea has a hard TIME GOING THERE. TRY TO GO THROUGH THERE AND SEE HOW long it takes you.
>> So I'm not And they always throw that the stuff. Try to make a pity. OH, IT'S FOR HANDICAP. NOBODY'S AGAINST HANDICAP. If you're going to do it for handicap, do it in every bus stop. Why you just pick that one? >> Thank you, counselor. Counselor Himenez.
I just have a question about the process. So if we vote this down, it then has to go back to parking and traffic. So basically we're seeing this in February, Mr. Clerk, like is it like just in like terms of order of meetings, right? It would go back to parking and traffic in
January for their January meeting or does it we don't >> I I think if anything it would be a matter of what the MBTA does in response because they were the ones who submitted the plan to the city in the first place. So, I think that MBTA would have to come back to the city with whatever updated plan, which might take longer than a month,
>> or they might not, right? They might say, "Okay, well, we're going to do another bus stop, right? This is it." Absolutely can be what the MBTA um ends up doing. >> All right. Are there any other >> So, I think just based on that, like I
just want to make sure that what we're communicating to the MBTA is not we don't want this, it's we want to have time to discuss this, right? So, I think if that is our goal, [snorts] I would like for the city, I don't know if the city or or one of us, I don't know, should reach out to the MBTA to
just make sure that they understand that um we just want to talk about it, right? And and that way they can just resubmit it and then we can move it forward if that is the will of the council. Um yeah, and I'm I'm happy to be the person to reach out to them if that's helpful. >> Awesome. Thank you, Councelor Himenez.
Councelor Teshi. >> I make a motion to separate um agenda item 11. >> All right. Awesome. Thank you, councelor. Moving then to a roll call. Roll call vote requested specifically on
agenda item number 11 to approve bus network redesign curb extension at Pearl Street opposite Essex Street lengthening bus stop zone for an additional birth at Broadway and Fort Street based on communications submitted by project manager Thomas Quadromani of the MBTA.
>> Thank you cler. >> The roll call vote before you. A yes vote will be to accept the agenda item. A no vote will be to reject the agenda item. Council Tenner Garcia is absent. Council Jimenez Rivera,
>> yes. >> Council Cooper, >> no. >> No. Council Taylor, >> no. >> Council Robinson, >> no. >> Council Tesh, >> no. >> Council Kelly Garcia, >> no.
>> Council Santigette, >> yes. >> Yes. Council Vega, yes. Council Brown, >> yes. and councilus. >> No. >> No. >> The vote is three in favor, six opposed, two absent. Agenda item rejected.
Now you're left with the other two agenda items. Agenda item three and agenda item seven. >> I move to accept and and file the communications. There are no objections. >> Seeing no objections, let's proceed. Remaining
two agenda items accepted and filed under suspension. Our final communication received comes from the planning board regarding recommendation on proposed zoning amendment section 34-262 table of dimensional regulations and
section 34-300 table of principal use regulations. Dear councelor De Jesus, at a duly posted regular meeting of the planning board held Tuesday, November 18th, 2025, the board voted 70 to recommend that the council deny the residential R1 table of dimensional
regulation and table of principal use regulation amendment as proposed. Board members felt that the proposed amendment could spur unintended consequence if passed on its own as it is not coordinated with other dimensional regulations such as open space, yard setbacks, parking, and other
requirements. Members felt a more comprehensive proposal that factors in other dimensional regulations is required. In addition, the R1 district regulations are meant to create and ensure low density neighborhoods with large lot sizes and single to two family homes on each lot. Changing these
regulations would significantly change the purpose of this district requiring a more community-engaged [snorts] process and could negatively impact the existing character of these neighborhoods. >> Except for other communication like to speak on it. >> You have the floor council. >> Um
in regard to what this does that we're always talking about affordable housing, affordable housing. There is no place in this city to build anymore. And this didn't really change anything. Some of
these board members, I hate to say it, don't know what they're talking about. Like one person says, "Oh, it will change." And Chelsea Recker said it. It will change. Uh I I would it would change from a one family to a two family to a three family. The state already
allows you to do that. The state allows you to do that. You You can have a one to a two to a tree. You can even if the the board says you can't do it, you appeal it. [snorts] Well, it does. State does. They did it right in front of my
house. That was a two family. They made it a three. And they did that for a reason. The reason was to allow more affordable housing, more housing to be built. And the only thing this did, it didn't change anything. It just changed
the dimension from 7,500 square ft to 5,000 which is the same all over the city. So I don't get why they are so afraid. It's going to come eventually. It's going to come because this city is only 1.8 square miles.
Regardless you fight it, if you're against it, it's going to come. You can't stop people from building little houses. You You want to keep preserve This is the part that really upsets me. You want to preserve the integrity of your neighborhood, but you don't want to
preserve the integrity of every other neighborhood. So, HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE TO SAY, "WELL, WE DON'T WANT IT HERE, but it's okay to bury everybody else. That's kind of unfair. I believe equality should be for all. If you're going to bury every other district, why
not that one?" Well, we can't because it would change the integrity. I've been trying to make it fair for the last 10 years and every time I get an answer and one of the answer is we can't do it because it would destroy the neighborhood. But it's okay to go like
in my neighborhood they built a house on 3,000 square ft which you're supposed to have 5,000. So the people in the planning board that approved it, oh we made a mistake. You allowed to build. You can go look at it. It's on Suffach Street. It's a 3,000 foot lot and it has
a three family home. So, it's okay to have a home on a 3,000 square foot, which now you're saying you're against it. But why DID YOU APPROVE THAT ONE? SO, how does it make sense that you say one thing and do another?
This is not going to happen now anyways because we can't do nothing about it. It's going to have to come back because they got to go to public hearing. Then let the people decide. the I think our city eventually has to grow. That's the number one thing. If your city doesn't
grow, you die. So, how do you grow? You grow by development. Yes, you can't bury everybody, but you also can't stay stagnant. You have to move forward. You can't stay stagnant all the time. So, this here doesn't really kill anything.
What it does is it just lowers it from 7500 to 5,000 to go the same as the rest. That ain't doing much. I didn't. And as far as building an additional unit, it's the same thing. Or the other places is 3,000 and over here is 3500.
So the units don't change is the lot size around our city. There is no bigger lots anymore. All the big lots are located in R1. So eventually they're going to develop. Yes, you can reject what I say now, but even when I'm gone, one day you're going to see they're
going to build and you can't stop it because that's the way it has to be. >> Thank you, counselor. Counselor Taylor. So, I'll be brief because this is going to come up under under uh new business,
but uh look, the whole point of zoning is that you can stop things. And I'm sorry if the councelor's district is not an R1 district, but then
no city in the Commonwealth has the type of zoning that you're proposing. So that that where every every district is alike. I mean, this is just really not not viable. And even the planning
department said that this this this was not well thought out and this is not the way that we need to conduct business. Changes to the zoning need to be carefully thought out and and and discussed. We we've seen then what
happens uh you know people get upset. So what I would what I would suggest is uh uh you know if if If people want to have a discussion about zoning,
that's fine. Let's have a discussion. But to just propose an amendment like or a zoning amendment like this out of the blue with no consultation, no discussions among the counselors, just a perennial kind of attempt to to
to to have quote fairness I think is really it may be well-intentioned and I'm sure that it is uh I don't doubt that but it's really misguided and and I got to
say that I hope we reject this because and it but I'm open to having a discussion about uh these types of issues. So, you know, I I think that is a better way to go. Thank you. >> All right, moving on to
committee reports. >> This whole committee report comes from council Taylor from the meeting of the subcommittee on ways and means that was held November 17th. Is there a motion >> accept and file the committee report uh under suspension? Uh if there's no
objections, I'll speak on it briefly. Um we [clears throat] we had several orders and um uh you know most of them we've already read through in the communication. So I I'm
I'm not sure that we really need to go through unless people want want a detailed report. We we did go through the communication. So uh we'll just accept and file. If anybody does have any uh questions about it, please feel free to give me a call and I'll go
through it with you. 6178723174. Thank you. >> Thank you, counselor. Moving on to second readings. Our first item under second readings, order introduced by council Taylor being read for the second time. Ordered that in accordance with Mass General Law, chapter 44, section
64, budget management procedures whereby costs incurred in FY25 were not paid and are owed to vendors. And to meet this obligation, funds are required from current year FY26 budgets. As noted, the Chelsea City Council authorizes the following expenditures to satisfy unpaid
balances that total $37.95 from prior years [snorts] as follows. Fire department $16.55, DPW, $21.40 for easy pass related to toll charges. >> Is there a motion? >> Move to a roll call vote on the
adoption. Seeing no objection, >> roll call vote requested. Yes. Vote to adopt. Council Tennere Garcia. Councelor Jimenez Rivera. >> Yes. >> Council Cupro. >> Is there a vote there?
>> Pay them all. Pay them all. >> Enth Enthusiastic. Yes. Council Taylor. >> Yes. >> Council Robinson. >> Yes. >> Council Tesh. >> Yes. >> Council Kelly Garcia. >> Yes. >> Council Sandig. Yes. >> Council Vega. Council Brown. >> Yes. >> And council Dus. >> Yes.
>> Nine in favor, zero opposed, two absent. Order is adopted. [snorts] >> Moving on. Next item under new business. Second reading is order introduced by councelor Taylor being read for the second time. Order that pursuant to section 3-5 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Chelsea and Mass General Law
Chapter 44 section 53A1-2, the Chelsea City Council hereby accepts a gift of $10,000 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to the Chelsea Public Library for a community event to further the mission of the library and benefit our community. >> There a motion.
>> Move to a roll call vote on the adoption. >> Seeing no objections, moving to a roll call vote. Yes. Vote to adopt. Council Tanari Garcia. Council Jimenez River. >> Yes. >> Councelor Coopo. >> Yes. >> Council Taylor. >> Yes. >> Council Robinson. >> Yes. >> Council Tesh.
>> Yes. >> Council Kelly Garcia. >> Yes. >> Council Santa. >> Yes. >> Council Vega is absent. Council Brown. >> Yes. >> And council Dus. >> Yes. >> Nine in favor. Zero opposed. Two absent. Order is adopted. Next item under second readings. Order introduced by councelor Taylor being read for the second time.
Ordered that in accordance with Mass General Law Chapter 44 section 53A, the Chelsea City Council hereby authorizes the city manager to accept a $15,000 grant from Mystic Valley Elder Services for a health and wellness program at this Chelsea Senior Center. >> Move to a roll call vote on the
adoption. >> Seeing no objections, moving on to a roll call vote. >> Yes. Vote to adopt. Council Tenari Garcia is absent. Councelor Jimenez Rivera, >> yes. >> Councelor Cooper, >> yes. >> Council Taylor, >> yes. >> Councelor Robinson, >> yes. Council Wesh, >> yes. >> Council Kelly Garcia, >> yes. >> Council Santigette,
>> yes. >> Council Lee is absent. Council Brown, >> yes. >> And councilus, >> yes. >> Nine in favor, zero opposed, and two absent. Order is adopted. >> Thank you, clerk. >> Next item under second readings, order introduced by council Taylor being read for the second time. Ordered that pursuant to section 3-5 of the code of
ordinances of the city of Chelsea and Mass General Law chapter 44 section 53A1-2 the Chelsea City Council hereby accepts a gift of $1,000 from the Ruby Bridges Foundation to the Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs as part of the 2025 Safe Roots Partnership Ruby
Bridges Walk to School Day mini grant. >> Move to a roll call vote on the adoption. >> Seeing no objections, moving on to a roll call vote. >> Yes. Vote to adopt. Council Tenari Garcia. >> Council Jimenez Rivera, >> yes. >> Council Rupo, >> yes. >> Council Taylor, >> yes.
>> Council Robinson, >> yes. >> Council Latesh, >> yes. >> Council Kelly Garcia, >> yes. >> Council Santic, >> yes. >> Council Vega, absent. Council Brown, >> yes. >> And councilus, >> yes. >> Nine in favor, zero opposed, and two absent. Order is adopted. Next item under second readings, a
resolution introduced by council Taylor being read for the second time. Whereas the city owns open space located at 248 Chestnut Street documented as parcel ID 38-37 on the city's assessor maps and cataloged under book number 4399
and page 0080 in Suffach County Registry of Deeds. And whereas CM Park will be preserved as open space in perpetuity pursuant to master general law chapter 45 section 3 in article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution and will be recorded as evidence by the properties
deed cataloged under book 4399 and page 0080 in the Suffach County Registry of Deeds. And whereas CM Park is already designated as open space parkland in perpetuity in accordance with article 97 of the Massachusetts constitution and master law chapter 45 section 3. And
whereas the priorities detailed in the city's 2025 to 2034 open space and recreation plan include the establishment of new active recreational opportunities for residents with a range of age interest and abilities that take advantage of Chelsea's environmental,
cultural, and scenic resources while promoting climate resilience. And whereas the downtown neighborhood where CM Park is located contains multiple environmental justice populations and extremely limited public open space resulting in negative public health outcomes, a lack of recreational
[snorts] opportunity and urban heat islands that negatively affect the quality of life and welfare of our residents. And whereas the city through the Department of Housing and Community Development filed a grant application to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Park grant program and was awarded a $425,000 park grant
for the reconstruction of CM Park. And whereas the renovation of this facility is estimated to cost $825. And the city will be reimbursed for 68% of the full project cost up to $425,000 under the park rent requirements. And
whereas because the park grant reimbures the city for design and construction, the city is required pipe park grant requirements to set aside the full cost of the project and certify the full funding including state share is available for the project prior to reimbursement. And whereas the city has
already funded a portion of the project cost through a $400,000 appropriation through the FY26 capital improvement plan. And whereas to ensure successful implementation of this and other park grant funded projects, the funds appropriated through this order for the renovation of CM Park may be utilized
for all project costs in the event that construction costs exceed estimated cost and any surplus funds may be allocated towards future park grant funding open space improvements. Now therefore be it ordered that by this vote the Chelsea City Council endorses the project for the receipt of park grant funds
appropriates $825,000 representing full project cost from general stabilization affirms [clears throat] KM Park's designation as open sparks baseland in perpetuity in accordance with article 97 of the Massachusetts constitution and mass general law chapter 45 section 3
authorizes [snorts] city manager to utilize any surplus funds for current and future park funding improvements for open space within the city of Chelsea and certifies the city manager's authority to enter into an agreement for the receipt of these funds and directs him to take any and all necessary action to accomplish
the project. Move to a roll call vote on the adoption. >> Seeing no objections, moving to a roll call vote. >> Roll call vote requested. Yes. Vote to adopt. Council Tenari Garcia. >> Councelor Jimenez Rivera. >> Yes. >> Council Rupo, >> yes. >> Council Taylor, >> yes.
>> Council Robinson, >> yes. >> Council, >> yes. >> Council Kelly Garcia, >> yes. Council Santigette, >> yes. >> Council Le Vegas, absent. Council Brown, >> yes. >> And Council Davos, >> yes. >> Nine members in favor, zero opposed, and two absent. Resolution adopted. >> Thank you, clerk. >> Next item under second readings, order
introduced by Council Taylor, being read for the second time. Order that in accordance with Mass General Law, Chapter 44, section 53A, Chelsea City Council hereby accepts and approves a grant in the amount of $100,000 from the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Marramac Valley for the public purpose
of funding the one Chelsea fund. Thank you. >> Move to a roll call vote on the adoption. >> Moving to a roll call vote. >> Roll call vote requested. Yes. Vote to adopt. Council Tari Garcia. Council Herz River. >> Yes. >> Councelor Coopo. >> Yes. >> Council Taylor.
>> Yes. >> Council Robinson. >> Yes. >> Council Lat. >> Yes. >> Council Kelly Garcia. >> Yes. >> Council Santa. >> Yes. >> Council Vega. Absent. Council Brown. >> Yes. >> And council Dus. >> Yes. >> Nine in favor. Zero opposed. Two absent. Order adopted. Thank you, clerk.
>> Our final item under second readings, order introduced by councelor Taylor, being read for the second time. Ordered that the Chelsea City Council authorizes the appropriation of $100,000 from general stabilization fund to city manager department account series for emergency assistance efforts in the
city's one Chelsea fund account and funding shall be available for the program until its completion. >> Motion. >> Move to a roll call vote on the adoption. Seeing no objections, moving to a roll call vote. >> Roll call vote requested. Yes. Vote to
adopt. Council Tari Garcia. >> Yes. >> Councelor Hermanes Rivera. >> Yes. >> Council Cubo, >> yes. >> Council Taylor, >> yes. >> Councelor Robinson, >> yes. >> Council, >> yes. >> Council Kelly Garcia, >> yes. >> Council Santic, >> yes. >> Council Vega, absent. Council Brown, >> yes.
>> And councelor Desus, >> yes. >> Nine in favor, zero opposed, two absent. Order is adopted. We are done with second readings. Moving on to new business. >> Thank you, clerk. First item under new business, order and introduced by council Taylor. Order that in accordance with Mass General Law, chapter 44B,
section 53D and chapter 2 of article 7, division 3, section 2-330 of the revised code of ordinances of the city of Chelsea. Chelsea city council acts on the report of the community preservation committee on the awarding of grant funding to FY26 community preservation act projects
and the amounts as followed. $50,000 for stitching against the heat. Madam President, can we wave the rest of the reading since we had the communication on this earlier? >> Move to Ways and Means. >> All right. Seeing no objections, moving on to the next item. >> Next item. Order introduced by Council
Taylor. Order that presuming to master general law, chapter 44, section 53A and section 3-5 of the city of Chelsea Code of Ordinances. This Chelsea City Council hereby accepts the donation of athletic equipment to the Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs from the >> wave the rest of the reading and move to
Ways and Means under suspension. >> Seeing no objections, moving on. >> Order introduced by council Taylor. Order that pursuant to Mass General Law Chapter 44 section 53A and section 3-5 for the city of Chelsea's code of
ordinances Chelsea city council hereby accepts the donation of athletic equipment to the department of recreation cultural affairs from the good sports foundation as detailed in the inventory below. [snorts] >> Move to ways and means. >> No objections. Moving on.
We have an order introduced by councelor Santigette. Order that the city manager create a working group to complete and submit an application to the National Civic League for the 2026 All-American City Award competition. >> Councelor San. >> Um I would like to make a motion to
adopt and file under suspension. Seeing no objections and I'd like to speak on it. >> You have the floor. >> Great. Um adopt. I said adopt. Didn't I say adopt? Yeah, >> you got this. >> Accept and file. >> No, I heard
>> you said adopt an accept and file, but thank you. >> It's okay. Been a long night. [laughter] >> Anyway, um I had the great fortune of being involved in the Allameric City competition both in 2014 and in 2025.
we had to come back again next year and I thought a fourth time and this is just the excitement of it all and I kind of in my mind thought no probably not until
I had some conversations and I looked at what the theme was for 2026 and then I rethought my reservation. So, I just wanted to share that the theme for 2026 for the All-America City competition is
America at 250, strengthening civic health and building trust. And I just want to read one part of this all. The 2026 award will honor communities that are reinventing how they come together to make decisions and solve
problems. These communities engage residents, businesses, and public institutions in civic dialogue, collaboration, and community building efforts that not only strengthen civic life, and rebuild trust, but also address pressing challenges and lay the
foundation for a better future. By advancing innovative, communitydriven approaches to governance, they're helping shape a more responsive, resilient democracy for the next 250 years. And that portion uh of the
description of the theme for me uh really highlighted some of the things that we are already doing here in Telsey. We have some really innovative programs and they are the envy of other communities. Not only did we see this
when we were in Denver, but I hear from people all the time who say, "I want to come to Chelsea. Wow. the hub program, the children's cabinet, the youth hub program, um so many innovative ways that
we try to build community and build our civic network. And for that reason, I think we should really consider giving this a go because I think we have a lot to offer. So that is how I changed my
mind. >> Thank you, counselor. Councelor Himenez, >> I talked at length about the importance of trust earlier, so I I will spare us all that. And just to say back toback championship, baby, that's uh I'm all for it. [laughter]
>> All right, moving on to the next item. >> Next, we have an order introduced by the council president. Whereas, pursuant to section 9-7 of the charter of the city of Chelsea, the Chelsea City Council established a charter review committee in 2020. And whereas the charter review committee and the Chelsea city council
held public meetings in 2020 and 2021. And whereas the charter review committee submitted its recommendation to the city council in October 18th, 2021, the city council voted to send to the Massachusetts General Court the attached petition for adoption as a home rule petition to amend the city charter. And
whereas the Massachusetts General Court did not have the opportunity to vote upon the home rule petition by the end of his 2024 session. and the city of Chelsea wishes to pursue the charter changes. Now therefore, be it ordered that the Chelsea City Council hereby affirms the vote of October 18th, 2021
as to attached home rule petition and furthermore requests that the general court adopt legislation revising the charter of the city of Chelsea precisely as attached except for clerical or editorial changes of form only. Madame President, uh I move that we refer this to a subcommittee on conference so we
may further talk about how the council wants to proceed and you know we're not rushed by the end of the year as well. >> Seeing no objections counselor moving on >> I just have a quick question if I if I may um to the clerk. What is
what was the process it went through and what did they just choose not to take it up at the state house or what was the hold up? So when it was in my understanding was when it was initially submitted I figured that it was not passed in 2023 when I first got this
position. I believe that amendments were required uh for the state senate to take it up. Those amendments were clerical and didn't require council approval. Um they were amended in December of 2024. Unfortunately the amendments were not enacted in time for the senate to vote
on it. And as of calendar year 2025 it had not been taken up as of yet. All right. Thank you. Moving on to the next item. >> Oh yes, that will be referred to conference. Thank you, councelor Teshi.
Next item under new business order introduced by councelor recupo. Whereas it is the expressed purpose of municipal zoning to promote health, safety, and general welfare of the inhabitants of the city of Chelsea. And whereas many parts of the city of Chelsea are congested, lacking requisite amount of open space necessary to
continue developing additional housing opportunity. And whereas the Chelsea City Council believes changes to existing zoning regulations will allow for potential construction of additional housing opportunities in different neighborhoods throughout the city. And whereas pursuant to Mass General Law
Chapter 48, the petition was forwarded to the Chelsea Planning Board for public hearing, which was held Tuesday, November 18th, 2025. Now therefore be it ordered that the following petition for adoption of amendments to chapter 34 article 11 section 34-262
table of dimensional regulations and chapter 34 article 13 section 34-300 table of principal use regulations of the zoning ordinances of the city of Chelsea be reviewed and that a public hearing be scheduled to discuss the proposed amendments pursuant to master general law chapter 48.
I'd uh move uh to send this to subcommittee. >> Seeing no objections, >> it wouldn't make a difference if I object anyways. He's going to go there. What? So, if we send it a subcommittee, but the process starts all over again,
right? It's okay. Start it again. It's the end of the year anyways. >> Thank you, counselor. >> Conference. Yes. Refer to conference. >> Motion referred to conference.
>> Motion referred to conference. Yes. >> Can I speak on it real quick? >> Councelor um Himenez, >> I would just like to second um what was mentioned earlier by councelor Taylor about the importance of revisiting this as a you know citywide process. I I um I
h I I hear what councelor Rukro is saying and in many ways I I share um a lot of what a lot of the values of what he's saying. Um, and I think if we can take it up in a way that is um kind of broader, uh, I think it would be a way to make sure that we're not just, you know, targeting any one neighborhood in in the city, but instead looking at a
more holistic um, bless you, counselor, um, a more holistic approach to the zoning. Uh, but I just want to thank the counselor for his initiative in introducing this as well, >> councelor Taylor. So I I just would have to say that this
can actually be done in connection with the Palante uh thing. So we can feed it into that so we're not doing, you know, reinventing the wheel and doing double work. That's all that's all I'm going to say. Thank you. >> Thank you, counselor.
>> All right, >> that concludes new business public announcements. >> I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you. Thank you, Councelor Himenez. Are there any moments of silence? [snorts]
>> Moment of silence for Charlie Moore, who recently passed away and Mrs. Galant who was the wife of Richie Galant that passed several years ago. Thank you, counselor. [snorts]