##VIDEO ID:lpIIoViimtU## I now call the Monday February 3rd 2025 gner city council meeting to order the clerk will now please call the role councelor Brooks present councel Craig Cormier pres councel D lawitz present Council harder present councilor Heath present Council heglin present Council kazinski present councilth present councilor TBO M Council tone and president tyros pres please rise for the opening prayer and preg of Allegiance God we thank you for bringing us together this evening Inspire Us toy deeds and sound decisions and direct us toward the attainment of good city government we pray the to bless and protect all the people of our city and to so guide and Inspire us that we may delate inity and Harmony ameni to the flag of the United States of America and to the rep for it stands one nation God indivisible with liberty and justice for all announcement of open meeting recordings any person may make a video or audio recording of an open session of a meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium subject to reasonable requirements of the chair as to the number placement and operation of equipment so as to not interfere with the conduct of meeting any person intending to make such recording shall notify the chair forth with all documents and Exhibits used or referenced at the meeting must be submitted in duplicate to the chair as it become part of the meeting minutes is anyone recording this evening's meeting no one respond reading of minutes of Prior meetings December 2nd 2024 regular meeting Council kinus thank you uh Mr President I motion that we wave the reading of the minutes and accept them as presented second motion made by coun kazinski second by councelor Heath to wave the reading of the minutes and accept them as presented all in favor I I all those oppos no motion passes there are no public hearings there are no Communications from the mayor petitions applications Communications Etc item 11 1469 a proposal relative to the rules of the city council to add a committee on economic and Community Development to rule 133 as well as amend the order business in rule 15 councelor General owitz as this item has been on our Council agenda once prior I'd like to make a motion to amend the rules of the guard of the Gardner city council as follows add the following subsection to rule 13 pertaining to standing committees uh number six the committee on economic and Community Development composed of three members the first named member thereof to be chair this committee shall have oversight of legislative matters associated with the following Community Development to also remove the following from r Rule 13 Community Development end under section four of this Rule and to add the following to rule 15 subsection 10 pertaining to the council agenda uh section F Economic Development second motion made by councelor DN second by councelor Mack is their discussion councelor DNT thank you Mr President anticipating a request in the rule four of the city council I have reduced uh this motion to writing if any counselor the chair requires it thank you Mr President thank you further discussion Brooks uh thank you Mr President uh during the last city council meeting discussion about adding an economic and Community Development Committee to rule 13 I indicated a preference for a rule like the following city council May from time to time create a special committee to meet a particular need or purpose members shall be appointed by the president and the president shall be an ex official member without voting rights each special committee shall end when its work is complete but not later than two years after creation unless city council votes to continue the special committee for an additional two years two years is an arbitrary number the length could be anything or it could be written as each special committee shall end when its work is complete but not later than the time limit established by city council at its creation city council may vote to extend the life of the committee Beyond its initial time limit this proposal is trying to hold intact my proposal is trying to hold intact the city council structure of four standing committees which has worked so well and so successfully for so many years with most counselors serving on one committee it also provides easier flexibility when a particular need arises for city council to be more involved in a particular matter that is special committees can be created without a change in Council rules however the discussion during the last meeting showed me that this city council is leaning more toward the establishment of a sixth permanent committee so at this time I am merely taking the opportunity to more clearly Express My Views and to state that at this time I do not intend to make a motion to establish a process for special committees thank you thank you councelor Brooks for the discussion councelor heglin thank you Mr President uh you know as I stated at our last meeting when we first discussed this item the finance committee which is currently the standing committee with jurisdiction was unanimously in favor with all that we have going on in our community development department um and economic development with a new director at the helm uh in the wake of issues like the cdbg fund uh the Macky Park project and the department generally I really do fully support this establishment of another committee perhaps it could have helped prevent problems such as uh you know president's tyrus's investigation uncovered and while I respect and appreciate the steps the mayor's taking uh and the separation between the executive and legislative I feel we are well within our purview to do this uh I was looking through the code and until recently when we approved our changes of the city code chapter 50 section one had stated for Department Community Development and planning department Department established the director shall report to the mayor and city council and shall appear before the city council whenever requested to do so and so while the administrative legislation changes removed that language I do feel that the precedent is there for us to have the sort of oversight um and it's not new so again it's not a bad thing to have oversight if done well it should be mutually beneficial it should mean that we're better informed and that we may make better decisions when it's time for us to vote thank you Thank You councelor heglin Is there further discussion councelor Harden yes I don't think we should be too reluctant to add or remove committees as needed maybe if we had done this years ago we wouldn't have had the problems we've had the point of this is to do better going forward and I think this will will help so I will be in support of this committee thank you councel Harter forther discussion there being none I would like to reread the motion thank you Council jtz and I would be requesting a roll call vote on this item add the following subsection Rule 13 pertaining to standing committees six the committee on economic and Community Development compo composed of three members the first named member thereof to be chair this committee shall have oversight of legislative matters associated with the following Community Development remove the following from Rule 13 Community Development and under Section subsection 4 of this rule add the following to rule 15 subsection 10 pertaining to the Council agenda F Economic Development CL will now please call the RO councilor Brooks yes councelor Craig cor yes councelor General lawitz yes councel harder yes councelor Heath yes councel heglin yes councel kazinski yes Council yes president Tyrus yes nine y nine y motion passes reports of standing committees finance committee item 11479 a communication from the mayor regarding the City's health insurance payments and trust fund uh councelor hgin thank you Mr President um leading to a motion the finance committee met on this item last week as a communication coming to us from the mayor outlining the current state of the City's health insurance payments and trust fund uh the finance committee appreciated the mayor's update and efforts to stay on top of this uh for this item we were unanimously in favor of placing the communication on file so I move we place the communication on file second motion made by councelor hegan second by councelor D alls to place a communication on file all those in favor I I all those oppose no motion passes item 11 1480 an order authorizing the city to borrow $100,000 for the feasibility study and schematic design of the Middle School roof replacement project in conjunction with the Massachusetts school building authority councelor egin I'll just be abstaining from this item as a School employee thank you councilor Egen councelor ma uh yes council president this order is to borrow $100,000 as you said for the feasibility study for the Garder Middle School roof repair and replacement project in conun in conjunction with the Massachusetts school building authority um at the request of the finance committee chair there is a timeline of the process in our packet uh from the school department the finance committee was in favor and I make a motion to pass the order second motion made by councelor Mack second by councelor Heath to pass the order this would require a roll call call vote the clal now all sorry is there discussion there being none the clal now please call the r Council Brooks yes councel Craig Cormier yes councel General lawitz yes councilor harder yes councilor Heath yes Council kazinski yes Council yes and president Tyrus yes eight y eight y motion passes item 11 1481 an order to amend the code of the city of Garder chapter 171 thereof entitled Personnel to add the position of human resources manager to the compensation schedule councelor Mack this item is to amend the code of the chap chapter of the city 171 to add a position of human resource manager to the compensation schedule both the mayor and the human resource director presented to the finance committee the finance committee was unanimously in favor of this ordinance change so I make a motion to send us to first printing second motion made by councelor Ma second by councelor J la to send this item to first printing is there discussion all those in favor I I all those opposed no motion passes appointments committee item 11 1467 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Scott chatney to the position of local inspector for term expiring December 19th 2027 Council heglin thank you Mr President um leading to a motion again the appointments committee met on this item last week Mr chatney who is local to the area uh had worked in instruction for many years he do have that background uh before serving as a police officer in hubberston and Westminster uh where he retired as a detective after 15 years shortly thereafter he joined the city in this position in August on a temporary appointment as a local inspector both the mayor and commissioner zupa really highly recommended him had a lot of good things to say noting his professionalism expertise and people skills therefore the appointments committee was unanimously in favor of this appointment and I move the appointment to be confirmed second motion made by councelor heglin second by councelor Heath to confirm the mayor's appointment is there discussion all those in favor I I all those oppose no motion passes item 11471 a measure confirming the city clerk's appointment of JN s Kumar to the position of assistant city clerk for term expiring January 21st 2028 councelor kazinski thank you Mr President leading up to a motion the appointments committee met on Wednesday January 29th with city clerk Sian and the appointee the cler reported that the appointee began in the city clerk's office as an administrative coordinator in February 2024 after just 6 months in that position in August 2024 with the clerk on leave and the former assistant city clerk taking a new position the appointy was tasked with running the city clerk's office until the clerk returned from leave he stepped up and handled the office day-to-day election day-to-day elections and city council operations through thoroughly without missing a beat he also coordinated and facilitated the interview process for the two current administrative coordinators as a result for the first time in a long awaited time the clerk's office became fully staffed and is running at full capacity which is vital to the operations of our city the assistant city clerk position was then offered to the appointee and he accepted since then clerk serapan has further trained him on all aspects of her role elections Communications and city council procedures she has received exceptional complimentary feedback about the appointees performance from citizens colleagues former city clerk Alan agnelli and City counselors the appointee learns quickly never complains troubleshoots well brings a solution-based approach is efficient gives excellent customer service and goes above and beyond clerk sarahan was happy to put his appointment forward the appointments committee voted unanimously to recommend JN s Kumar to the position of assistant city clerk therefore I move to confirm the city clerk's appointment second motion made by councelor kinska second by councelor hegan to confirm the clerk's appointment is there discussion councilor kinus thank you Mr President I was glad to be part of the unanimous vote to support J Kumar's appointment during the appointments committee meeting the council president works very closely with the city clerk and what I wish to add to clerk San's accurate and glowing summary of Jay's work ethic and contributions is from my experience working with him as council president he was running the clerk's office just six months into his time there while clerk San was on leave and Jay was professional and reliable he handled tasks with intention and worked incredibly hard it was a busy time in the clerk's office per usual and for the city council we were fortunate to have such a capable person on our team to handle a challenging time and I remain in full support of this deployment thank you thank you councelor Kus Is there further discussion councelor Mac I just want to Echo uh councelor kazin's statement um Jay has been an amazing addition to the city clerk's office I have never um not walked into the C clerk's office when he greets you with a smile he asks you if you need anything and anytime I have needed anything he just he responds right away um and I think we're very fortunate to to have him uh on on staff at the clerk's office and um I definitely will be supporting this appointment thank you thank you councelor mack Is there further discussion councelor Heath thank you um president tyros um I I I thank both both counselors for going ahead and making their comments they were 100% on point with what they said um Jane is a excellent individual um we're definitely definitely um happy to have him um you know one thing that wasn't necessarily mentioned was um you know the the way that they well it was mentioned but it wasn't mentioned um I've dealt with a lot of constitues that come into the office they deal with them the way he handles them whether they're IR rate upset whatever you want to say um he has a way of calming them down he has a um a warming feeling that he gives like you know and it's just unbelievable um you know crisis management is something that he definitely uh showed while he was over there um because you know since someone decided to have a baby um he uh he definitely stepped up to the plate and he um and he hit it out the park that is all thank you thank you Council Heath is there forur the discussion motions to confirm the clerk's appointment all those in favor I I I all those oppos no motion passes unfinished business and magist consideration we have none new business we have none councelor comments and remarks are there any councelor comments and remarks councelor Heath um thank you president tyros um I don't necessarily um go ahead and get to go speak about my um my mother too much so I just want to wish her a happy birthday today is her birthday she has passed 16 years ago um you know I I I honestly forgot today was his birth um was her birthday um you know 40 just about 46 years ago you know she had me right over there at the Garden Hospital you know and she told me that I was her light and um it's just a coin in that I have to go talk to Gardner hospital about their lights over there in the parking lot 46 years later um so I just want to say Happy um birthday to my mother that is all thank you thank you Council Heath and happy birthday to your mother any further councilor comments Council Brooks uh thank you Mr President it's the middle of winter and feels like dark times War rages in the mid East in Ukraine the federal government in Washington is experiencing a major upheaval the economic Outlook is uncertain the city is caught in a series of snowstorms health insurance issues and stress on the city budget Puck Satani Phil and Mrs G have both predicted six more weeks of winter but there is a bright spot today is truck day when the truck leaves Fenway Park loaded with baseballs and bats gloves and helmets bubble gum and sunflower seats headed for Fort Meyers in the start of spring training ah the American Pastime while the past few years haven't been good the Red Sox are starting a new season and our eyes are again focused on the prize of a World Series win so to Mr Clash Mr Mady and all the other Yankees fans out there watch out this is the year I'm feeling good thank you thank you councilor Brooks are there any further discussion I have a brief statement I'd like to read this evening after about a month of operating with these new Council rules I want to take a moment to highlight the positive effects they have led on our Council operations as we just saw tonight's agenda was clear and straightforward including only items that under undergone subcommittee review and were ready to be acted upon for example this evening's agenda included a time-sensitive item regarding the mba's accelerated roof repair program for the Middle School roof in the past the norm would have been for this to go on the council agenda where would have either been referred to finance committee or because of the timeliness been asked for a vote right away the rule change enabl us for a direct assignment of this item to proper subcommittee once adequate information was submitted by the mayor and Department head without this change the only information the council would have had to work with for a six figure appropriation would have been a single email from the school Department's Director of Finance and operations however the finance committee was able to ask questions request information and delve into the reasons why this appropriation was needed before bringing the item to the council for attention all requests for appropriation deserve to be carefully reviewed and that responsibility grows with the size of the request we as a council should be able able to in a timely manner and we should be able to work on a deadline this situation showed that and importantly showed the value of the new rules and procedures I want to highlight why this process is so important at the capital Improvement planning committee meeting on July 31st 20124 the school Department's Director of Finance operations when asked to clarify the math behind the planned reimbursement for one-time funds for other inlight projects using Capital Improvement project funds of which the Middle School roof replacement is a part of his respons was evasive he claimed it would quote get into the KN gritty of school finances it's on YouTube if anyone's interested getting into the nitty-gritty of our finances is exactly what I think our responsibility is to the taxpayer we will be judicious in making sure that we have the proper information then we ask the right questions in order to make the best decisions possible for the city we should all want this and we should all work towards this these updated Council rules allow us to do that by functioning more transparently ourselves and fulfill our duties of legislative over site as demonstrated here tonight past president kinus in submitting these new rules package stated that her objective was to make our process more transparent easier to understand and allow for smooth operations I think this has demonstrated that so I want to commend councelor kazinski I want to commend the finance committee in particular councilors Mack and DN owt who worked on this item it's why among many reasons with our vote tonight I will be appointing counselor census to chair the New Economic Development subcommittee that is all I have this evening I will entertain a motion to adjourn after closing prayer motion made by councelor Cormier second by councelor uh Brooks to adjourn after the closing prayer all those in favor I I all those oppose no motion passes Aly father father who over all as we we thank the for the opportunity of joint delation and action witness during the course of this meeting bless Lord all who are gathered here and the people we are and do th attend to our common welfare until our next meeting stand