good evening welcome to the Monday March 10th 2025 city council meeting please join me in saluting the flag roll call of the members councelor agenzio here here councelor cogliandro here here councel
janino here councelor greo SAA here here councel H here here councelor hero here here councelor Kelly here here councelor McKenna here here councel noeli here here Council zambo absent absent and
council president sylvestri here here Quorum is present approval of the Journal of the regular meeting of February 24th so move all in favor all oppose so calendar item number three communication from the mayor relative to the proposed
intermunicipal recc agreement between Rivier Winthrop and Chelsea good evening Mr Mayor good evening Mr President honorable councel I know that you probably have read the agreement in front of you and I just wanted to give a little bit of a
backstory uh although I I'm I'm pretty sure that there's a few councilors on this board that have um have have a even deeper understanding of the backstory than I do that have been involved in city government for the last 15 to 20 years but what you have in front of you is an inter Municipal agreement between
the cities of Rivier uh winth and Chelsea currently the city of Rivier operates its Regional 911 with the with the city of winth when the city of Rivier uh uh started this Regional 911 somewhat approximately 15 years ago the
full intention at that time was to have a three communities in this in this uh Regional 911 uh really what it did was it made the the the the dollars and cents work but it was also uh built in a way so that it could serve three three
municipalities obviously at one point in time due to um just differences of opinion and or potentially politics and and um uh just a different thought process Chelsea decided at at one point not to join the the region uh so for the
last 15 years we've been kind of chasing and and trying to get uh Chelsea back in uh because it really makes the most sense uh when you have a regional 911 through the state it's uh there's Tier 1 two and three communities uh the city of river and win operate currently at a tier 2 community
so when it comes down to State um um money and state grants a tier one Community obviously would uh be eligible for much more uh and we are looking as as everyone is aware the regional 911 operates out of the riv Police
Department right now it is overgrowing its space uh from when the riv Police Department first opened and we are in the process of rebuilding and uh putting a new Regional 911 at the old McKinley School it'll be fully refurbished state-of-the-art it'll also be
seismically um reinforced because if there's ever a hurricane or a catastrophic event we want to make sure our 91 Communications and call center operate and that's when you need the most by bringing a community like re Chelsea in the C the city would be eligible to receive upwards of $15
million in grant funding as opposed to being a tier Comm to community would only be eligible for upwards of $8 to $9 million a year one of the other great uh savings with reduced by spreading out the over overhead is the city's annual
assessment by 911 would be split between now three communities rather than just two and it goes by call volume Chelsea and Rivier have a very similar call volume so spreading out that cost between three communities again reducing redundancies creating efficiencies will
add more money to the bottom line when it comes to Public Safety in our community and one of the other uh major uh conversation points by all three fre communities is making sure that we don't have loss in response time when you call 911 that's exactly what you do you call
and uh currently they answer the phone at uh on Rivier Beach Boulevard that same call taker will be working in a new facility with state of the out equipment state of theat facilities and more space at just a new site uh and the same thing goes for Chelsea and winthrip all of those calls go through a call center
they're all trained we have uh a really wonderful director of our call center Whitney Morgan uh she has been doing a terrific job since she took over that role just a few years ago and has really uh brought our R 911 or our regional 911 up to um one of the highest standards u
in state 911 will reassert that they will tell you how well the city of Rivier and wi have done to the point where they know that bringing in another Community like Chelsea will just continue to make it even better so I'm here to ask that you take a look at the agreement I know that most of you already read through it it is very cut
and dry it is very similar to the current agreement we have and we would just be bringing Chelsea in we also have our Public Safety officials from the city of Rivier and Chelsea and uh winr uh uh the the town manager of Winthrop was unable to be here tonight um but he did he of course supports us
wholeheartedly I brought my colleague uh my good friend from Chelsea the city manager who also uh wanted to uh Express his uh support for this to the point where the the city of uh of Chelsea Council voted 11 to nothing um just two weeks ago in favor of joining this
agreement so I'm hoping that you will support this tonight uh it is a big deal for the city of Rivier and it's long overdue thank you Mr President thank you Mr Mayor um Fidel would you like to say some words sure thank you good even city council I thank you
for having me but uh my name is is Fidel maltz I'm the city manager in Chelsea I I I I was trained at and I know I I know everything I know from Tom ambrosino who
who was a a a a proud mayor of r u for many years and it and from time I I learned the the true benefit of this endeavor right uh uh uh this has been a conversation that that uh Chelsea rever
and went having having for a long long time uh um I know that that it was something that J Ash was on board with uh uh and Tom certainly was on on board with as well when I started in my role in
January uh uh of last year U it was one of the first things we we got to work on but as you can imagine the the uh uh there was a lot of selling that we had to do internally to uh uh to our staff and and our community uh uh I am very
proud that our city council voted on on this proposal uh uh 110 right then and and we're working through the The Growing Pains but but I I I I know that this is is going to be a benefit for all the communities for uh uh uh uh uh for
Chelsea and rier and for win as well thank you thank you City councilors councilor H thank you Mr President Mr Mayor thanks so much for being here Fidel thanks so much for being here um I know this has been something that's been in the works for
quite some time and when you hear names like mayor amberino and J Ash mentions that's it's this has been something that's been in the works and something that the community's hoped for for some time now but I want to thank the city of Chelsea for for joining in the town of
winth um I don't think Tony's here but this is a great partnership anytime you talk about the grant funding the split the three Community split and more money for Public Safety it's a huge win for not only Rivier but for Chelsea and win
as well thank you thank you councelor coun [Music] J May on thank you Mr Mayor um I've had the opportunity to work with the wreck over the years from the day one watch them grow watch them hit the hurdles up
and down back and forth I think chelse should be a nice addition to the C program we're running right now and wne is doing a excellent job managing rev in with it at this time thank you thank you councelor councelor Zano
uh thank you thank you Mr President and uh this is uh near and dear to my heart um you know when I came to this Council it was with the uh hope to build a police station and we struggled to get
there and we finally did and um this is such a big get I want to I I want to honor the mayor for this because you know first of all when when I'm against him I'm very vocal so when I'm for him I want to even more vocal because this is
such a big get I was for the regional 911 way back and and there's still some high ranking retired public officials that don't speak to me or or barely speak to me about it because it the way it sometimes looked at is a as like a uh
I don't want to use a Vogal word but a contest and uh it was thought that this would hurt Manpower in each department and so forth and so on uh but we always wanted these three cities and this is uh
there was an emergency management guy in Chelsea for many years an old friend of mine who fought us to the Neil to get this and uh I am so thrilled that uh this kind of an effort uh the mayor has really done the city solid and and the
city manager uh of Chelsea this is a great get for all of us this is this is such a big big thing and it's going to improve the safety of the city and in a more fiscally responsible way and um I can't give more kudos to the mayor for getting this done this is this is a
really uh wonderful get and and I'm proud of you I'm proud of your Administration and your Administration uh thank you very much thank you councelor councelor noeli thank you Mr President Mr President uh all I can say to our friend
from Chelsea if you can get guys on the Chelsea city council to vote 110 which include Leo Robinson and Calvin T brown this has to be a good program they they are good guys they love Chelsea and you know they love working with the
other cities and towns between River and winrop and you know I'm I'm calling this the not suffk 911 you know because it's not it's not the Boston we can't include all of suffk County but uh just for what we have and the funding that we're going to get for
this in the future is unbelievable we have an older building that we've all all been screaming about for the last 10 years and finally we're going to get some funding to make things happen in that building not only the 911 but also
with the school department and a few other things that we could put in the building but I'm looking forward to it it's a win-win win for everybody so uh I I encourage the rest of my colleagues to uh endorse this 100% and we can make
this move along thank you thank you councelor Council hero thank you Mr President through you to uh the city manager uh welcome to North North Chelsea uh I know we've heard over the last year a lot about 400 years this 400
years that well you know 400 years for all of us right so uh nice to have you back at home and um just had some some quick questions uh really excited about this the potential to expand our Public Safety apparatus here uh just want to
make sure that we're going to continue to provide the same strong um benefits to the workers that are going into the call center uh that they have continued access to a bargaining agent etc etc uh M Mr President through you to the
council J Miller the uh one the agreements will be in place uh they are still going to be well represented by the Union uh we have guaranteed everyone's position uh We've guaranteed the the rate the the highest rate that they would receive there wouldn't be any pay cuts um and we
it's going to bolster the entire staff because as we've all seen over the last four to five years Staffing challenges in positions like this have been difficult uh so when you are regionalizing and bringing more um more communities Under One Roof you're able to really use the best of the best uh
and that's going to help make sure that we retain the best we have the best environment and uh we're able to pay the most uh competitive wages so those will all be those are all in place and will continue to be in place thank you Mr Mayor I appreciate that and that that sounds great I think that when we uh can
continue to provide especially for folks who work under a lot of high stress of good uh good wage and in the whole nine it's going to enhance our Public Safety here in the city of Rivera and the City of Chelsea and the town of Winthrop so really excited to hear about that and thanks for bringing this forth thank you
councelor Council Gino SAA thank you Mr President thank you Mr Mayor and thank you city manager Fidel um for bringing this forth and it's been a long time coming um I'm all about collaboration
and this will help bring more funding to our policing and a fire and and all the safeties that we need to protect our neighborhoods and I really appreciate all the work you put into this thank
you thank you councelor councelor uh m oh thank you thank you Mr chairman uh congratulations may Keef I know four Ms be uh for you um tried to get this going and they couldn't um and congratulations
to the Chelsea Fidel and I just want to say one thing you don't have to change um mckenley school to make it hurricane proof because that building's not going to go anywhere so thank you thank you councilor agenzio
thank you Mr President thank you uh May Keefe this is a a great win for it's in it's in Ward four that Mckinley school has stood idle for years the the neighbors uh are constantly asking me when something's going to be done there I I think this will uh alleviate their
fears and it and one question is the uh school department going to be a piece of this also still Mr President through you to the counselor um a portion of the building will be used for early childhood education uh the school department uh is supporting it with approximately $6.9
million in eser funds that they have left uh so that'll be about uh8 uh 15,000 square F feet will be school um for early childhood education uh over 200 seats um half day and potentially full day the uh about 13 uh to 14,000
square F feet will be the right wing the new wing of the building will be dedicated towards the new Regional 911 and the basement of the building uh which is eligible for up to $15 million in state 911 grants and the uh basement of the building as of right now we have
the $2 million in uh food Hub uh funding as long as it doesn't get pulled back and that's the hopes if it doesn't get pulled back we'll be able to use that for a region oh I'm sorry a um City's kind of food Hub um incubator food space uh that is the intention that's how
we're designing it right now if that Mill that $2 million in funding uh gets pulled back for potential reasons as we we're seeing what's happening in in the world right now or the country um then we would probably turn that into office space and move over some administrative space uh whether it's the parking
department or other uh other satellite um office space that we're currently paying rent for thank you very much and I just want to say congratulations to Fidel uh Fidel and I both come from a public works background we've known each other for a while so very good thank you thank you councelor councel
Kelly thank you Mr President thank you for being here tonight both of you um I think this is great for so many reasons for the rehab for the funding for for so many reasons but I did just want to just make sure that um the level of service the quality of service that we're going
to be providing to our residents is going to stay at an Optimum level and that we will control that so if if there are ever any problems or things like that we will have that level of control um and it wouldn't be taken away from us and I think the answer is yes but I just wanted to clarify that thank you um Mr
President thank you and Council Kelly uh I I agreed you know we always want to make sure we maintain the highest level of service especially when it comes to uh calling for you know uh uh lifechanging service and uh we have a we have a wonderful director her name is Whitney Morgan she's uh dealing with a
family member tonight and she uh would be happy to support this of course she's very supportive of this but they they train um ad nauseum and they hire they they do hire to the best that they can as you know as mentioned earlier sometimes Staffing levels for 25
or $26 job you you know you want to make sure you get the best so more often they won't hire someone that's not qualified and they will run into things like overtime to make sure that they're keeping and retaining the best staff so by bringing in um a large group from another city it's going to just bolster that level uh and making sure that each
City so chief right and I'm sorry chief chief cullin and and and chief Callahan and the fire chief and police chief and winr and and Chelsea they issue what the memorandum is for their service so whatever Chelsea requires will get the the call response that they want however
they want their calls to be taken because every city is going to have slight specifics and changes and each each individual is trained on those capacities and more often than not a Chelsea call taker will stick to the Chelsea calls a Riva call taker will stick to the riv calls and the win call
take will switch to the rever and then there supervisors for each level and then of course there's cross training because we when There Staffing shortages or if this there's bad inclement weather you may get people that don't want to come in or something like that like in any job uh to make sure that there's
there's overlap but we're going to continue to maintain the highest uh quality of of uh of staff and continue to invest in training and by having a state-of day op building with an actual Training Center because currently at the Riva Police Department it's less than 4,000 square ft no TR there's not really
a training room it's more of a the police training room um and that's all they have so to get up to 13 to 14,000 square fet with an exercise facility room a training room um State of the State of the out equipment in space it's just going to enhance the level of
service for everybody thank you counselor permission to speak from the chair thank you um Mr Mayor congratulations Fidel congratulations the town of Winthrop congratulations cuz this is this is a big deal and um when I
realized how big of a deal was the excitement that was coming from the men and women of the Rivier police and fire department the level of professionalism at the Chelsea 911 call center is it was exciting to the for for the men and women to hear and rever and to bring
them over and and to get them working together and and to get the best 911 call takers in the region making our calls is is a good get so congratulations Mr Mayor thank thank [Music] you thank you Mr President Madame
clerk roll call shall the city council approve the agreement by and among the city of Rivier the town of Winthrop and the City of Chelsea for the Metro North Regional emergency communications district and Dispatch Center Council agenzio yes yes
Council C Leandro yes yes councel janino yes yes councelor Gino SAA yes yes Council H yes yes councel hero yes yes councilor Kelly yes yes councilor McKenna yes yes Council noeli yes yes Council zambo yes yes and council
president sylvestri yes yes the agreement has been [Applause] approved thank you congratulations so the the second motion uh communication tonight was from uh Tom from economic from from the city planner
um he he's running a little late so when he comes in we'll be taking up that motion upon his arrival to next next next motion calendar item number five Brian D senior project manager of leftfield will provide an update on the Rivier High School building
project Mr daon name and address for the record please thank you Brian daon left Feld one High Street thank you Mr President thank you Council um so I'll be relatively brief tonight uh last time we were here we walked you through the design the scope update for the high
school project um at the time we were kneee in estimating uh at the conclusion of the design development phase uh we had the construction manager kigle and the design firm's estimator run parallel independent estimates uh I'm happy to
say that we reconciled those estimates uh on budget in fact um slightly a fraction of a percent under the target budget um as a result we have submitted the design development package uh on budget nothing had to be removed
nothing was added uh from what was previously proposed um we have submitted it to msba on Friday and we are proceeding into the 60% construction document phase uh that phase will run through July when we'll
do this whole estimating to Independent estimate process again to verify we're on budget before we start proceeding with construction of the building uh in parallel to that we uh are putting site demolition out to bid in the coming
weeks uh no new construction as I think I previously noted simply removal of the old Clubhouse foundations and the dog track utilities under the dog track um we're going to be putting that out to bid in the coming weeks and uh intend to get that all bid wrapped up and approved
by the school bill building committee by April uh and at the latest by the beginning of June we will be starting the demolition phase um so when we get to that July August time frame we'll reestimate everything we'll make sure we're on budget by then we'll also be a
lot closer to being complete with the permitting process quick update there is that we did submit the second the major um meepa submission the draft environmental impact report a few weeks back we expect to get a response and comments um back from meepa in the the
coming weeks uh if any counselors are interested in reviewing that I know Council Kelly you were um you were getting into the detail of that before when we get that response we could always uh meet talk through it um so ultimately when that 60% set is out we estimate again we show that we're on
budget that's the set of drawings we'll be bidding the foundations and superstructure the steel from uh that'll allow us in August September to proceed with actual building construction and final construction documents out by the end of the year we'll bid the rest of
the building off of that um everything's held on schedule as noted we've held on budget um so I wanted to try to keep it brief I know you folks have a lot of business to do and um I can take any questions from there thank you Mr dayon city
councilors councelor aeno thank you uh Mr President um Mr daon did you go out and uh get estimates yet or have estimates come in I think at in two independent estimates both on budget
both on budget and what's that budget um the the construction budget within the total project was 412 million okay uh both of the estimates were on the higher side of 411 um so they're right on budget the total project value is uh 493
million that as well remains unchanged okay and how much of a contingency is built into that figure so there's um I should have printed out the estimate but we still have a design an estimating contingency built into that which as the drawings get more complete that
contingency uh which I think Christie do you know if we 6% I think is what we were holding on Direct so we have 6% of the direct costs we're holding for design contingency um there were some deep discussions about the potential impact of tariffs we're carrying a tariff contingency um in there that we
don't know yet if how much that might impact us but that's built in there and in the total project budget we've maintained all of the outside contingencies that might need to cover things like change orders if they come around so all the contingencies remain intact thank you very much I'm thank you
Council Council cogliandro thank you Mr President uh Brian thank you for being here uh since the last time you were here I've had a lot of people ask me about one thing that was said and what I've had a lot of people ask me
about one thing that was said at the last meeting which was that if we were if the numbers came back and we were over budget that we would make cuts to make sure that we were under budget or on budget my question is why don't we do
that anyway to save money uh that's C we we meaning the whole project team always create what's called a ve list uh things that we might have to cut things that we might have to refine when the estimates if the estimates come in over budget we
have such a list um I think the short answer is that that's a good discussion for some of you folks to have with the school building committee ultimately um we're endeavoring to deliver the project under budget any of the contingencies or any budget that's not spent um comes back to the city does not need to be
borrowed expended but uh our goal is to deliver it under budget but um if we want to move the target budget down I I do think that's a discussion with the school building committee okay and uh also I I do have uh some one well one question after this is built out there
is concern about how much the building is going to cost to maintain there was a a something was brought up about the amount of money we're going to have to spend on additional staff custodial staff uh maintaining Landscaping things like that do we have any idea what that's going to cost to do that because ultimately that you know we have to pay
for that so it's something that we work with both on the site side for site maintenance and the building um with the facilities director and the administration um i' probably need to see if they could help me answer in terms of the what are their
plans for that but um our intent when we deliver these buildings with the design team is always to describe what it's going to take to maintain the building and the site um I just can't speak so specifically of um what that means on the school side or or the um the city
sidey thank you and in regards to the meepa process you still believe we're going to be wrapped up by around August I think that was one of the last things the last time we asked about that I believe so yes and and just to reiterate at that point is when the msba will
refund us what's refundable at that point all in one lump sum correct and we actually did meet with the msba a few weeks ago to um with the city with the mayor superintendent to sort of uh make sure they understand the strain that puts on R and other municipalities
withholding that reimbursement but um yes every dollar that we've spent since this project passed has been will be reimbursable we're tracking what it should be once we're allowed to we're going to submit that all to msba and um there'll be a big lumpsum payment after that the reimbursements will happen
monthly thank you Brian thank you Mr President thank you councelor Council green OA Council H mine's working thank you Mr President Brian thanks so much for being here I had a question more about design um I had a a resident
reach out about the garage and if there's going to be a pump station hit in the garage to just in case of plotting thei spoke very highly of theit of thefield saying it saves cars and they were just
curious if this new design would feature something like yeah right right now we're a little dis some there will be some degree of mechanical uh ability to pump water out but so we're trying to attack it from both angles one is it should gravity drain um in the event that it doesn't or
any of the low pits like I said elevator pits or pumps in the basement um it will also pump very very similar to the um the Garfield garage something we've actually gone down and looked up great thank you thank you counselor Brian I think that's it thank
you very much thank you thank you Council [Music] now it's uh rule 34 rule 34 public comment pursuant to chapter 402 of the acts of 1965 so anyone that's willing to come up that wants to come up to speak please
give your name number you must be a resident a rier and uh your name your address and and the motion you'll be speaking on Miss Ken Bonnie Karan 20 Barrett Street um I'm commenting on councelor
Jen Zio I'm all for it um the more they take away grass and trees the more flooding we have ad adus are not going to help us I think we need to come in compliance with the ad we have first we have
thousands of them some are on the books some are being taxed already and I think that we should get a figure for the state of what we already did with adus because we've done a lot we're not
getting credit for it that's it thank you thank you any other public comment okay back to the regular order of business Madam clerk unfinished business calendar item
number six petition submitted by National Grid to install a poll across from 55 Walnut AV beginning at a point approximately 134 fet North of the center line of the intersection of Shirley AV and walnut AV and continuing approximately 17 ft in an East Direction
anyone here from National Grid just the the speak button yours works who else my I'm on I'm on now yes Mr President councelor on the motion U Mr President I know we had the
gentleman from here from National Grid here last two weeks ago and I gave him my card I asked him to call me regarding this location and nobody has ever called me no messages no nothing so as far as I'm
concerned we either keep it on the table or shoot it down I'm not happy with what they want to do here thank you thank you councelor any other counselors Mr President Council colandro I moved to place all of these National Grid motions on file please is that the will of the
body no no Mr President um I have Agonist street that they need um Underground electricity and we're holding them up I think that we need to do this so um
since our last meeting I did get a call from Tammy uh saparo and they did fix I think they fixed um I would say seven lights street lights and they fixed the light that you and I put in um so it's really uh bright
um across from Luigi's to go across from Luigi uh they did put um a couple of poles back on win Parkway um they fixed a couple of street lights that were out major intersections um so um you know what she
said to me was that they're really short-handed and that's what's going on that they can't get the bodies to do do you know what they're supposed to do but I mean four months is a long time for a street light to be out okay so um and I did call the emergency line the next day
Tuesday but she she um you know um overa that so but I would really like to pass nine thank you councelor if we could thank you thank you any other counselors councelor zambo uh thank you Mr
President I know that I'm always the one that uh tries to defend National Grid but I'm not really trying to defend National Grid I'm trying to defend the fact that we really don't have the the authority to stop utilities
there's a there's a there's an organization that we have to follow the uh utilities laws here and we we're we're reaching that point where you know it's great to say let's not do this and you know number one we we're keeping people from getting power to their new
houses or whatever we're doing when we sto these things and and I'm against that so I mean we've we've had probably the worst storms lately with all these windstorms it's going to delay play things I mean it's just you know you
can't get the people and and even if you had all the people a full staff it's still not enough you got I think we had like 15 telephone polls fall down on route one the other day uh up up near Walnut Street so I mean at some point we got to be a little more flexible and
when we can put pressure now that that young man he probably went and got a job in a supermarket cuz if I was him that's what I would do you know he probably makes 40 ,000 a year and we're torturing them it's just not fair and I spoke to
the higher ups I spoke to Tammy sarito and and and and I said can we try to be a little more communicative but they don't really have to be I mean that's what the bottom line if she goes to her boss say she'll be out of a job she say hey they want us to communicate better with the city council say go get it you
know get lost so there's a there's a Breaking Point here where we've got to be reasonable about this and I would ask that we do that thank you thank you councelor Council hero Mr President believe it or not I agree with Tony zambuto on something wow look at
that it's the Lenton season that's what it is it's your it's your haut but but yeah no kidding look new man that's right but the reality is that you know um our duty is to ensure that the residents that watch us at home have
access to public utilities electricity being a very important one for a variety of reasons a lot of folks use it for heating of course cooking um and then just to keep the lights on in their home and so um what I would propose maybe I don't know procedurally maybe we have to
wait till the next council meeting is I think the best way that we're going to be able to leverage our position as a city is to go through the mayor and ask the mayor to set up a meeting with whoever the Regional VP uh of of national goodd or something uh to talk a
little bit about our issues and I don't know who needs to be in this meeting but you know maybe one of the committee the the folks who are on the Committee on Public Works maybe uh can be there so we can avoid a quorum a quorum issue but I just think that our us 11 as powerful as
and mighty as we are um are going to need some help from the mayor on this and and I think we should ask him to help us leverage that meeting with with the with the powers that be thank you councilor Council K Leandro thank you Mr President I I agree with a lot of what was said I do understand that we need
Services especially for new uh homes and buildings and whatnot and we have to improve electricity in areas I I totally understand that my I got a phone call from what's his name today to let me know about the next meeting when he's going to have two they're going to be
putting two two requests for Ward three uh I got nothing today and my issue is this we do have a responsibility I do agree with both Council Zam buo and Council Yaro um we do have a responsibility but in the same breath we also have a responsibility and uh to to
provide information about what kind of uh work is going to be done how long this work is going to take and I don't I don't think anybody up here would disagree with me that National Grid subcontractors don't do the best job cleaning up after themselves when they repave something usually at Bose or I
mean if I told you how many people have lawsuits against National Grid right now for tripping on areas that their subcontractors did you guys probably hit the floor and that's my issue is I I want to know the work that's being done Gage have is this big this parking on both sides of the street there was a
water main break there and you couldn't even get by no obviously the DPW is going to do their job but that's what I'm concerned about quality of life it's all Revol it's all involved with everything that goes on with National Grid doing work there and in this case the one that we have on the agenda
tonight is for a new two family home that's being built there so I don't think this is hurting anybody but I've been saying it all along and I'm pretty sure that guy is not here because of me from what I said last week but I just want information I want it in a timely
manner because when we don't know we look stupid that's the bottom line if someone calls me and said what's going on over here you know what it's the first time I'm hearing about it well why you're the counselor we should have the information about this I would I would change my placing on file to tabling to
the next meeting that's what I would like to do because I want more information about what's going on in my ward end of story no disrespect to anybody you guys made valid valid points we absolutely need utilities we need this stuff but I would ask the council to place these on file councel McKenna
if you want to vote on yours tonight absolutely I know what I'm going to do with mine everybody else you know you choose for your Awards but that's my two cents thank you thank you councelor um Madame clerk let's call these in order and we'll allow the W counselors to do
what they want to do thank you so calendar item number six a petition submitted by National Grid this is relative to the to 55 Walnut motion table motion to table all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number
seven petition submitted by National Grid to install approximately 10 ft of 2 to 4 in conduit from existing poll 22740 to private property to provide a permanent overhead to underground siphon service at 130 hitchborn Street motion
and table Mr President motion and table all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number eight petition submitted by National Grid to install approximately 10 ft of 1 to 3 in underground conduit from existing Pole
39190 to provide a permanent overhead to underground siphon service at 73 gav motion a table motion a table all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number nine petition submitted by National Grid to
install approximately 60 ft of 1 to 4 in underground conduit from existing pole number 306 at the corner of agus ab in broadsound AV to provide a permanent overhead to underground siphon service for three agas AV
Council McKenna motion to pass please okay motion for favorable vote all in favor all opposed so ordered next up is the zoning subcommittee
report Council zambuto uh thank you Mr President as we all know the zoning subcommittee met at 5 o' this evening uh we had uh four items up uh we'll start with the
24- 269 um mechanical parking ordinance that would has voted out favorably would ask for a road call order on a second reading oh I
apologize okay ordered on a third and final reading Madam Clerk roll call for engrossment and ordainment shall the city council approve an ordinance repealing the definition and use of mechanical parking systems councelor agenzio yes yes councel C
Leandro yes yes councel janino yes yes councelor greo SAA yes yes councel H yes yes councelor Haro yes yes councelor Kelly yes yes councel McKenna yes yes councel noeli yes yes Council zambuto no
no and council president sylvestri yes yes the order is engrossed and ordained that was also voted out favorably I ask for a roll call Madame clerk roll call shall the city council Grant the relief requested for 12 fur along Drive subject to the findings and
conditions of site plan review councelor agenzio yes yes councelor cogliandro yes yes councelor janino yes yes councel greo SAA yes yes councelor Hass no no councelor hero yes yes councelor Kelly
yes yes councel McKenna yes yes counc noeli hesitantly yes yes Council zambuto yes yes and council president sylvestri yes yes the special perment has been granted subject to the findings and conditions of site plan review next up
is 20 5-43 Nicholas St uh 375 Broadway uh requesting a special permit uh this was for 30 Campbell a this was also voted out favorably I would ask for a roll call Madam
clerk shall the city council Grant the relief requested for 30 Campbell AB subject to the findings and conditions of site plan review councel agenzio yes yes Council C Leandro yes yes councilor Janina yes yes councel Gino SAA yes yes councel
H yes yes councel hero yes yes Council Kelly yes yes Council McKenna yes yes Council noeli yes yes Council zambuto yes yes and council president sylvestri yes yes the special permit has been granted subject to the findings and conditions of site plan
review last but not least uh 25-42 Ed edin Balor 48 Derby Road R requesting a special permit uh for uh a mixed use twostory restaurant uh
on 63-64 R Beach Boulevard this was also voted out favorably and I would ask for a roll call Madame clerk roll call the members shall the city council Grant the relief requested for 63-64 Riv Beach
Boulevard subject to the findings and conditions of site plan review councelor agenzio yes yes Council cogliandro yes yes Council jino yes yes councelor GRE OAA yes yes councelor H yes yes councelor Haro yes yes councelor Kelly
yes yes councel McKenna yes yes councilor noeli yes yes Council zambuto yes yes and council president Silvestri yes yes the special permit has been granted [Applause] motions calendar item number 14 motion
presented by councilor Kelly that the city council requests the city solicitor to draft a home rule petition for the purpose of modifying the zoning act as it relates to accessory dwelling units by allowing the city of Riviera to maintain specific provisions of its local ordinance including but not limited to parking requirements and
location restrictions deemed essential to safeguard Public Welfare citizen safety and the character of an already congested and over developed Community provided the city continues to support Adu development in line with the state's housing goals Council Kelly thank you Mr
President this is going to take a couple of minutes to unpack and in fact I'm going to um submit a substitute motion because after really digging into this um I don't think it's the right thing to do
to try to modify I think what we really want to do here is seek an exemption um so under article 89 of our state constitution we're granted the right to tailor laws to rever Unique needs to govern in our residents best interest by
way of home rule petition after a careful review with us I'm going to actually oh okay never mind um so I'm asking us basically for an exemption by way of home rule petition from section8 of the affordable homes act on Accessory dwelling units
and allow us to keep our ordinance under title 17 rather than seeking a modification my reasons for this are as follows our ad ordinance is common sense approach which fits our unique needs and the unique dynamics of our city for example we
require owner occupancy for two years the state has no such requirement we prohibit enlargements to the principal dwelling the state allows them we restrict adus to single family homes and only one allow one Adu per dwelling the
state allows them on any any principal dwelling single families multifamilies even town homes and even allows multiple adus for one principal dwelling by special permit let's keep in mind that our Adu ordinance was intended to help single family homeowners many of which
are senior citizens who had unpermitted in-law apartments that were built decades ago it allows these units to remain bringing them up to code and only requires one off- street parking spot as instead of the normal required two
spaces however the state has a heavy-handed one-size fits-all approach which results in an Adu law that will be disproportionately applied across the Commonwealth this means Riv will be hit much harder than many other cities in
towns because the state law says no parking requirements for adus located within a half a mile of a quote public transit stop and the state defines a public transit stop to include MBTA bus
stops because bus stops blanket our city adus and R will be allowed to be built everywhere without any off street parking required by contrast towns like Danvers with fewer bus stops will be much less impacted our police fire
ambulatory services are already stretched inin congestion and traffic are already pressing concerns and side streets are already overcrowded because off street parking is so scarce our single family neighborhoods are
under attack by approving this tonight we are not asking the state to exempt us from creating additional housing we are merely asking to keep our Common Sense approach protecting our single family
neighborhoods and preserving the quality of life of our residents I urge my fellow council members to defend our home rule rights and reever's future by acting now now starting with this request for petition we're seeing more
and more of these mandates from the state and this petition is our chance to stand up for Rivier by saying we know what's best for our city and I also want to include we're seeing more and more lawsuits by cities and towns in the Commonwealth that are actually suing the
state based on the premise of having unfunded mandates in other words these these mandates are being put into place we're being required to abide by them but we're not really getting any funding to bolster our emergency services or
infrastructure to support them um and as a side note I do want to mention I did mention this to our state delegation um and this exemption is a common sense approach that I hope we can all support tonight um Madam clerk can you read the um the substitute motion did we did I do
you want me to sorry councelor Kelly the language discussed um your substitute motion would be as follows that the city council requests the city solicitor to draft a home rule petition amending the zoning act exempting the city of Rivier from the Commonwealth's zoning
requirements relative to accessory dwelling units thank you and I I'd like a vote on that tonight thank you any other the counselors Council green OA thank you Mr President thank you councelor Kelly for doing this this is
um this is a great motion while the city remains committed to supporting the Adu development in alignment with the state housing goals it is critical that we maintain the ability to enforce local controls that reflect the unique needs
of each neighborhood so this to me this is a very very important motion and um thank you for councelor Kelly for putting it in thank you counselor any other counselors coun zamb buo uh thank you Mr
President I was going to thank you Mr President I was going to um suggest this go to committee but now that I hear the motion that it's uh calling for an opinion I I don't see any reason to send it the committee so I support it then we then it'll go to committee
after it comes back thank you thank you councelor any other counselors all in favor all opposed on the substitute motion all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number 15 motion presented
by councelor agenzio that the mayor request the city solicitor and director of planning and Community Development to explore the feasibility of challenging in court the new Adu regulation set forth by the cwal of Massachusetts specifically lack of parking requirements allowing Adu construction
on homes greater than single family allowing Adu Construction in flood zones and considering a bus stop as a transit station councelor agenzio thank you Mr President and thank you to councel Kelly that was an excellent presentation and I fully support it uh both our motions are
slightly different uh but they seek to achieve the same goal I know when this bill was moving through the state legislature uh I had heard about the different aspects to it and I wasn't alarmed at that point um but
then uh and also in the rever journal about two weeks ago there was a press release by the governor's office I just want to read a couple of Snippets here uh this would allow homeowners the freedom to create an accessory dwelling unit which can provide more housing
options for seniors creating opportunities for young adults with special needs and looking for more Independence um they can be built by right in single family zoning districts Statewide uh adus can provide
supplemental rental income to homeowners and add value to single family homes adus can have a profound effect for homeowners and their families they can allow older adults to age in place and remain close to their grandkids and
children adus can also offer independent living for young adults with special needs uh there was a quote in here by Jesse Canen benov U adus are a gentle tool in the Massachusetts toolbox to address a
special a severe housing shortage this provision allows homeowners to generate additional income house loved ones with disabilities aging family members young adults who might not otherwise be able to afford to live in the community where
they were raised so according to this press release it sounds great but when Mr scosi spoke two weeks ago the reality of it seems to be very different uh I was under the under the understanding that it was only single family homes and
Mr SC owski explained single families two families three families uh are also eligible uh the state determining that uh bus stops were Transit uh stations uh
in my opinion uh you know that's something that could be challenged I can't imagine a person in an Adu walking a half a mile um getting on a bus taking them in the direction that they don't want to go uh it was my understanding
that um they weren't going to be available to uh be um built on in flood zones now I I understand they can be as long as they're above the the flood zone uh level um so in the parking
requirements uh they needed to provide one space but with um packing with uh bus stops uh it's the whole city it's everywhere in the city it's it's uh every street so when I say challenge in
the court maybe that can happen and then Mr scosi also stated that we are allowed to put reasonable restrictions so when we do that I don't know who is going to determine what is reasonable is someone from the the state
agency going to come in and say and challenge us and say it's not reasonable we'll uh home owners if they're denied will they be able to challenge Us in court I I'd like to know where this challenge would come in and how we are
supposed to pass regulations on a very vague determination of reasonable and unreasonable so I think if Mr uh attorney capy and I know Mr scosi seems to uh want to State something now and i' I'd be glad to hear it uh we really need
to uh be on top of this and Council Kelly 's U motion is an excellent one I don't know how uh legislators would feel after just passing this thing I think they believe this is the best thing since sliced bread I don't know if they
would exempt just one city hopefully they would and uh and I'm in favor of it I hope it goes through and uh that's it and I am fully in favor of uh increasing the housing stock but we're always
talking about affordable housing there's nothing in this that requires any of these adus to be affordable maybe that's a restriction or or something we could do thank you very much thank you counselor good evening counselor sorry
I'm B bit out of breath I ran from the parking lot I didn't think I'd make it in time until I heard National Grid was on the agenda and then I knew I had a few minutes um so what um I had asked councelor zambuto um to hold the item that I presented to the coun a few weeks
back um because the state was going to be bringing forth a model bylaw and they're actually bringing it Forward tomorrow um and we'll have a webinar where they're going to talk through the ins and outs but I agree with you counselor that this question of what is a reasonable regulation is somewhat murky
although I I would suggest that the the more potentially productive path forward I'm I'm not entirely convinced a home roll petition particularly so soon after this legislation had been passed would be fruitful at the state house but nor nor
do I think challenging in court as the municipality might be the right way to go but I think what we could do and what I'm um committed to doing with everyone on the council here is putting forth a set of as councelor Kelly mentioned Common Sense reasonable regulations of
what we all thought Adu development was going to look like um and putting that and codifying that within our ordinance and I think there are certain things that are clear within the regulations that we would have to remove if we didn't want let's take it you know call it the full-on
fight mode where we oppose everything that they're for but I do think there are certain things like uh the home ownership aspect um if we were to remove that um and a few other things that are clearly aligned with the regulations but
then pushed back in other areas like I think it's completely unreasonable to assume we would want as I know it's been discussed basement Apartments underneath the base flood elevation um you could make an argument that that would be allowed as it stands today if we didn't
change our ordinance but I feel like that's an area where we could very clearly push back and I would consider it quite reasonable to assume that we'd want our residents to live above the area in which it would flood in a 100-year flood um so I think there are areas like that where we can push back I
also think we've we've considered um the question of it has to be allowed by right in all single family zoning districts if you look at our use table the GB district is considered a single family zoning District the NB district is considered a single family all of our
districts are but are they all really um and are there areas that we could change that y to an N because we're not really looking to promote single family um development on Shirley Avenue for example or in Beachmont um square if we change that y to an N that
actually constrains the amount of areas where adus would need to be allowed by right um and then we could also talk through the parking piece as well I guess what I would ultimately ask for is a little bit of patience so we can take in what those bylaws uh the model bylaw tells us tomorrow and then kind of work
with all of you on Crafting something that is common sense that we could all move forward thinking this is what we all anticipated and I think everyone at the table that I've spoken to even if they're opposed to this state mandate is in theory on board with the idea of promoting the right kind of Common Sense
ad legislation so I think we can build something that could be defensible in court but I think usually the way this would come out to directly address your question counselor would be we we would face a challeng in court by somebody who thinks we are um acting against the the
state's regulations and that's probably where most of the fights would happen on this both here and throughout the Commonwealth it's more of like a reactive method as of opposed to us going forward to the courts which um I I think this is is a more deliberate approach that could get us to where we
want to be thank you Tom councelor H thank you Mr President Tom thanks for being here you read my mind I had I watched the planning board meeting um from the other night and they spoke specifically about the Broadway
area um if you were concerned about adus before and then you watch the planning board meeting you're even more concerned now so that was one of my questions um is that were you hinting at that something we can alter and the with the GB and um areas like Broadway right so
any anywhere on the use table that currently is a why for single family home ownership uh or single family development we would have to allow adus by right but if we change that y to an n in certain districts and realistically we're not building single family homes
on Broadway right or Beachmont square or or you know the the Ted District um so I think if we change those y's to an N which is realistically what are today that actually constrains the amount of districts that are opened up to this in the first place um and then we can also talk through other things like if if you
have a town home right now and you want to build an Adu theoretically you could do it but you also would need to build a sprinkler system um and is that really possible or feasible for the average person and it probably makes a development like this unrealistic so
there's what is on paper and what is in reality going to happen I think once we get down to a common sense set um legislation I think we'll be able to weed out a lot of that and and have a better sense of where this is headed and maybe get rid of some of the Doom and Gloom which is understandable right now
but I think doesn't have to happen with this thank you Tom Council oreno thank you uh so Mr scosi I'm still confused as to who is going to determine that it's unreasonable we we pass regulation we'll have an ordinance so if somebody has
denied a permit they would challenge us uh based on what they feel is unreasonable the state isn't going to review our ordinance and then come and give us a that's correct unlike the MBTA communities where we got a a judgment
handed down from the state that affected funding that we would receive this would all be handled in the courts I imagine what will ultimately happen is there'll be one or two test cases that will go to the SJC that would then determine sort of what those lines of reasonableness are um because ultimately this is a do
Amendment protected item just like any other do Amendment protected zoning issue it got worked out in the courts exactly what the um sort of guard rails are of what what's in what's out in terms of reasonableness so I think we'll learn that in time as it's developed
through the courts thank you councelor councelor hero uh Mr President I I just think with the monel ordinance coming tomorrow uh that we might be jumping the gun on this I I understand the intent here and I appreciate my colleagues concerns around this issue
I just think that um you know I know that our our uh Partners in the legislature have put a lot of thought into this and we want to make sure that um you know we at least get to see this model ordinance uh and that way we can work
with our uh the director of U Economic Development planning and economic development on what's the right fit for the city of r um and if the right fit is to further restrict the ordinance or the law then so be it um but at very least
we should give the administration and legislature the the grace to see this model ordinance thank you thank you councel councel Kelly am I yeah um thank you Mr President so a couple of things so
regarding the um press release that Council r jenzi read I just want to I just want to reiterate we do have an ordinance on the books that speaks to adus they they are allowed right now and it's um our
17.25 so we do have an ordinance on the books um so we can allow for all of those things but do it in a way that works for our city um and the other thing I I want to bring up is that um I don't think we're the only city right
now I think winthrip is actually um seeking some modifications right now as well regarding this and the other thing um in terms of fighting through the courts and kind of restricting some things and all of
that I understand that set certain setbacks would be required in terms of um dimensional requirements in yards and things like that so if someone argues well that wouldn't apply to a lot a lot of hom in rier
because of lot sizes say we wouldn't have all the setbacks and so there there wouldn't be many of those allowed could those individuals who want to build an Adu attached to a primary residence then be allowed to go before the zba and get variances for those setbacks theoretically okay so so this
is why rather than my position is rather than try to come up with modifications and try to PC mail this I really think it's better for us to say look we have something on the books we're not trying to block the creation of these adus we do have an ordinance on the books it's
reasonable and it works for our city um the other thing is in terms of waiting to um councelor haro's um point we have this I believe it's it's so it's section8 in the MBTA communities law which does outline the nuts and bolts of
this we've got the major components of this what's coming out tomorrow with just suggested guidelines correct so we have the meat and potatoes and nuts some bolts we we know how this is going to plan out correct well I think the question of reasonableness is is what's an open item to me because this will be really The
First Time The Regulators will show us what their definition of what's reasonable is so I'm reserving judgment although there is part of me that wonders about that and and we're kind of seeing all the framework out there today so I think all we can do is wait until
or all I'm asking for us to do is wait until tomorrow and then we can see okay if that's exact what it's telling us already then we some folks might not think there's a path forward others might think there is and we could work reasonably on pushing back where we want to and not pushing back in other areas where it's really clearly defined how we
would be working against the the state's reg regulations I'm aware that winrop is um challenging I'm aware they're challenging MB MBTA communities as well and their state funding has been decimated and I think in this current fiscal environment we should consider
the impact of similar reaction so unlike MBTA communities there is not a clear funding um you know they wouldn't remove funding if we did not comply but I do worry about the the message we might be sending when we are quite relling on
state funding and the partnership with the state more generally thank you Tom Council McKenna thank you Mr President um Tom is there any is there a limit on a how many adus we can have in in the city of
Rivia there is not a limit um although the the statement that was made that you could have multiple adus on your property is certainly something we could prohibit we could leave it to one per property okay I just think that if we lose control of this uh I can just
picture uh R looking like New York City it's just it's incredible what we have to endure um for our city you know um I'm just I'm I'm still not happy with this at all so I'll wait until tomorrow
and see what we can do but uh and um so there's no limit so even like baronnie Karin came up and said that there are more adus in the city that we haven't they're not accountable
so I was just wondering there is not a limit um although I would say if I could ask the council a question um how many folks on the council would consider building an Adu on their property just show a hands no okay so I I do think
there is this element of reality versus what's in the plan and in the zoning so yes we are opening it up theoretically but in practice most people would prefer still not to have an Adu in their property and the other thing I would say is um un I think actually this will more
disproportionately impact communities like IP switch communities like Newberry Port further out where you have a lot more property to work with and you can build a detached dwelling unit I think setbacks are going to constrain this a lot more in practice than we think it actually will I think there is going to
be in practice use in adus in certain areas but I I think it might be overblown particularly as we consider our neighbors in more Suburban larger lotsize areas thank you Tom okay Council McKenna thank you um so
uh quality life quality of life does not matter if in a city I mean the governor's pushing this and she's not thinking about quality of life and and we're we're so dense and we just she wants us to add more I I just I think
there should be rules and regulations or some compromise or whatever for dense cities to uh get some leeway than uh you know pushing this uh you know they she she should work on danis
and Middleton and and Topsfield and and leave Rivier alone that's thank you thank you councelor councelor Kelly sorry thank you for the leeway Mr President so Tom I just want to say do
you know the percentage of um rental units in this city other than owner occupied so I think I think we're somewhere around 50s something per owner occupied so um um that there's a lot of
rental you know where we have landlords living outside the city so to say that they wouldn't want these adus to pull in more rent I I don't know if we can say that and we have we have a lot of outside um Property Owners out living outside of revier so that's number one
number two in in terms of that being a deterrent that we don't really have the land which is what I was speaking to before that's why I asked you if they could get variances and we see variances get uh um approved moved consistently from the zba so if this were to go
fullblown um I could see people asking for variances from those setbacks and yes try creating um and making these work on the size lots that they have even though we don't have the sprawling Lots the daners and you know Topsfield has so I do I am convinced that this
will disproportionately hurt rier um much more than those other cities and we've had enough and the thing is we build up our housing and we want to attract more people living here but we are not bolstering our emergency resources our ambulatory our fire our
police to provide um adequate services for our residents so we keep beefing up the amount of the population but we're not beefing up all of those other things that we need to um speak to our residents and make sure that their quality of life is is maintained at a
certain level so uh um whatever we need to do whatever this honorable honorable body decides in terms of which path to take or which option to take but we have got to make a stand on this and and just we cannot keep going along with these
mandates by the state we know our city best and this doesn't fit our city thank you thank you counselor any other counselors Council cogliandro thank you Mr President um I just want to say really quickly uh great job by counc Kelly and councelor renzio thank you
both for filing these um I I just two things well three one um if there's a fight to be had we should absolutely fight this okay 100% uh I I think it's absolutely
ridiculous that the state would hold funding from a community that doesn't want to adopt something for the betterment of their their City I think it's absolutely ridiculous that's not your money that's their money end of story okay those are the tax dollars um and I certainly hope that they're
definition of reasonable means that each Community can set their own regulations based on the needs of the city because if this passes and we're forced to do this I said it last time we are in big trouble thank
you Council Gino thank you Mr President um I just have a question and and I know you're not going to be able to answer it I want to know why the commonweal did not
speak to the individual cities and ask what their thoughts was on something like this I mean did they did I don't even think they considered what it would be doing to our infrastructure so I I think the Commonwealth has the the duty to
actually speak to all the cities and towns that are in the Commonwealth before making such a huge decision that would impact all the residents that live within each City and it's just I it's really disheartening and then for them
to to take away funding it's just it's not it's not a good look on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and that's all I wanted to say thank you thank you counselor any other counselors permission to speak from the chair thank you um Tom I I know you stated that
there was um there hasn't been nothing set in stone as far as penalties that that cities that are going against it um but you mentioned IP switch and IP switch actually just got hit with um losing grants in funding because they
went against the MBTA communities um it if if that have they what is we what what and what is the amounts that we could we could lose if
this so unlike the MBTA communities this one isn't quite so clear I I wouldn't say outright we would lose amounts but um I think that there are some benefits to pushing back by creating our own reasonable set of regulations that we
think could withstand a challenge in the courts as opposed to actively fighting the state um in a more upfront manner that's just my personal opinion but I understand the merits of both approaches has there been any talk um
about a action cities and towns getting together and going against the state not that I've heard of okay thank you yeah so on this is we're still on councelor agenzio right on so on
councelor agenzio motion all in favor all opposed so [Applause] award calendar item number 16 motion presented by councelor renzio that the mayor request the Department of Public Works to install ballards in front of
110 Ridge Road this house is directly across from Homer Street which is an extremely Steep Hill on several occasions during snowstorms vehicles have come down the hill and into the resident's home and property councelor aeno thank you Mr President just briefly
uh this house sits on Ridge Road right at the base of homma street and it's been hit several times during snow storms even when I was the superintendent a few years back one of our dump trucks slid down and right into the person's home um so we're just looking for a few ballets to make make
give him a little peace of mind during snow storms it's a several times thank you thank you councelor Jenia any other counselors permission to speak from the chair so I actually uh spoke with cenzio
on this um Edwin the gentleman lives at 110 Ridge uh he came to me um because as councelor agenzio said the a truck during the storm came down the hill slid across the street and was about 3 feet
went through his fence on his lawn and was about 3 feet from his front door that's happened now four times over the last two years um he's looking for these ballads to relief in in his grandchildren play in his front yard um but what what I I commend him most about
is that um the news reached out when they seen councilor AG enzio's motion and they wanted to speak with with Edwin and um he said I don't want to make my city look bad I just want to protect my home and he refused to talk to the news so I I commend him for that and I I
think we do deserve to uh put these ballards up that's all thank you Madame clerk roll call all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number 17 motion
presented by councelor agenzio that the mayor request the DPW superintendent to install a sidewalk approximately 175 ft in length to include curb in front of 15 SE View Street to the corner of Mountain Avenue this area is the only location on SE View street without a formal sidewalk
the area currently is grass and vegetation making it impossible to to Traverse councelor agenzio thank you very much Mr President I'd like to change that to C AV thank you to my colleague councelor car gandro for
catching that for me uh like I said that's only 20% of the street that doesn't have a formal sidewalk it's impossible for them to park their car in in front of their house cuz it it goes up like a hill a grassy null type thing
um so if we could install that 175 ft of um sidewalk at appreciate it thank you thank you counselor any other counselors all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number 18 motion
presented by councelor greo SAA that the mayor requests a representative from the CW of Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to appear before the city council to conduct a presentation explaining gas supply rate hikes Council ginoa thank you Mr President I'm calling for transparency and accountability
regarding the gas supply rate hikes residents and businesses in the community deserve transparency when it comes to Rising utility costs that's why I've introduced this motion requesting that a representative from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities appear before the city council
to explain the recent gas supply rate hikes this again is about accountability and ensuring that our community gets the answers it needs thank you thank you counselor any other counselors all in favor all opposed so
ordered now Madam clerk if we can go back to take up um agenda item four calendar item number four communication from the chief of planning and Community Development relative to the conveyance of certain tax title properties to the
affordable housing trust fund Board of Trustees evening counselors um excited to talk to you about something I'm not mandated to talk to you about by the state um we have five tax title properties that were taken at various times most recently in
2019 um for un payment of taxes that are developable with some zoning relief um and all five of these Parcels um the mayor's office and my office have been and partnering with the affordable housing trust fund board on disposing of these Surplus properties that we have no
use for that are land of relatively low value um that are a maintenance burden on our um on our portfolio today and taking these properties in disposing of them to the affordable housing trust fund board at which point they would then sell through the RFP process for
the purpose of affordable housing development um which could could come of one in two Fashions one could be the actual production of deed restricted um homes uh these would all be single family homes one is a two family on hitchborne Street potentially um the
other possibility is they could be sold for market rate purposes and those proceeds would then be given to the trust to conduct affordable housing furthering activities like they did on 133 Salem Street when they uh purchased a few condos and converted them to Affordable so I'll talk more if you want
me to but I appreciate I'm at the end of the council agenda thank you Tom any councils Mr President Council noveli have been speaking uh to each other it would have been nice if you talk to the wad counsel about it you
know and you know I know what there's one lot I have no clue which lot it is you know we weren't specific on the address I don't know if the nure road one is in my ward or if it's in Ward three or five uh so I would like to know
more details on each specific issue before I vote on it you know so I would ask that you give us more information on it and you know you bring it up even at the next meeting correct I wasn't anticipating a vote tonight and happy to
walk through with all the ward counselors with any relevant properties here I owe you a conversation on a few other items as well thank you um I actually actually had had a motion to put it in Economic
Development so we'll put it in Economic Development all in favor all opposed so ordered No Further bus chairman there is no further business we will see you next council meeting on March 24th thank
you e