Welcome to the May 4th, 2026 meeting of the Revier City Council. All rise and salute the flag, please. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Madam clerk, >> roll club the members. Councelor Aenzio >> here. >> Here. Councelor Kaggleandro >> here. >> Here. Councelor Jino >> here. >> Here. Councelor Gino SA >> here. >> Here. Councelor Hass >> here.
>> Here. Councelor Kelly is absent. Councelor McKenna is absent. Councelor Mccurio >> here. >> Here. Council Vasilki >> here. >> Here. Councelor Sylvestri >> here. >> Here. And council president Zambudo >> here. >> Here. Quorum is present. Approval of the journal of the regular meeting of April 27th.
>> All in favor? All opposed. So vote. >> Public comment pursuant to chapter 402 of the acts of 1965. Rever residents and business owners only. Two minutes per person. Which item are you speaking on? >> Anybody for public comments?
Hearing and seeing none, it's over. >> Legislative affairs committee report. >> Councelor Arenzio, chairman of Zeno. I apologize. >> That's okay. Thank you. Uh, Mr. President, we had one uh motion before
us tonight uh concerning uh cryptocurrency ATMs, banning them in the city. Uh, Councelor Sylvestri proposed it. Uh, we agreed. All agreed. And I'd like a roll call in the affirmative.
>> Madame clerk. >> There we go. >> Oh, apologize. [laughter] >> Audit on a second reading as amended. Audit on the third and final reading as amended.
Roll call on engrossment and endainment. Shall the city council approve an ordinance further amending title 8 of the reair revised ordinances relative to cryptocurrency ATMs as amended? Councelor Aenzio. >> Yes. >> Yes. Council Kleandro. >> Yes. >> Yes. Council Janino.
>> Yes. >> Yes. Councelor Gino SA. >> Yes. >> Yes. Councelor Hass. >> Yes. >> Yes. Councelor Kelly is absent. Councelor McKenna is absent. Councelor Mccario. >> Yes. >> Yes. Council Novaski. >> Yes. >> Yes. Council Sylvestri. >> Yes. >> Yes. And council president Zambudo? >> Yes. >> Yes. The ordinance is engrossed and
ordained. >> Congratulations. >> Thank you. >> Next up is the appointment subcommittee report. >> Filling in for councel McKenna is chairman tonight. Uh Kleandro.
Thank you, Mr. President. We had 10 uh appointments and reappoints before us. Uh the following were tabled. uh Juan Mio to the affordable housing trust fund, Daniel Osina to the license commission, and Steven Raa to the
election commission. They were not in attendance, so we tabled those. However, uh the other seven were voted out uh favorably unanimously, and I would ask for one roll call on all of these uh at the same time if possible. Thank you,
>> Madame Clerk. Shall the city council confirm the appointments as reported out by chairman Cogleandro? Councelor Aenzio. >> Yes. >> Yes. Councelor Cogleandro. >> Yes. >> Yes. Councelor Gino. >> Yes. >> Yes. Council Gino SA. >> Yes.
>> Yes. Councelor Hass. >> Yes. >> Yes. Councelor Kelly is absent. Council McKenna is absent. Council Mccario. >> Yes. >> Yes. Council Noelski. >> Yes. >> Yes. Councelor Sylvestri. >> Yes. >> Yes. And Council President Zambudo? >> Yes. >> Yes. The appointments as reported are
confirmed. >> Next item. Uh we also had a motion on the floor regarding special municipal status of the job of constable in the city and that was also voted favorably and unanimously.
Ask for a roll call. Roll call. Yes. >> Shall the city council designate the position of constable as a special municipal employee pursuant to Massachusetts general laws chapter 268A? Councelor Aenzio. >> Yes. >> Yes. Council Kagglandro. >> Yes.
>> Yes. Council Gino. >> Yes. >> Yes. Council Garino SA. >> Yes. >> Yes. Councelor Hass. >> Yes. >> Yes. Councelor Kelly is absent. Council McKenna is absent. Councelor Mccurio. >> Yes. >> Yes. Council Vaselski. Yes. >> Yes. Council Sylvester. >> Yes. >> Yes. And council president Sambutoo.
>> Yes. >> Yes. The position of constable has received special municipal employee designation. >> Communications. Calendar item number 13. Communication from the resilience manager relative to a presentation on flood monitoring and community resiliency.
One minute recess. >> Thank you. Mr. President, uh >> Mr. President, uh we one of the uh people up for reappoint today has shown up today and I would like to suspend the rules and pull that motion back out of subcommittee if that's okay with
everyone. >> Good. On the suspension, all in favor, all opposed. So on >> uh this would be the communication from the mayor relative to the reappoint of Steven Reen to the election commission. >> Mr. Reen,
>> ladies and gentlemen, very >> press the button. >> Sorry, I should have remembered that. Very sorry that was that I was late. I was t stuck with clients and traffic. So, but I am here. Thank you very much for uh Bobby. Thank you very much so
much for opening up the meeting again. I'm here. Council >> council uh chairman Cogleandro. Uh we have you're gonna Let's do this like it was. >> Yes, sir. You got >> the committee meeting.
>> Uh name and address for the record, sir. >> Uh Steven F. Reen, 160 Winthrop Avenue in Rever, Massachusetts. >> Thank you for being here this evening. I'd like to open it up to anyone on the council to make comments. Councelor Sylvester. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Steve, I
appreciate your dedication. Uh continue doing good for the city and uh continue giving back. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Thank you, councelor. Councelor Mccurio. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh Mr. Randon, it's a pleasure to see you. Uh thank you for all the hard work that you do and uh
it's great seeing you up in this chamber and the Ren name carries uh will continue to carry uh with all the hard work that you do. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Jim. Appreciate it. >> Thank you, counselor. President Uh thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh I've
known uh Commissioner Ridden for many years. He's a a man of impeccable character and uh I'm happy that he wants to continue to serve. So uh I couldn't support anybody more than I support Steve Ridd. Thank you.
>> Thank you very much. Uh I just want to say on behalf of my other commissioners that uh we do a very important job as you well know and uh as the hours go by it seems that it gets more and more uh important uh in this country especially.
Uh so I'm very very happy to serve in this capacity. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> I'd ask for a roll call or a voice vote. Roll call.
>> Shall the city council confirm the appointment of Steven Rearen, the reappointment of Steven Rearen to the election commission? Councelor Aenzio, >> yes. >> Yes. Council Kaggleandro, >> yes. >> Yes. Councelor Gino, >> yes. >> Yes. Council Gino SA. >> Yes. >> Yes. Councelor Hass. >> Yes.
>> Yes. Councelor Kelly is absent. Councelor McKenna is absent. Councelor Mccario. >> Yes. >> Yes. Council Noveski. >> Yes. >> Yes. Council Sylvester. >> Yes. >> Yes. And council president [clears throat] Tambudo? >> Yes. >> Yes. The appointment has been confirmed. >> Congratulations. Thank you.
>> Return to the regular order of business. >> Return to the regular order of business. >> Wrong. Communication from the resilience manager relative to a presentation on flood monitoring and community resiliency. >> The floor is yours.
>> Hi everyone. Um, some of you may know me and if I'm new to you, my name is Kristen Holmire. I'm the resilience manager for the planning and community development department in the city of River through the North SuffK office of resilience and sustainability. And today I'm really excited to talk to you about a project that we've been working on for
the past two years. Um, it's looking at building adaptive capacity throughout Rivier. We started in the Beachmont neighborhood. We're now working in the Riverside Point of Pines neighborhood as well. And we're looking forward to telling you more about this project. I'm going to introduce you to my colleague Justine.
>> Hi, good evening. Justine Rooney. I am a coastal scientist/resiliency planner from the Woods Hole Group. So, we're going to walk you through a little bit and I can go through quickly and then we can see if anyone has any questions. But I'm not sure if you guys have seen some of these maps before in
any of the other work that you've done, but these are the Massachusetts coastal flood risk model. In my industry, we look at this as a planning tool. very conservative, but we use it to identify areas for f excuse me for further study.
One of those um has been the beach neighborhood. And when we look throughout the city of Rivier, we look to places that the MCFRM points us to in terms of resiliency planning. That's one factor, but we also know that Revier has
had storms before. There's much there's a ton of evidence on that and we have a ton of pictures here as well. Um, but when we look at that, we know that a lot of people in Rivier already know about their vulnerability. We have a lot of people in Rivier when we go talk to them that they have a lot of stories about
times that they've weathered the storm and they're very proud of their resilience and their ability to weather the storm. What led to our current work is some evidence of past and ongoing flooding. We have residents in low-lying areas in
Beachmont and along Mills Avenue in the Riverides neighborhood which have experienced recurring flooding. We also have public input which has helped identified a need for better flood information, early warning tools, and near-term actions. There's also been a
additional planning work that has happened. I heard that Gibson Park broke ground today, so that's really exciting. Um, it's evidence of what these projects do, but they also take time. Um, we did the Bellow Marsh environmental inventory and vulnerability assessment, the Sus
River wershed coastal v vulnerability assessment. These help identify vulnerable areas along those marsh edges. We did the Sus River wershed shoreline prioritization and adaptation project that we broke down the shoreline into like types. So areas of the
shoreline that had similar characteristics. And from all of this work, our past two years have been working in the Beachmont neighborhood. So, we built a plan looking at both long-term adaptation options and nearterm actions. When we began this
work, we were talking with councelor McKenna and El Baker and they said, "We love a planning study, but these residents are also asking for help right now. Can we look at some near ne near-term actions that could help them? Part of that is looking at historical
flooding data. So when we look at Mills Aav and Pearl A which are two of the major focus areas of this study, we can look over the past um 30 years to identify there has been an increase in flooding in these areas. You can see that Millsav has had more flood events
than Pearlav. Mills Aav has a lower critical elevation. Its critical elevation is 6.5 ft NAVD88 whereas Pearl A is 7.5 NAVD88. I say this only to mention that in the current work that we're doing, we really look at
the critical elevation of these places to to better understand which area is likely to flood first, where the flood pathways are. And all of this led us to a flood monitoring project, which is where we are right
now. We have installed four Honu sensors. Two are in the Riverside neighborhood, two are in the Beachmont neighborhood. Um, and I can I'm going to show you on a map where those are afterwards, but these are looking at flooding in real time. Um, the sensors
do not take any photos. They only collect the water level. They have they look at the distance between it and the ground or it and the water to be identify those flooding fluctuations. One benefit of this is we can notify the
public earlier and I'm going to talk a little bit about that, but we can also collect data. so that we can support these residents who are calling their city counselors and saying, "Hey, we need help. We have a problem." This data will help support future grant requests
by saying, "Here's how frequently we've seen flooding, the severity, etc." So, right now, Kristen and I are working on developing a public web platform for the city's website. Um, and this will help connect residents to this data.
This data is all publicly accessible and it lives online. And one interesting piece about the Honu data is that we can set a threshold to alert residents about flooding. So residents are able to sign
up through the platform to sign up. There are two different types of alerts. There are alerts to let them know that there is likely to be um an event because of the tidal cycle in the lunar cycle, but there's also a flooding sensor that's going to tell them the
distance if there's water touching the ground. Now, when we were in the Beachmont neighborhood, we had residents telling us what we in my industry called social resiliency, where they were knocking on each other's doors, letting them know that their car was likely to be flooded. We want to help support them
and getting them an early warning tool. so that they can move their assets. Um, we're also in this part of the process reaching out to other city departments. We met with two members of the fire department today to talk with them about, hey, how could we leverage this tool to support you? Would this help you
in identifying city streets that might need to be closed earlier, etc. One thing that I would like to highlight is just the amount of public engagement that goes into all of these projects. So you can see Elle probably wouldn't be happy that I have multiple pictures of
her in this presentation, but you can see all this work that we're doing. We're re really working hard to get out into the community and hear multiple voices. We also are utilizing the community liaison. We're going to schools, coffee hours. We've tabled
outside of schools. We've tabled outside of grocery stores, held meetings. So this work is all trying to get this information out to the public and seeing hearing from them what they need as well. So I can stop there and I can go back to
anything and answer any questions. But we just wanted to make you aware of the this work that's going on. These hohu sensors have been placed in this location really as a jumping off point. There's no reason that they couldn't be installed in multiple locations all over
the city. These two locations were selected because they were identified in previous planning efforts and the public was asking for more support. So, they're in these two locations to start. They were a test case. Um, but there's room
to install more. And all of this work that we're describing right now has been grant funded through coastal zone management, coastal resiliency funds, and MAPC funds as well. So the city has used grant funds for these work this work.
>> Great. Thank you for your presentation. >> U councelor Gino SA. >> Thank you Mr. President. Thank you ladies for coming tonight and explaining um doing this presentation. Um as you know I represent the Millsav
and the Point of Pines area. Um given the portions of Milsav which sits um they're saying it sits approximately 6.5 ft in elevation, what specific mitigation strategies are actually being prioritized for the neighborhood besides
the monitors that you guys put in there >> like they're already vulnerable during the king tides. So what what can what else is being put in place? So, the reason why we expanded into the Riverside neighborhood was because we applied for grant funding to continue on
the Beachmont uh project and we actually ended up getting two funding sources, the MAPC accelerating climate resilience grant and as well as the CZM coastal resilience grant. And so that's why we expanded that like our work that we did in Beachmont there. I know that there's a lot of projects going on in the
Riverside neighborhood, hence the meeting we had on April 15th. Um, but I think that if we continue to do education and outreach as well as like work that's been going on through other people in the planning and community development department, we can continue to prioritize strategies that will protect and like help residents in
there. So, while this is just one tool in the toolbox for the Riverside neighborhood, this project is not addressing all threats um to it. >> How about um the impact in the next 10, 20, or 50 years? Like is is something being done to mitigate that? I mean,
this project helps set the stage for more work to be done. Part of what's important for is for us to really understand when we're likely to see see flooding and how much flooding there's been. So, one thing that's interesting is there was a full moon recently and
the water got a little high and we were texting each other being like, is it is there going to be water under the sensor? There wasn't water under the sensor. And part of that is because even though the Boston tide gauge read high enough for there to be flooding, the
wind direction and the way the water flows through the marsh, it didn't reach the roadway. These are really important things for us to be able to set the stage for future grant requests because you've done a strong grant request. You've done studies to identify priority
areas. You've collected data and you've also identified public support. All of which we have been doing. So, I think that the Riverside neighborhood is set up well for any future funding because of all of this previous work, but I know it's frustrating that nothing's
happening right now and the residents have been very engaged. You'll see pictures in our presentation came directly from them um and they come to all the meetings. So, I think this gets this keeps the train moving even though it doesn't feel like we're doing something actionable right in this
moment. Are you guys exploring um resiliency programs and like other um like opportunities for the residents, the homeowners to elevate their properties or like improve the flood
proofing or reduce insurance burdens on these repeatedly affected area. I know that I live on the opposite side and I can't even get homeowners insurance right now because of where I live. >> Yep. So, is there anything else that you guys can help with that mitigation?
>> That's a great question and kind of leads us to something I probably should have touched on more. One part of this project was also exploring the ability to have an elevation utility elevation assistance program within the city. There's a gap in the market. We have
people who are paying for flood insurance but then don't have enough money to make improvements within their own home. In the Beachmont project, we identified that most of the residents along Pearl A wouldn't see flooding in their first floor, but they would see
flooding in their basement, and they already are repeatedly now. A lot of that is also storm water and groundwater flooding. It's just seeping through their basements. But moving your utilities out of your basement is expensive. So, we've been looking at, are there programs throughout the state
that could support a cityrun utility elevation assistance program? Um what we found out is that one doesn't exist. There's a lot of home raising programs that have been leveraged in places like Hall and Situit, but those these homes are older and so a home raising might
not be the best option for them. We did apply for a CZM well it's an eco onetop so it could be MVP or this whole bucket of funding to explore that utility elevation assistance program further. And so we've met with do you wanna we've
met with um what is John is John? >> Yeah we met with John Fesa to see how the like small business loan program runs. We have met with m multiple communities throughout the state about like how they've used utility elevation assistance or like a home elevation program. A lot of home elevation
programs have come through FEMA. That program is currently cut. So, we can't utilize those funds. And that that's also not available to people who don't have access to flood insurance. And the state is looking to create like a buyout or home elevation program, but they're not looking at utilities. So, we are
involved with the state's discussions and giving input about what that program could look like. But we are continuing to pursue what would a utility elevation assistance program for River look like just because we see that need. And in all the outreach that we've done, we've heard so many residents talk about how
they've lost so many cars or they've lost precious momentos or, you know, all their utilities in their basement and flood insurance will pay for it in kind, but they don't have enough money to raise it. So, we're trying to see like how can we address that gap. So, we are doing things to look at that. And then
also, I know um our department's uh looking at the community uh rating system, which is through FEMA, which would lower flood insurance rates. So, I'm currently working on that as well. >> Perfect. Thank you. I have one more question. Um, will you guys continue to keep the residents informed of of
different steps that we're taking in order to help with with flooding? >> Yes, we have more engage >> and the [clears throat] results as well. >> Yes, we have more engagement planned through June 30th, which is the end of one grant deadline, but then we have also more public engagement planned for
the summer. We're hoping to attend community events which are already established so that we're meeting people where they are insteading instead of asking them to take time out of their night to come to another public meeting. We want to make sure that we're we're reaching a broad um majority of the
population with this information about the vulnerability. >> Maybe just a Zoom. >> Yeah, we could offer a Zoom as well. That's totally possible. >> Okay. Thank you so much. >> Yeah. Can I just really quickly do you have a question? >> Oh, go ahead. One more thing. Can we share the screen one more time? I just
wanted to show in case any members of the public are watching and they wanted to know how to sign up. Um, so this so this is the um, Honu website and you can see here I have the Bell Ale Tide Station set up. One thing I want to
point out is that when it's an overwater sensor, you're going to see the title cycles. That's going to be different than if you look at the stations that are over land. um these stations. This doesn't have water under it right now, which makes sense, but nothing's popping up on the sensor. It's not very
exciting. When the public or any of you want to sign up, we're working on making this button bigger because it's pretty small. It even confused me signing up for it. But the little bell gets you signed up. Um you can put in your phone number to sign up for text alerts. I
want to note that these text alerts, there's two different types. There's a king tide text alert. This will notify you about kind of the title cycle that's expected with those larger king tides because of the cycles that we go
through. The high water text alerts are going to alert that there's water underneath that sensor right now. So, these text alerts will either go out in advance, which are the king tide alerts, or the high water text alerts are if
there's experiencing flooding underneath the sensor right now. >> Great. Thank you, Council Mccurial. >> Thank you, uh, Mr. President. Uh, first of all, I'd like to thank both of you for all your hard work that you've done with this. I've been to a couple of your
informational seminars and you girls really do a great job and uh you should be very very proud of what you do. Um just one question that the Honu system do are we going to see a few more in the Beachmont area in the future? >> That's a great question. Um you can see
when I zoom out on the map actually these sensors are all over the place. Um Stone Living Lab which has run out of VMass Boston actually just bought 10 that are currently being installed. Um and nearuse just installed one on uh the
Winthrop Parkway as well. So these sensors sometimes are looking at doing different things. The one on the Winthrop Parkway was looking for a flood pathway to identify where flooding's coming in. We really were trying to use our flood sensors as that early warning tool. So we're using them a little bit
differently. Um the city has these installed now and there could be more in the future. It just depends on making sure we install them in places where there's low points, right, or flood pathways where we feel like they would be valuable to invest in.
>> Have you looked into the Crystal A down in Crystal A? Uh that seems to be a very low point and there's there's quite a few residents that live in that area. >> Yeah, at our March 9th meeting, we did talk to some residents from Crystal A and we told them that the Pearl A sensor
applies to their road as well. So while a future sensor could be put on Crystal Lab, they can still utilize the Pearl app sensor and that can alert them for updates that could be relevant to their home as well. >> The location that we selected on >> high school
We're back on >> the >> Okay. neighborhood. So, Crystal A is likely to see flooding. >> Yeah, >> it's up.
>> Crystal A would see flooding after Pearlav. So the location where the sensor currently sits, there's about a stretch of eight homes um that form one flood pathway themselves. Um and there's just water rushing onto the street. So
they see flooding before Crystalav. The locations the sensor location on Milsav was selected for a similar reason. Although the sensor on Milsav isn't in the lowest spot on the street, we uh ground truththed it. there's water bubbling through the drainage
infrastructure at the same time when it washes onto the roadway. We selected the location on Millsav so that it's out of people's sighteline. We didn't want them to feel like that impaired their view in any way. So, it's over near um Gibson Park. >> Just one more question. And will this
the sensor that you have on Pearl will extend all the way down to the beach area? That seems to be quite a bit. >> It would. Yeah, it it actually the sensor will um you would be able to leverage that data for anywhere around the marsh. So, one thing that I would
point out is that this middle line, although it doesn't reference exactly to river, that's actually the elevation of Morton Street in Winthrop. We also I've also worked on a project on Morton Street. So, that could their elevation is seven feet. So, they could also sign
up for the sensors and benefit. It's transferable to everyone around the marsh and it would apply to the the school along the marsh's edge as well. The the Pearl SE section really is one of the lowest points along that whole stretch. >> So, we must encourage all the residents
in that area, Crystal Pearl, to sign up for this project because the only the project is only as good as the people that apply and and and sign up for it. So, I encourage all the residents in that area, please take the time and sign up for this. It's an important uh thing for the for the area and uh I'd like to
thank both you girls for all your hard work. I appreciate it. >> Yeah. And let us know I that's a great suggestion to host a Zoom. Let us know if in any of your wards you'd like us to come talk or talk about these projects or the vulnerabilities of various
neighborhoods. That's we're definitely not that everyone wants to hear about flooding and doom and gloom. It is good to be educating people on the various types of flooding that they could experience. And there will also be a river TV ad to show people how to sign up as well. So that way people could access it that way.
>> Council, thank you, councelor. Council Novaski. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Ladies, thank you. U I'm just in awe uh of what this you've gone through so far. I know Beachmont is very vulnerable to the sea
and I know Milsav is vulnerable to the Saras River, but you're not looking in the middle. Okay. behind the Garfield School. We have I've been in this job for 26 years and the last 20 years I've been
trying to get the tea to open up the county ditch along the rip blue line and also along Sales Creek coming out behind there going underneath the Naria Road into Suffach Downs and they just will
not allow anybody in there to dig out that trench. And even part of the uh the water uh where the water goes out underneath Norsha Road, the the drainage pipes are up in the air. They're not even where
they allows the water to leave when there's a real real heavy heavy rain and there's a high tide, king tide or whatever and they have to close the the uh the gates in Beachmont on Bennington
Street. the water backs up into Bell Isle back to the Garfield school and I have pictures of it so you know I know it happens ha hasn't happened in a while but we really haven't had that super super rain where everything has happened
at the same time so I would like you to take a look at behind the Garfield school Avalon Street Blake Street Dick Street uh Porter Road which now belongs to council uh what's your name again [laughter] council mccurio um because
that was my area for many years just until this year. So, you know, I would really like to have that evaluated and if you have any influence with getting these ditches cleaned and the culver cleaned uh along Standish Road,
you know, I would be happy. A lot of the people that have lived there in the past have moved because of it >> and you know their cars have been underwater. Their basements have been flooded and all those houses down there have been old cottages.
So, and they people just made them full-time and but they're not really not feasible for flooding, you know, to protect it from flooding. They still get it. So, you know, I would like, you know, you know, I'm sorry I didn't get
involved in this sooner because I really wasn't uh aware of the massiveness >> of what this is. So, I really like, you know, you open the door when you said other wards, you know, and I just wanted to bring this and help protect, you
know, Council Mccurio's people and my old people and even some of them are still my people in my ward the way they drew the lines. But uh I think it's still another area that has to be uh developed and again it's it's a multiple
thing. It's not just tides coming in, you know, >> compound flooding as we call it. Yeah. >> Yeah. This this year this has just been like a test and we would definitely love to expand this work into other areas of Rivier. So we can definitely look into >> Please do appreciate it. Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> Thank you councelor Councelor Sylvester. >> Thank you Mr. president and thank you for coming up tonight. It's great information. Um few of the counselors actually grab my questions. Um but um
the houses on the the the lower areas, the pearl streets, the mills, do these um are there funding uh opportunities to help find them to raise properties? Is there anything in the works to get that
done? Um and and if not, is there funding opportunities or anything in the works to help us uh strengthen our infrastructure, our beach walls, like the most important things that we need done? Like I I I I feel the the federal
government hasn't done their part for the oldest beach in the the country uh to keep the walls maintained. Is there anything in the motion to to help fix those areas? There is a seaw wall grant that is
accessible. I will say that a lot of the grants are focused in what we call nature-based solutions which are looking to work with nature. That was one of the things that actually came up when we came to the beach neighborhood. Councelor McKenna was really excited about the opportunity to get those
residents a structure behind to protect. But in places like this, it's complicated. They have over topping over Short Beach. They have flooding through the marsh. So if you were to pull it in a structure, it might impound flooding. They also have rainwater flooding. So I
would say it's complicated, but Kristen is likely going to come back, keep coming back to you with letters asking for letters of support for various projects or maybe you point out projects to to Kristen and her team that you're interested in studying further and then she can see if there are grant
opportunities to fund that. In terms of the um home elevation, I believe that the state is looking at could they create a program to assist with that. It's a really complicated layering of the cake in terms of flood insurance and the flood insurance
premiums that some people are paying. What did they say along Pearl? >> Yeah, we've heard some people pay $3 to $7,000 a year for flood insurance. So, >> uh, we're trying to find creative ways to help them because the state and federal government are a bit behind on this topic. So,
>> but we've been meeting with MIMA and um, coastal zone management. So, they know that River is a city that is going to be coming to them and asking for more support in the future. >> Is there a timeline that you all see like those lower levels could be in some major danger?
>> It's comp danger is a complicated question. And I mean along Pearlav, we identified through our vulnerability assessment that the basement level is extremely vulnerable. Their first floor actually isn't likely to see um flooding
in the next 20 years. Don't 100% quote me cuz but their first floor was actually relatively resilient. But the danger there is that they are cut off from everything. And when we talked with the fire department, it sounds like they have capacity with all of these various
vehicles and boats, but there could be rushing water past their house and they could lose power. So, one of the things we're thinking about is not necessarily home raising, but with the utility raising, could you could you lessen the service disruption loss? Could there be
could they be out of power for less time? And that sometimes isn't seen as resilient because it's not you don't see the physical structure go up. You don't see the wall go in. Um but we're going to have to get creative in how we help people. But making sure that the the
projects are focused in what the residents are also asking for, which is support. >> Yeah. A few years back, I actually met a resident uh she was flooded in and all our you um uh washing machine, dryer, everything was wiped out. her her
electrical panels and and she just there was no way possible. She she couldn't afford the flood insurance so she didn't have it and then she couldn't afford anything to fix the house. It was it was basically a loss. So thank you for the work you do and helping us stay
educated. >> And one of the things I will note is as we look at that we have talked with residents who are like how could this apply to renters as well? We'd want to make sure that any program would incentiv try to incentivize or work with landlords or the owners of the structure
to try to get them to participate because we know that renters are also extremely vulnerable to flooding and might not have the same amount of savings to be able to purchase even a new mattress. So, thinking about how these programs work, we want to hear voices and opinions. And yeah, we hear
these stories a lot and I credit the public. they are very open to sharing with us and we hear about these tales all over the city. So, >> thank you councelor >> councelor Jenzion. >> Thank you. Uh Mr. President,
um just before I retired from public works in 2023 and I I know along the mills a they were just ready to put in a vegetative burm. Uh what what happened with that? Um, that is not my project. So, I don't and that's also before my
time here. Um, I'm sure councelor Garina SA can comment on that. >> Go right ahead. >> They didn't want it. >> They wanted a wall. >> I will I will note to that fact. It's really important to note that along both Rumy Marsh and Bell Marsh, these are
what we call outstanding resource waters and ACEC's, areas of critical environmental concern. What that means is that these resource areas are regulated and there's a lengthy permitting process. There's certain things that you're not going to be able to do in Salt Marsh like install a
structure. So, as we talk about all these things, we have we're going to have to work within the current regulatory landscape that we have. So, as we try to think about things, we didn't go down the pipeline in Bishmont with a BM because it would have either had to been on private property or not happen. So, as we think about them, we
have to think about the resource areas that are abuing these residential properties as well, >> right? Because I think that, if my memory serves me correctly, uh, a seaw wall wouldn't have been allowed down there. >> Correct. I think they were looking at, and again, that was also not my project. I think they were looking at dropping a
lane and putting the burm along one part of the roadway, but then residents didn't support it. Okay. >> It still could be something that happens in the future if they wanted it. >> I don't represent the area. I just knew knew that was going to I thought it was happening, you know, but I guess the residents didn't want it.
>> They are doing a storm water study there or drainage study down there right now, I believe. >> Okay. Thank you. >> C Leantro, >> thank you, Mr. President. [laughter] >> This is all grant funded. I assume that covers the cost of installation,
materials, data collection, data review. Um what happens if that dries up? Is there any cost to the city after? >> So the city uh has committed to like in perpetuity funding these sensors so that way they're there in perpetuity so
people can still access these sensors after the grant uh funding is gone. Um but we are hoping that we can continue to receive grant funding for this. >> Any idea what we're looking at for a number? >> Less than $10,000 a year.
Wonderful. Thank you, Mr. President. Appreciate you. >> I apolog Mr. President. Sorry. Um, okay. So, we established that the residents over at Riverside did not want the Burm. I still do not understand why they can't have a
seaw wall because my my logic is this. You're looking at Gibson Point. They built a complete wall up there. Why can't the residents of Mills have a wall? It it to me it just doesn't make any
sense. And if there's grant money available and this will protect the homes, why what? You'd have to correct me. I haven't looked at the map in a while, but I do believe the ECE boundary is drawn onto the roadway. There's a really
there's something complex happening down there. Also, a seaw wall isn't always the right choice. Um seaw walls depending on the nearshore area can actually cause scour and increase wave velocity. That's kind of part of what's happening along Short Beach. It comes
and it builds energy. Um, so each area type isn't going to be perfectly suited to a seaw wall. I think a burm there was I think they might have explored multiple multiple uh approaches, but that happens a lot. A firm like me will
come in, I'll look at a seaw wall, a burm, doing nothing, moving the road because we have to look at all those alternatives. So in my opinion, if they got to a burm, there was likely a reason for it. I definitely want you ladies, if we do have one of these astronomical high tides, I would like you to go to
Millsav and I would like you to see where the water goes. It goes all the way to the up and down river and all the the adjoining streets. I mean, it goes all the way to the highway. So, that area of Rivier will be underwater faster
than anybody thinks. So, something needs to be done. I know there's rules and regulations and boundaries to worry about not having a wall, but I think the wall will probably protect this neighborhood more than anything else
will. And and I mean me representing the people there, it's very important that it's going to save lives one way or another. It will save lives eventually, you know. Um and I appreciate all the work you're doing. I'm sorry to, you
know, give you more. Um, and then one more thing. Is there any way to get a sensor on the opposite side on the pine side? >> So, I believe that Stone Living Lab put one up further up on Sagus River [clears throat] Pine and I think we
could always explore like putting sensors in other locations. At the moment, we don't have any uh like a project looking at that, but that's something that we could explore in the future. >> Thank you so much. Thank you. >> Thank you very much for your presentation.
Thank you. >> Placed on file. >> Calendar item number 14, communication from the city auditor relative to the capital waste contract covering the period of July 1 of 26 to June 30th, 2031.
>> Mr. CFO, >> welcome. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Time to talk trash now. We just talked resiliency. Now we're talking trash. >> That's correct. Um, thank you. Um,
before you this evening is what we hope to be an extension of our contract with uh, Capital Waste. They've been uh, great stewards, almost an extension of our staff for at least as long as I've been here, I believe. Um, at least several decades, but at least the past
eight years. And [snorts] um we were in a one-year contract with Capital Waste at 0% for fiscal year 26, which was um greatly appreciated. Um as we navigate through the budget, um we've been sitting down with them over the past
several months trying to come up with a long-term deal that works for both capital waste and the city. And what I have before you is um a five-year deal that we've agreed to [snorts] uh in terms subject to approval by the
council, which is essentially uh the contract for fiscal year 26 with 3 and a half% escalating uh costs for the next 5 years. I did uh attach a spreadsheet with those costs. Um I think it's a a a great contract for the city. Again, uh
consider I'm an extension of our staff. they touch every um house in in the city. Trash is a tough business. Um uprooting and trying to procure out and get new trash service in the city would be um uh very difficult task and and and it it didn't appear that we would
actually reap any savings from this. So I am [snorts] hoping that uh this contract will be ratified by the council and with that we will have um some specific amounts for both collection and uh we have a long-term deal with our disposal of trash and that'll give us
long-term stability in the capital um I mean in the enterprise fund for solid waste and I I hope that we get approval tonight and I'm happy to answer any questions on the contract. Thank you. Thank you, councelor Gorino SA.
>> Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Rich. Um, one question. Does this include fuel charges? >> Councelor, I am happy to say that this contract does not contemplate any type of fuel search charge. It does not um
have any kind of hang-ups for adjustments. These were um you know I was fighting for very uh uh some specific amounts. I I don't like the variable costs. Um again capital they have some concerns. You can just see at the pumps right now but um like I said
they've been uh great to work with and right now we have no fuel search charge in this contract. >> And for how long is this contract for? >> It will be for 5 years beginning in fiscal year 27 through fiscal year 31 if approved. >> I commend you. Great negotiations.
>> Thank you. Appreciate it. >> Thank you, councelor. Councelor Novasowski. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Uh Rich, u I had some questions on the uh the chart that you put together on the summary. Uh you're showing white good collection and
disposal. >> Is that does that mean they're going to go around and pick up white goods around the city? >> Yeah, that's what they do right now. I mean, once it get called in, we we uh >> when somebody pays for it and has a sticker or something like that or Um,
it's my understanding that they are picking up our white goods right now. >> I didn't realize they were doing that. >> I didn't realize that either. >> What are black goods? >> Yeah. >> I haven't heard otherwise. Um, if
they're not doing it, we'll take it out of the contract. But >> yeah, well, you know, I don't, you know, I'm not sure how it works. You know, who tells them? They just put out a washing machine and they're going to pick it up. >> No, has to be a Personal privilege. Mr. President,
>> state your point. Council Sylvestri, >> I believe you uh you you call in or or get online, you pay for your item, and then twice a month they come around and it's on a Friday and they pick up the large bulk item.
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. I never used the service honestly, so I I couldn't tell you, but >> thank you for that information. [clears throat] >> Appreciate the help. Yeah. I was going to call Mr. Roenzio here for a second. >> Thank you. The second the second thing is the rental fees for the schools. Is the school department being back charged
with those for that? >> Yes, the schools um contribute to uh overall DPW uh services um every year. >> Do they pay specifically for these? >> We I mean we don't we don't itemize the cost council, but we do assess them every year for DPW services, which
includes trash collection >> and anything supplement over that. That's just a rental fee for the services. Yeah. No, I understand that. But, you know, I just want to make sure they're paying for it. >> Yeah. They they they pay, but I wouldn't say it's correlated dollar for dollar. We don't build them specifically for these dumpsters, but they do contribute
to the DPW services through through the schedule 19. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you, councelor. Councelor McCurio. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Just a quick qu two quick questions. Uh Richard, thank you for uh being here. also uh so this approach is better extending
instead of going out for bid >> I think so I mean there are the pro closest proximity to us which I believe is helpful in trying to mitigate through fuel search charges um I've done um I've
I've changed collection companies in different cities and it's a nightmare these people like I said they know what streets are uh they have to back down they know which hills they got to go down. They they they're like I said, they're an extension of our staff. Um last year when we needed their help,
they gave us a 0% increase. Um I didn't think that there was much benefit on going out to bid. I did bring five contracts from five municipalities. They vary widely in cost and services. Some of them are uh almost allocott uh to the point where it's ridiculous. Uh some are
flat fees that are extraordinarily high. And um I certainly wouldn't be here before you if I thought this was a bad deal. And how much did the city pay in tipping fees last year? >> I'd have to check that, but I think it's about um 2 million bucks. We do have a
um per ton contract with wind [snorts] waste for the next 10 year uh well, I'd say eight years now, but um that's a variable cost. So depending on how much trash, more trash, more tipping fees, but we do have a per ton um rate that I can I can provide for you. But um and I
can also get you those costs, but didn't bring them with me at this particular meeting. And on the uh line item of the yard waist collection, is that two times in the spring and two times in the fall? Can you explain that to the residents? >> No, that's all that's every other week for I believe nine months. Yes, that's
the that's the bags that we put out starting April 1st. That >> goes throughout the whole season. >> I think we extended it right through the end of the calendar, December as well. I think we added a a month on to that service um a couple years back. So that's that's nine months of service pretty much. Great. >> Thank you for that. And we don't we
don't pay for the yard waste dumping right now. Part of our contract with Wind Waste is um we get to dump that for free so long as they can uh dump it over there at their facility which has served us well. That was part of the last negotiation. So all we're paying is for the hauling on that. >> All right. Great. Thank you, Richard.
Thank you, Mr. President. >> Thank you, Councelor Councelor Aensio. >> Thank you, Mr. President. So, I'm fully in favor of this five-year contract. Uh in all my years working with uh DPW, uh we always had a great relationship with um with the waste company, they did a
great job and like um Mr. Visque said, changing trash companies is a is a nightmare. Um and they give a good product. They they they do a lot great collection and they help us out when we need it. As Mr. Visque said with the
zero and 26 uh the recycling disposal is that still cost of the disposal is that still go through? >> Yeah, right now um it's a pass through from capital uh to us using their I
believe they take the Charles Town. I believe they're taking it to JRM. We were at one point getting charged $150 a ton for that. we had changed over and they were saving us significant money, but unfortunately right now we're in an environment where it costs us more to get rid of recycle than it does our our
trash. And and that that is that's a that's a variable fee no matter what. That's a commodity right now. So I think we're paying about $100 a ton to get rid of recycling, which is unfortunate, but um that's that's uh that's a pass through currently with uh capital waste.
But that that may be a service that we may put out to bid and see if we can find some better rates on that. But this uh single stream recycling used to be all the all the hype, but it's it's really not rewarding to us at all at this point, >> unfortunately.
>> Prior to the um budget hearings, do you think you can do an analysis of the tonnage that we pick up per month and has it been going up, down, has it? >> Yeah, we track it every month. I have a spreadsheet. I can give you the history on that. No problem at all. >> Okay. If you could provide that.
>> Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we like I said, we track it monthto month. So, I can give you that and the cost related to it. Give you the time and Jan how much we pay. Like I said, every month it's a different rate depending on the commodity. >> Okay. Thank you very much, >> Councelor Janeo.
>> Thank you, Rich. I've had I've had to call Capital Way several times over the last year or so and always had good responses and good results with them and I'm glad we're not changing companies over. I've also had to call several dumpster companies up over the last year and got nowhere with them. So, I just want to thank him for
keeping the way it's been. >> Oh, I'll pass it along. Yeah, thank you. Like I said, I believe them to do a great job and uh Joe and [clears throat] Mike have always been uh very responsive anytime I've ever called them at a problem or an issue. >> They always respond.
Thank you, councelor. Anybody else? >> I'll put my two cents in if you don't mind. Um, I want to congratulate you on negotiating this deal. This is a a great deal for the taxpayers in the
city of Riviera. I don't know how you did it. I don't know how you didn't get a uh a gasoline uh uh or a fuel uh search charge on there, but that's quite an accomplishment. Now, with the uh
long-term deal we have with Wind Waste, which was a very uh favorable deal for the city, I think with this with capital waste, uh this probably makes the city rever uh
have the best rate for trash removal in the state. I know that's a stretch, but I I'd be willing to bet on that. Um, so yet to be commended for both the negotiations, the one the 10-year deal with Wind Waste and the 5year now with
capital waste. I think it it it puts us on uh an even path and we know we won't be paying the throw for the next uh at least eight or 10 years. Uh so that's
something that most cities and towns can't say and it's because of uh a lot of hard work on your part and uh I appreciate it because I know I know how this stuff goes and uh just grateful to you for that and uh
thank you very much. >> My pleasure. No problem. Happy to do it. Madame Clerk, >> shall the city council approve the contract between the city of River and Capital Waste covering the period of July 1 of 26 through June 30th, 2031? Councelor Aenzio,
>> yes. >> Yes. Council Kogleandro, >> yes. >> Yes. Council Gino, >> yes. >> Yes. Council Gino SA. >> Yes. >> Yes. Councelor Hass, >> yes. >> Yes. Councelor Kelly is absent. Council McKenna is absent. Councelor McCario, >> yes. >> Yes. Yes. Council Novaski. >> Yes. >> Yes. Councelor Sylvestri.
>> Oh yeah. >> Yes. And Council President Samuto? >> Yes. >> Yes. The contract has been approved. >> Counselor item number 15. Communication from the city auditor relative to the quarterly appropriation for Reier TV. >> Almost forgot about that one. Uh pretty
typical. I think you all are used to this quarterly appropriation from uh from those [snorts] funds. So happy to answer any questions. >> No, no questions. On a roll call, please. >> Shall the city council approve an
appropriation from the cable access receipt reserve fund to pay Reier TV's quarterly invoice in the amount of $82,28149. Councelor Aenzio, >> yes. >> Yes. Councelor Cogleandro, >> yes. >> Yes. Council Janino, >> yes. >> Yes. Council Gino SA. >> Yes.
>> Yes. Councelor Hass, >> yes. >> Yes. Councelor Kelly is absent. Councelor McKenna is absent. Councelor McCario, >> yes. >> Yes. Council Novaski, >> yes. >> Yes. Councelor Sylvestri, >> yes. >> Yes. And Council President Samuto, >> yes. >> Yes. The appropriation has been approved.
>> Council item number 16 is a motion presented by councelor Kelly. In her absence, she has asked that the motion be held over to the next meeting in accordance with the city council rules of order. >> Motion to table. Calendar item number 17, motion
presented by councelor Goino SA that the mayor request the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and all appropriate state agencies to review and approve the installation of a do not block the box marking on the southbound side of Northshore Road between 1090 and 1096 Northshore Road directly in front
of the engine 5 fire station apparatus bay doors in the interest of public safety and emergency response access. further that the mayor request expedited consideration of this matter due to these significant safety concerns outlined by deputy chief Paul Chver of the Reier Fire Department, including
delays in emergency response, restricted access for fire apparatus entering and exiting the station and repeated near collision incidents involving emergency vehicles and the traveling public. Further that copies of this motion be forwarded to State Rep. Jessica Janino,
State Rep. Jeffrey Turo and Senator Lydia Edwards in the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for immediate review and coordination. Council Zamuto recused from discussion on this matter. >> Council Gorino SA. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Um, currently
when traffic backs up at the River Street and session of Northshore Road, even though there is a sign in front of the fire station that says do not block, it is consistently blocked. Cars just
pile one right after the other. They totally ignore it. Um, which it creates a serious delay in emergency response. So when the fire trucks are trying to either come in or come out,
they can't do it. They have to sit there and wait. And you're talking about people's lives being on the line, if a firetruck can't get out, and you're talking two, three minutes till that light turns and cars decide to start moving. Um, I've been working with
Deputy Chief Paul Chvers and he outlined an a whole thing for me which I forwarded it over to our state delegation and um, our state rep. Jeff Turo is going full force and has already contacted the
state um, to see what would can be what can be done and hopefully this will get done in a timely fashion. Thank you. Anyone else on the motion? All in favor? All opposed? So ordered.
>> The city council will stand adjourned till May 18th. >> Council, Mr. President, point of personal privilege. >> State your point. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Uh I just want to remind everyone um May 8 uh May 17th
is the annual wounded vet run. Um they invited us all. It will start at Harley-Davidson and end at the VFW in Beachmont. They'd like all of our support. If you can't make it, uh, it's again May 17th. Thanks.
>> Thank you for that. Anybody else? Okay, we stand adjourned till May 18th.