no that's not good evening welcome to the Monday April 7th 2025 city council meeting please stand to salute the flag i pledge allegiance 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 madame clerk roll call the members roll call of the members councelor
Aenzio here here councelor Cogleandro here here councelor Janino here here councelor Gino SA here here councelor H here here councelor Haramo here here councelor Kelly here here councelor McKenna here here council Novaski here
here councelor Zamudo here here and council president Sylvestri here here quorum is present first side approval of the journal of the regular meeting of March 24th all in favor all opposed then we have a motion presented by
council president Sylvestri that the city council read into the record and approve a resolution of condolence on behalf of former city councelor John P jordan who passed away on April 5th of 25 over this weekend i have a resolution of condolence right here to read into the
record whereas former city councelor John P jordan has rendered conspicuous faithful and honorable public service to the citizens of the city of River in his duties as a city councelor and whereas Almighty God in his infinite wisdom has called former city councelor John P jordan to his eternal reward and whereas
the sad calling from our midst of former city councelor John P jordan leaves a vacancy in the official family of the city council of the city of River that will be difficult to fill and a memory that will long be cherished now therefore be it resolved that the members of the city council extend to the family of former city councelor John
P jordan on behalf of the citizens of Reier our heartfelt sympathy and sincerest regrets on their profound loss and be it further resolved that in recognition of former city councelor John P jordan's service to the citizens of the city of River that the city council pay sincere tribute to his
memory by spreading upon the official records of the Reier city council a copy of this resolution of condolence thank you Madam Clerk city Councilors Council Zamutoo thank you Mr president uh John Jordan was a
uh great city councelor a standup guy we didn't always agree but the the one thing you knew about John Jordan is he loved the city of Riviera uh everything he did up here was in his view for the betterment of
the city of Rivier like I said we didn't always agree uh but we could be and and and I think we have that kind of a council right now that we can agree to disagree uh and not be you know angry about it but uh he was a he was a he
bled revere if I had to put it into words i didn't prepare anything because it was a shock to hear that he had passed away but uh he was certainly uh someone uh he was a friend and he was a
uh a wonderful colleague and uh he'll be missed thank you thank you councel councel Novaski thank you Mr president mr president uh I had the honor of serving with John back in
1978-79 and we got along so well and he did love the city rever and he'd do anything he could to make every ward in this city better he was a great guy we'll miss him uh we have his dad's
picture up here and as as a state rep and uh it's sad we we I knew he was failing and you know I wasn't surprised when I got the word but uh it's a great great guy and uh we'll all miss him and
remember him dearly thank you thank you council council Janino thank you again yeah Jordan was a outstanding person in the city i remember going back to the 90s delivering council packets having a lot of conversation with him he'll be missed
and it was sad news to hear thank you counselor any other council members okay if we can all rise in a moment of silence madam clerk Calendar item number four deborah Neland of Fore Kids Only will conduct a presentation relative to the grant 4
Kids Only has received pro to provide additional services for afterchool programs in the city of River hello name and address for the record please thank you thank you hello everyone my name is Debbie Nean Keegan and I am the
ctor of four kids only after school programs some of you may know us here in the city of Rivier as Youth Emotion on Broadway ready yeah thank you so thank you so much for allowing us the time to uh present in front of you today um for
kids only after school i did um have slides are in your packets that are in front of you right now and I think they might be somewhere up on the screen yeah okay so a little bit about our public charity um four kids only after school
was founded I was actually the one of the co-founders 40 years ago in the community of Winthrop 1984 um I was previously a special education teacher and I've also was one of the alternative high school directors in the
Commonwealth of Mass and we were at the time in the 80s uh transporting a significant number of children from the city of Ravier to our program in Winthrop and I received a phone call from Superintendent Thai Carol Tai at
the time saying we need afterchool programs here in our city so with a competitive bid process for kids only was awarded a contract here to work with the Riviera public schools in
1998 um I personally did not graduate from Rivier um public schools however my father is a proud graduate Joe Grazo and my family is all from Rivier um my aunt many of you may know her is a nurse
Connie Miller and she's my godmother and I also have um cousins that have taught in the district so we're all a family of educators um we also have programs outside of the city we serve over a thousand children and presently we have
1,600 children that we serve every day in communities such as Riviera Chelsea Everett Peabody um in Winthrop so we primarily work in urban communities um here in the city of Riviera we serve about 105 children
every day at our program on Broadway um these children are kindergarten through grade five and we have a contract through the department of early education and care and that we are a licensed um child care provider um many of our children that come to us receive
special education services during the school day through an IEP 504 plan or they receive counseling we provide transportation every day from the Garfield the Hill the Lincoln and the Whan schools we wish we could provide
transportation from all the schools however with the cost of transportation and our ability to pay for two buses were not able to make the circle if anybody has any friendly suggestions we're always open to serve the other children in schools that are on our wait
list right now um we also here in the city of Rivia which is why um we were invited um to speak to you and if I can just back up a little bit um the reason why we're here is because um council councelor McKenna came up to me um as
well as the mayor to make sure that we were okay during the bridge construction the first phase and when we're talking councelor McKenna said you know so much is going on in that building that I don't believe the city is aware of and we started talking
about one of the contracts that we just received through the department of early education which is a homeless contract here in the city so she invited me to come to speak to you about the many contracts that we have here which many of you may not be aware of at this point
in time and I really want to explain to you and the public at large that there's so many opportunities here for our city's children and we do have a um we have about 40 seats right now that we could serve in our building and many of those seats are free of charge based on
the needs of the population with me by the way is Nick Jean Baptiste who is our district director here in the city who can also answer any questions that you might have so one of the um grants that we have is and we're the sole provider here
in the city for school age children is a grant with the department of children and families that means that any child that has an open case with DCF that has need of service can come to our program immediately free of charge and these
children um can come all year round not just after school but in the summertime on school vacation weeks every day we're open until 5:30 in the evening um and on school vacation weeks we open at 7:30 in the morning as well as the summertime
until 5:30 we close only 16 days a year for u major holidays um so those children are children that have been you know deemed with abuse or neglect in the homes um and in addition to that we have
a we just received a homeless contract which means that any family in the city of Riviera who has been determined to be homeless can come to our programs immediately free of cost now these are school age children only because we're an exclusive licensed school age
provider um for grades kindergarten through 8 at the present time we're kindergarten through five as I told you because we ran out of space and we had to make a hard decision a few years ago right before COVID and that we had to have our middle school population
um exit at that time which was a very hard decision for us but we had to make that decision again we feel there's a need for middle schoolers and we would do anything to open up a middle school program here in the city um we have a huge weight list for middle schoolers especially when they age out of our
program what you see on the slide here is our percentage of enrollment by referral and funding as I explained to you we're a nonprofit public charity governed by a board of directors um a substantial 53% of our children are
funded through the state voucher program it's a child care voucher that income eligible working families can receive or families with other demonstrated hardships families that are in the military families of children raised by grandparents foster children etc so
those children apply for a voucher and just like a housing voucher and they can come to our program with a subsidized um fa rate by the Commonwealth of Mass and they pay their family portion 22% of our families do pay privately
however most of the private pay families don't pay the full rate of $26 a day um we use offsetting dollars from the United Way for example or from our helping families fund which is funds that we raise through um our annual gala
or other fundraisers that we have we also have other philanthropists that have donated to us to help um scholarships for children in addition to the city dollars that have given provided to us through the um small cities grant fund that we applied for
and we thank you for that um so in addition to that we have as I explained 10% uh CDBG scholarship dollars and 15% of DCF a little bit about our team and then
I can um ask stop so you can ask questions um we have here in the city of Riviera a district director and that's Nick Jean Baptiste who oversees a psych a full-time site coordinator Jenny Ruiz
Hernandez who's with me today and we have a full-time behavioral health coordinator Olivia King in addition to that we have out of schooltime educators both full and part-time that work for us we have a family greeter that sits at
the door every day to make sure that the doors are secure and safe for the children we also have inclusion specialists we are a counten provider which means that we do not believe in exclusion of any child all children in the city of Ravier are welcome embraced
and celebrated and appreciated for their differences so if a child is having a difficult time we use funding dollars to help provide for inclusion specialists so they can be mainstreamed in the classroom or we give them a one-on-one aid if that's what we feel they need in
order to be successfully mainstreamed in addition to that we have enrichment specialists and these are community specialists that come to us to provide special ser uh services and programs for children such as a soccer clinic or a
baseball clinic or an arts clinic or a music clinic and those are communities community uh members that volunteer and also right now we just received an afterschool out of schooltime state grant which will allow for payment of
those specialists so if you know of anybody that would like to give their time to our program to teach a class once or twice a week for one hour we embrace that and would love um for them to um join us if you see here 65% of our staff
reside in the city of Riviera we do our best to do our outreach efforts to employ residents here in the city 70% of our staff graduated from Riviera High School 40% speak a second language 80% are college graduates or completed some
college coursework and we are very proud right now that three are in the process of receiving an out of school time apprenticeship certificate through the Mass Department of Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development fko for kids only after school we will be the
first in the Commonwealth of Mass and the first in the country to have our apprentices graduate this year we have 22 apprentices in our organization three of them coming from the city of Riviera they come to work every day at 10:00 a.m
while the children are in school and we have an earn tolearn model where they get paid to go to school and to learn with their colleagues um and then they also um have a mentor a one-to-one mentor they belong to a community of
practice and it's a very um cutting edge um exciting career opportunity that we hope can lead to other career pathways or perhaps they stay on as an out of schooltime educator and then I think I'll leave it here the
rest of the um the slides are about what happens at FKO um the last two pages of your packet talks about our community partnership opportunity that I said that we're looking for community uh members
to teach a class and art cooking dance gardening tis the season of gardening would love to start our own vegetable garden and plant garden if anybody is enjoying that kind of thing science sports theater yoga and finally um you
will see our final page are all the partners that support our organization the Department of Early Education and Care we receive funding from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Department of Children and Families we are a United Way Mass Bay
partner um we also received philanthropy dollars from Cummings Foundation Alden Foundation Amelia Peavey and etc as you'll see here and we just received a wonderful grant through uh Mass General Hospital to provide mental health counseling and support for our children
and families that are in need right now as you all know we have found after the um pandemic uh a huge slide in development and we're finding our children and staff are appearing like five years
developmentally delayed i shouldn't say delayed but behind where they used to be right because they lost that socializing opportunity so we're putting a lot more resources into that we also find with a lot of our um newcomers migrant populations here that they need extra
supports so we're putting funding into that as well so I'm going to leave it there and any questions please feel free to ask thank you for your time thank you Deb great job thank you Council McKenna thank you Mr president thank you Deb for
coming up here i mean we had this we have this building on Broadway and people drive by it all the time and people don't know what's going on inside and you just gave a wealth of knowledge to these people that have no idea what was happening in there i mean I really
do think that the public if it's needed to take advantage of this excuse me so I thank you for coming up here and sharing what you do i mean it's just incredible what you do and uh keep on doing a great job for the city
thank you thank you thank you all for your support council me thank you Mr president uh Deborah nice to see you and thank you so much for joining us i really appreciate the work that um for kids only does um for a variety of
reasons i know and you can correct me if I'm wrong but a lot of the parents and families that you're serving are able to go back into the workplace because of the services that you serve uh can you tell us a little bit about that um what you know the economic impact that early
education and care has for the labor force and for econom economic development for a city yeah thank you so you know not only is um for kids only here to support the out of schooltime needs of the school age child through expanded learning opportunities
enrichment opportunities bringing learning alive right through meaningful experiences we are truly um supporting the working families that is part of our mission and we have found that so many of our ch uh families are able to continue to go to work um because they
have a safe place for their child to go after school we've also found through our data that families are saying to us that not only do they feel more comfortable while at work they are being they are being reporting to us that their work productivity is better during
the out of school time hours when the kids are in school they feel comfortable right because they're safe and they're with you know wonderful educators but many of these children would be on the streets after school if they didn't have a safe place to go so I think this is clearly a path to economic mobility and
viability and um we see it every day in our work um thank you for asking that question yeah thank you Deon i'm sorry i have a few more questions for you just because I am concerned about some of the things that are happening not so much at RF at um for kids only but um and I want
to just get a sense of what the landscape looks like over the next few years of course we know that the federal administration for just closed the Head Start office in um the regional office here in Boston head Start for those of you who are here with us provides early
education and care for a lot of kids and I just want to make sure that your program is not affected and if it is how we can do how and what we can do from the council to ensure that your services aren't impacted um and then the final question is like are there any
municipalities in the state that are providing additional resources to early education and care to ensure that folks can go back to work so I guess first the head start question making sure that that's not impacting you i know it's impacting a lot of working families but maybe it's not impacting your program in
in particular and then you know what municipalities are doing would great to know yeah thank you so we do not receive head start funding because we're school age provider however we are very worried about the uh certainty of our grant-f
funded program because many of our grants start at the federal government go to the state government and we're seeing cuts happen um as you know daily maybe hourly so we um worry um because
there is going to be a ripple effect if these cuts continue to happen um the state legislators are going to have to make some hard decisions and most of our funding is through state government um dollars and some of those hard decisions right have they frozen the child care
financial assistance grants right now yep so right can you help us for the edification of the group yeah so I didn't want to bring the doom into it but however state dollars have been frozen vouchers have been frozen right now um that's why we are really trying
to uh leverage philanthropy dollars as best we can but as you know private dollars come and go um they usually give you like a little grant for $10,000 and how many kids can you serve with that right so um right now the state has
frozen all child care vouchers for income eligible families the only children that can receive a voucher right now are those children as I talked to you that are homeless or that have open cases with DCF thank you Dev and income when you say
income eligible what are those eligibility limits um just sorry yeah so it depends on the family size and I can get that to you um there's a whole like matrix in terms of how how many children are in the family whether it's a two parent family etc um so and and it's a
sliding fee scale um I have a whole uh subsidy team that manages that we have family enrollment specialists that speak multiple languages if anybody in the community is interested please I we I ask that you don't give up like I want community members to know that we're going to put you on a wait list and
we're going to try to move you as quickly as possible um one thing I can say about for kids only after school is I have a big voice up the hill uh they know me well that's what happens after 40 years right so um we will um advocate for rever uh citizens to um make sure
that our voices their voices are heard um we will speak on their behalf and do the best we can to get them off to get that state weight list open but again like I say so much of it is in the powers right now of administration up at the uh federal government okay and then
the question about the municipalities is are there any municipalities that are doing like their own voucher systems or anything like that yes yep so there are municipal we are working with um another city that is right now dedicating city dollars to um close the gap for so many
children that may not meet the income eligibility um requirements um you have to be like under the 50% average income and so many of the families they're like right on the cutting edge or they're hardworking families right and so they may not be deemed poverty but they are
in need of child care so this community um that we're working with um has been able to um address this need by putting in um city dollars on a uh annual basis um to support the needs of children and also they're um allowing us use of
school space for free in all of their um in their whole complex um which is really helpful because occupancy cost as you know is a lot of a lot of your budget thank you Deb and thank you Mr president for your leisure there thank you councel council
thank you Mr president deb thanks so much for being here nick thanks so much for being here i'm glad you touched on um one thing I've always wondered about and that was the middle school students if there was any programming in the works or maybe in the future you know any future plans for them and you know
someone might look at FKO and say well the kids are too old the they're middle school kids but anytime you can talk about structure the kids being in the gyms the kids being in the computer labs the library after school I think that's a great thing and I'm just curious if there's anything in the future for the
middle school programs thank Yeah thank you for asking that the mayor has also been talking to me about this because it's a an interest of his as well and I think there's a lot of like um not spot programs but like you know programs like
you know a basketball pickup class or an afterchool club that meets the needs some of the needs of of middle school children we're talking about the middle school child that really needs a place to go every day in order to be safe like these are the kids many of them
high-risisk that need to know and the families need to know that every day after school until 5:30 my child is someplace safe um and I don't have to worry when I go to work so I think that's the need right now in this community and I I know you your father
was like a huge um champion on this and I I feel like this is something that if we can find a way and and I know the mayor has has talked to me several times about trying to figure out a way to use spaces um I feel like it would really
allow for um these children to thrive in a lot greater way because what happens in the fifth grade we make it a celebratory for them and Nick can talk about this better than I but like we have a graduation they don't want to go they don't want to They've been with us
since kindergarten and all of a sudden you're turning into a sixth grader and we're like "All right fly birdie." And they're like "I don't want to fly i want to stay my sister's here my brother's here." So like those kinds of I think it's really important and if they could have a place for of their own that they
know they can go after school every single day I think that would matter we unfortunately don't have the space on Broadway because we can only serve 140 children every day and that's really stretching it we like to keep the number at 120 in order to have every child um
thrive in the best way they can so thanks for asking that question because that's a real priority for me and if if anybody has any ideas we're in we're in and we'll help make it happen thank you Council Councelor Zambo
thank you Mr president uh I feel like an old man i I remember you from many years ago and uh I have to congratulate you on where you've come and uh reveal was uh at the
beginning stages when you first came before us here and you've uh was pre-building before the building and all that stuff and you became a real partner i had asked you to be a partner with the city and you stepped up to the plate and and and
uh I'm proud of what you've done and uh your program is as a model for uh you know um you've helped a lot of families and you're still helping a lot of families and uh unfortunately we're in the crazy
times and and uh um it would be nice to have the older kids stay but at least you're getting them to that stage and uh I want to thank you for all you've done for the city of Revier and thank you for being a good partner and
keep up the good work thank you thank you councel council coando thank you Mr president um Deb thanks for being here i know that I'm surprised we haven't met yet um we my school has done work with you in the past where you've had kids
come to our program as well um so I just want to tell you I've seen this how it works firsthand i've been in the facility and I'm really happy that you guys chose River as home uh so I just wanted to thank you very much and thank you for coming tonight with the presentation thank you thank you
counselor any other counselors deb thank you very much great job thank you thank you for having me thank you next up is public comment pursuant to chapter 402 of the acts of 1965 okay if anyone that's a rea
resident has something to say on any motion please come up name address and the motion you'll be speaking on you have two minutes anthony Tutler motion 30 uh 111 Breen Lane about the proposed
term limits for city councilors i'm currently in opposition largely because I believe it hinders the competitive spirit of politics that same spirit we see the broader country that in many instances drives innovative solutions and essentially brings the best out of all of us if there is a newcomer in the field of politics they should be given
the opportunity to prove themselves even if it is against the seasoned veteran in essence meritocracy rewards when our elected officials are perceived to have done a good job they will be rewarded at uh by the electorate conversely do not underestimate the voting population in
rever they are sharp enough to ascertain when an elected official uses their position for nefarious purposes while term limits may increase the younger candidates's chances of being elected I believe the competitive dynamic of running against an established name benefits the newcomer so for those of
you in the audience and those watching at home who feel discouraged an election is your opportunity to hold your elected officials accountable instead of uh eliminating the candidates in the race by a term let's keep the fields open not deprive ourselves of equality options and uh I would encourage the council to
echo my opposition thank you thank you do we have anyone else okay that is closed madam clerk calendar item number five unfinished business petition submitted by National Grid to install a pole across from 55 Walnut A beginning at a
point approximately 134 feet north of the center line of the intersection of Shirley Aav and Walnut A and continuing approximately 17 feet in an east direction petitioner national grid is this you council Noasowski thank you
Mr mr president uh since the last meeting nobody from National Grid has reached out to me they have not marked anything for pole location they have not done a uh dig safe locations and at this point you know I said I was against it
before i'm still against it now and I ask that we shoot it down thank you any other city councilors okay Council Zamutoo I got a green light okay uh thank you Mr president uh I would just ask to table it and maybe it
can be worked out councelor I disagree i uh I think we've tried to work it out they have not reached out to us for over a month and uh I think it's time to let it go and let them move on let them find another place
to put this thank you put the I'm sorry to put the antenna has nothing to do with our daily operation and I just want to let it go away thank you thank you Council Kando thank you Mr president that was actually my question is this to
for service or anything like that but it's an antenna so you know we got two people last time now we got nobody today so I demand the next time they're here we get three representatives from National Grid thank you Madam Cler can we roll call
shall the city council grant the relief requested by National Grid to install a pole at 55 Walnut Avenue councelor Aenzio no no councelor Cogleandro no no councelor Janino no no councelor Gino Slaya no no councelor Hass no no
councelor Jerio no no councelor Kelly no no council McKenna no no council Novaski no no councelor Zambudo no no and Council President Sylvester no no the petition by National Grid has been denied next up is the appointment subcommittee
report council McKenna thank you Mr president um tonight we had three appointments uh and I was very impressed with all of them i They were just fantastic uh there um it what they were saying it was just
wonderful um the uh so I would like to um ask the council to vote them out favor favorfully tonight thank you madame clerk shall the city council confirm the
appointments as follows reappoint of Shima Husani to the human rights commission Lark Logan to the cultural council and Sheila Johnson to the human rights commission shall the city council confirm those appointments as reported by chairwoman McKenna councelor Aenzio
yes yes councelor Cogleandro yes yes councelor Janino yes yes council Garino Slaya yes yes councelor Hass yes yes councelor Hario yes yes councelor Kelly yes yes council McKenna yes yes councelor Novaski yes yes yes councelor
Zamudo yes yes and Council President Sylvester yes yes the appointments have been confirmed mr president councelor I'd like to motion to suspend the rules and take up item number 15 madame Clerk we suspend the rules under
suspension of rules all in favor all opposed i I ordered challenge item number 15 communication from the chief financial officer relative to the memorandum of agreements for patrol officer for police patrol
officers and police superior officers mr mayor good afternoon honorable council i'm here with my CFO our CFO and uh we wanted to present uh we're happy to present uh after nine months of uh intense negotiations i think I'd say the
intense you know a little arm twisting right too soon um we were able to uh reach an agreement with both the patrol officers and superior officers unions um I won't speak uh too much into the details i think you have them in your packets i know that a few members of the
police department both uh representing unions may wish to speak but I just wanted to say that um we we heard uh the uh plight from the police department we also understand that as a changing workforce and it has been for a number of years and we we ser we look to serve
the needs of that changing workforce to make sure that River is an advantageous community to work in uh because we know that when we have a good working police department it's going to uh reflect positively on the on the representation we see on the streets interactions we see with our young young adults and of
course the protection that they provide to all of our homeowners travelers and business owners and I'm just uh really excited that we're able to get this uh get this deal done and uh with that and I know the next council meeting you'll have one of our last contracts that will officially be signed that'll clear the
deck for all of our contracts uh for the next few years so congratulations to both the patrol officers union and the superior officers union and of course congratulations to the city of Rivier thank you thank you Mr mayor
thank you Mr mayor honorable council I'm Sergeant Joe and here with the members of both patrol officers superior officers associations um we're here to speak in support of the memorandum of agreement in front of you today after eight or nine very long
months of negotiating we're able to come out with a fair deal for both the city of River and the police department we discussed the needs of the current workforce and the de demands of our officers mayor Keefe and his administration recognized the call for support to our department and delivered
on a promise to invest not only in our quality of working conditions but our quality of life which will in turn be the betterment of the community safety and that's what's important to us uh changing the schedule is what one of the
big factors and I don't want to go off script too much but it was a big deal some of us have been advocating for this for over 13 years and to get it done under this administration it's in front of you today um we couldn't be more happier with that um for everyone involved
sergeant Hickey with the um River Officers uh union vice president i want to thank you all for hearing us um especially I want to thank Mayor Keith Keefe and his administration i saw Mr visque sitting back there um he uh he knows we went through some intense
intense talks but they were all in good faith we tried to iron out every detail and this was um sort of a show of Mayor Keef investing in not only the quality of our our our working conditions but the quality of our life truly makes a
big difference and I think you're going to see a huge um drastic change in you know the way we police our community so I want to thank you Joe Dooka River Police Officers Association Museum Union President um I
just want to thank the council i want to thank the mayor where wherever he may be there he is thank you very much and especially Mr rich Visque here uh it's been a been a long time coming for this we've been going back and forth for a while but here we are and we appreciate
your time and thank you very much thank you all okay we have two separate roll calls madame clerk oh sorry mayor Keef any city councilors yes council hero mr
president I'm just really excited about this uh you know first of all I know that this has been long negotiations Mr mayor and of course really appreciate you um this contract on behalf of the of the workers but I will say and I would
like to remind the workers this is your win um because you were together uh because of your collective bargaining rights because you have uh you have uh that right uh to be a unit as you negotiate against the boss the boss
happens to be the bearer not a bad boss but boss nonetheless so so you know just remind yourselves of that that this is a hard earned win for your hard-earned uh work um on a personal note I'd like to note that uh I lost a couple of patrol
men who were in my fantasy league because the four on four off was not allowing them uh to fully be vested in my football fantasy football league so I'm glad now I can probably get them back in uh cuz they'll be well rested and they'll be able to deal with my
shenanigans as the commissioner of said league uh but with that said congratulations to the patrolman and the superior officers um and I really do hope those guys come back to my league because I'm running out of people but um nonetheless and congratulations to you Mr mayor for for for getting this done
for the city thank you councelor Councelor Janito congratulations long time coming for 404 i'm glad you guys got it i'm glad you had to work with it look forward to working with this keep up the good work and thank you and be safe
thank you councelor councelor Zamutoo thank you Mr president uh I want to congratulate the mayor and the police this kind of collaboration is it's getting to be routine up here and that's pretty good uh so uh kudos to the
administration and and kudos to the men and women that work hard and deserve what you got but this is this is what we should all be doing is collaborating to for the better of the city and this is a perfect example and thank you all thank
you councelor Council Kleandro thank you Mr president i'm just thrilled that we were able to come to an agreement and that it's going to benefit both the city but mostly it's going to benefit our police officers you guys do way more than most people know about so I want to personally thank you and thank
you Mr mayor for making all this happen thank you thank you councelor councel Garino Sua thank you Mr president thank you so much Mr mayor thank you to the patrolman's union and the superior officers union for working really diligently to get
this contract signed and um I wish you nothing but the best of luck and take care of our streets and please stay safe godspeed thank you councel council has I just want to thank the mayor and the the police union for all their hard work
i know it was a long grueling uh negotiation um with Rich Visque at the helm but um congratulations thanks for all you guys do for the city and its residents um happy fall thank you thank you councel councel McKenna thank you Mr
president um I know um by a lot of you guys because I've had you in school and I know by talking to you uh you weren't happy with what was going on and it's so nice that the mayor and the police department have reached a great
agreement between the both of you and uh both departments and and uh it should help with your you know everyday life because I know that I have a friend that has two um sons on the river police and and I she that they were miserable
because they had to they had duty and then they had to go home and go to sleep and then they had to go back to um work so uh this should help you guys you know relax uh go on vacation maybe take a day
off whatever but morale is big morale is huge so and if we have good morale in the city we'll have good policing so thank you very much thank you counselor permission to speak from the chair thank
you congratulations it was We We've been fighting for for a few years now you guys got it and congratulations a breath of fresh air and protect our city thank you Madam Clerk shall the city council approve the
appropriation necessary to fund the memorandum of agreement between the city of Revier and the Revier Police Patrol Officers Association covering the period of July 1:24 to June 3027 councelor Agenzio yes yes councelor Pagleandro yes
yes councelor Janino yes yes council Garino SA yes yes councelor Hass yes yes council Haramo yes yes councelor Kelly yes yes councelor McKenna yes yes council Novaski yes yes councelor Zambudo yes yes and Council President
Sylvestri yes yes the appropriation has been approved and shall the city council approve the appropriation necessary to fund the memorandum of agreement between the city of Reier and the Revier Police Superior Officers Association covering
the period of July 124 to June 30th 27 councelor Aenzio yes yes council Kaggleandro yes yes council Janino yes yes council Gino SA yes yes councelor Hass yes yes councelor Jeramo yes yes
council Kelly yes yes councelor McKenna yes yes council Vasilski yes yes councelor Zamudo yes yes and Council President Sylvester yes yes the appropriation has been approved [Applause]
back to the regular order of business next up is the zoning subcommittee report council Zambo thank you Mr president uh as we all know the zoning subcommittee met at 5:15 this afternoon
uh with one item on the agenda 25-075 uh Trachillo Development uh for 114 Shirley River the committee voted uh favorably and I would ask for a roll call
thank you councelor madam clerk shall the city council grant the relief requested for 114 Shirley Avenue subject to the conditions as reported out by the zoning subcommittee councelor Arenzio yes yes councelor Cogleandro yes yes councelor Judino yes yes councelor Go
Slaya yes yes councelor Hass yes yes councelor Jamo no no councelor Kelly no no council McKenna yes yes council Novaski yes yes council Zambo yes yes and Council President Sylvester yes yes the special permit has been granted
subject to those conditions next up is the economic development subcommittee report council Green thank you Mr president um it was reported out with a favorable recommendation from the economics uh development subcommittee to convey all
tax title properties to the affordable housing trust fund uh board of trustees with hitchborn being specified as unbuildable so it was a favorable recommendation i ask for a roll call madame clerk
shall the city council approve the conveyance of certain tax title title properties to the affordable housing trust fund board of trustees councelor Aenzio yes yes council Kaggleandro yes yes council Jino yes yes council Gino SA yes yes councelor Hass yes yes councelor
Haramio yes yes councelor Kelly yes yes council McKenna yes yes council Melki yes yes councelor Zambudo is absent and council president Sylvester yes yes the tax title properties have been conveyed to the
affordable housing trust fund communications calendar item number 11 communication from the mayor relative to the appointment of Robert Celovich as a constable in the city of Rivier be referred to appointments calendar item number 12 communication from the mayor relative to the reappoint
of Brian Harkkins to the public art commission refer to appointments calendar item number 13 communication from the mayor relative to the reappoint of uh Drew Bunker to the board of health refer to appointments
calendar item number 14 communication from the chief financial officer requesting a public hearing on an ordinance further amending free cash distributions to stabilization funds mr visque thank you good evening richard Visqueke CFO 281
Broadway um I'm here before you to um first of all want to let everybody know that the the city did get its certification of free cash the amount of 4.45 million um that's uh we did pretty good for fiscal year 25 uh we had some good conservative budget had some good
revenue estimates and uh happy to report that uh we turned uh back uh 4.45 45 million to the from the general fund and with that um we are looking to um reallocate the city's um different
stabilization funds as follows um right now currently we put 15% of our general um stabilization fund uh our free cash we put uh 15% we're not looking to change that but we did adopt some new uh
stabilization funds so uh we'd like to modify the capital improvement stabilization fund which is current at 20% we'd like to bring that down to 15% um and then we want to uh begin to contribute 10% of the city's free cash to the River High School construction
trust fund um that's a fund that you uh this body adopted a year and a half ago uh two years ago and um it's beginning to show some uh some promise with some funding that we'll desperately need this body also did um approve a drainage storm water and covert stabilization
fund that has not had any money appropriated to it and I'm happy to report that 10% of this will fund the first $440,000 of that we have some water and sewer personnel here i'm sure they're happy to hear that um want to bring down the affordable housing trust
fund from um 10% to 5% and then the last one is our other post-employment benefits which is basically our retirees health insurance trust fund um and put 5% of our certified free cash into that we've historically put $250,000 a year
but we'd like to kind of have it an even um distribution based upon percentages um this is good for our bond rating and our um financial policies and procedures which we'll update once uh hopefully these get ordained that would commit 60%
of our annual free cash to various trust funds we'd like to leave that 40% available for other things that come up year-end transfers funding uh shortfalls that we may have due to different operational needs but um I uh I recommend that that we adopt these i
think it's good um policy and um happy to answer any questions on that otherwise I'm happy to come to the open meeting and discuss it more thank you thank you Mr visque any counselors mr chairman council
I guess just for the for the lay person at home can you explain to [Music] to can you explain to us what uh the reduction in percentage means for these individual accounts [Music]
um well I mean it all is based upon what's certified in free cash so it's um 5% versus 10% and you know 20% 15% instead of 20% so I mean I can do the math on on what that means what's the practical impact of that reduction
um it just depends on how much free cash is certified again it's a percentage of this year is 4.45 million if we have a great year and we have $10 million 5% of 10 million is obviously a different number but it's really to me what's important is the the allocation of the percentages whereby we're putting 60% of
our free cash in reserves we're not using it to fund the budget we're not using it to balance the budget we're putting this in our reserves these stabilization funds for those who don't know the interest stays with the fund it doesn't go to the general fund so any interest earned on these trust funds which we have actively managed by
professional uh trust fund managers that money stays with the fund so hopefully it helps boost those balances for uh if and when we need those funds to do uh certain uh things that um align with the purpose of the trust so um again I can't put a dollar more money into the
individual trust funds or are we Well again we're putting 5% less than we did per the ordinance in the capital improvement stabilization and we're put 5% less than the ordinance in the affordable housing trust fund but inversely we're putting 10% of our free
cash in the high school construction trust fund whereby we had no allocation and likewise for drainage storm water and cover stabilization which is new there was nothing attached to that so that 10% so if you looked at it last last current policies allocate 50% of
the free cash into four accounts now we're looking to allocate 60% of it into the six accounts as listed on the on the spreadsheet on the uh on the memo can you give me the the philosophy behind cutting the capital and the affordable housing trust fund transfers yeah to
fund the high school construction trust fund and the drainage storm water and cover stabilization fund it's it's it wasn't as if we targeted that but that just seemed like a reasonable allocation based upon you know we don't want to spend 100% of it and we don't want to go less than 50 so 20% was the highest
allocation that we brought down you can think of the high school stabiliz you can think of the high school construction trust fund as a as a basically another form of a capital improvement stabilization so in some respects we're adding to that and the drainage storm warning we put 10% in there because quite frankly it's it's
desperately needed in the city i think everybody knows the drainage and storm water issue so um wasn't meant to be uh a penalty to one fund versus the other it just seemed like a pretty decent representation of how we can spend that money and then leave some money left behind for uh extraordinary unforeseen
circumstances that may come up through the year thank you any other counselors madame clerk uh yes this will move to a public hearing challenge item number 16 communication
from the chief financial officer requesting transfers to various stabilization funds from free cash thank you Mr president and uh Madame Clerk these um these allocations uh representative of what I hope to see
ordained um these percentages uh fall right along with uh that last memo that we wrote and the last um the last bullet point on on the memo is transfer $93,476 from um our water sour free cash
to our stabilization account unfortunately for this fiscal year while we had a great year for the general fund water and sewer ran pretty lean there was 93,476 certified by the Department of Revenue and I recommend that we just put the entire amount in there as
opposed to 15% of that because that was $14,000 so I would just recommend putting the entire $93,000 in there to uh basically put 100% of the certified water and soil retained earns into the stabilization fund but um otherwise these these transfers would represent
what um we are recommending as far as ordinance changes from the from the last communication and happy to answer any questions on that thank you Mr vay any city councilors council no just a question you said these are based on the new amount of
percentages that we're going to have a public hearing on yes sir so that means we can't vote on it tonight because it's not Well we certainly can vote on it if if if for some reason you didn't agree with what was recommended we would just have to add 5% to capital improvement
stabilization and 5% to the affordable housing but we fully intend on trying to fund all six of the trust funds as we uh recommended tonight so um hedging my bet a little bit here but quicker I get this money into the trust the quicker it starts earning money maybe we can buy on
the dips it if I may Mr president just you know you're just jumping the gun on transferring the new amount of percentages before we vote on it so I would I'm not transferring more i'm transferring less and if it gets and I will come back for a supplemental if you
don't agree but I like to get this money working for us well I understand that but you know you're asking for a different percentage and you're putting a different percentage on the request to move i I'm aware of that that's why I'm here to tell you I'm hedging it a little bit but again all we would have to do is
add money we wouldn't subtract money so these would be the minimum amounts anyhow i just think you're jumping the gun before we should be you know madam clerk roll call the mus on separate vote um the separate
shall the city council approve the following transfers from free cash as follows 667 sorry 667,92 to the general fund stabilization fund 667,92 to the capital improvement
stabilization fund $445,268 to the River High School Stabilization Fund $222,634 to the other post Employment Benefits Trust Fund $222,634 to the affordable housing trust
fund and $445,268 to the drainage storm water and culbert stabilization fund councelor Arenzio yes yes councelor Kaggleandro yes yes councelor Jino yes yes councelor Gino
Slaya yes yes councelor Hass yes yes councelor Harammo yes yes councelor Kelly yes did you say no or yes council Council Haram voting yes councelor Kelly yes yes councelor McKenna yes yes
council Novaski yes yes council Zambo yes yes and council president Sylvester yes yes the transfers have been approved and the second vote shall be shall the city council approve a transfer from the water and sewer free cash to the water and sore stabilization fund in the
amount of $93,476 councelor Agenzio yes yes council Kaggleandro yes yes council Janino yes yes council Gino SA yes yes councelor Hass yes yes councelor Jammo yes yes councelor Kelly yes yes councelor McKenna yes yes councelor
Basilski yes yes councelor Zamudo yes yes and Council President Sylvester yes yes that uh appropriation has been approved calendar item number 17 communication from the chief financial officer requesting various expenditures relative
to the FY25 capital improvement plan mr visque thank you Mr president richie Visque to on Broadway city CFO um upon certification of free cash and retained earnings we typically um then
fund our fiscal year 2025 capital improvement plan uh these appropriations before you are those items that we recommend funding uh as we call pay as you go so um this is looking to appropriate
$375,000 from our capital improvement stabilization fund to the various items listed uh that would be one uh police vehicle which we will supplement with an additional police vehicle that we uh fund through a special revenue account so we'll buy two patrol uh vehicles for
police uh we have a lease for our tasers uh 50,000 represents that uh every year we fund fire equipment radio gears and equipment of 50,000 uh we're requesting $50,000 for elections for um poll pads for early voting uh IT computer
equipment and uh DPW we uh always uh running short on tree removal money and Mr aenzio probably is aware and our playground equipment repairs so um I respectfully request um approval of this and happy to answer any questions thank you very much thank you Mr visqueke any
city councilors madam clerk can we roll call the members shall the city council approve a transfer from the capital improvement stabilization fund in the amount of $375,000 for various capital improvements councelor Aenzio yes yes
councelor Cogleandro yes yes councelor Gino yes yes councelor Go Slaya yes yes councelor Hass yes yes councelor Haramo yes yes councelor Kelly yes yes council McKenna yes yes council Noelski yes yes councelor Zambudo yes yes and Council
President Sylvester yes yes the transfer has been approved motions calendar item number 18 motion presented by council Kaggleandro that the city council award a certificate of commendation to Ethan Day captain of the River High School basketball team in
recognition of his status as the 2425 Greater Boston League co-VP and for scoring 10,00 career points council Kandro thank you Mr president um through you to the clerk madame clerk
Madame Clerk thank you Mr president through you to Madame Clerk um I would just like to add counselor Arenzio to this motion otherwise it motion speaks for itself thank you
all in favor all opposed so what council President Sylvester I would been notified by the CFO that there was one more vote uh to be taken relative to the water and source stabilization fund it looks like the page did not scan correctly when it was added to Minutatra mr visque
good evening once again richard Visqueke CFO 281 Broadway um again we uh just voted the general fund um pay as you go capital um what you see here and I don't know if you have it in front of you but I did print it um I thought off the
agenda but uh for the water and sewer enterprise stabilization fund we are requesting an appropriation in total of $265,000 and that's to purchase three pieces of equipment uh a Silverado crew cab at 90,000 a one- ton dump truck at
100,000 and a Silverado regular cab truck at 75,000 we choose to pay for these as we go so we don't have to incur any finance or interest charges and uh I strongly support favorable approval happy to answer any questions thank you any councilors
madame Clerk can we roll call the members shall the city council approve a transfer from the water and soar enterprise stabilization fund in the amount of $265,000 to various water and soore capital outlay purchases councelor
Aenzio yes yes councelor Cogleandro yes yes council Jino yes yes council Gino SA yes yes councelor Hass yes yes councelor Jamo yes yes councelor Kelly yes yes councelor McKenna yes yes yes council
Basilski yes yes councelor Zamudo yes yes and Council President Sylvester yes yes that transfer has been approved thank you everybody thank you Madam Clerk back to the regular order of Nope go ahead anthony Gizio assistant
superintendent 319 Charger Street just wanted to say thank you to Mayor Keefe the council Rich Visque Gay for getting us the equipment that we need to do the work that we love to do for you guys thank you thank you Madam Clerk back to the regular order of
business calendar item number 19 motion presented by Council Zamutoo that the mayor be requested I'm sorry that the mayor request the director of parks and recreation to make arrangements for the installation of a portaotty at Sunny Meers Playground council Zamutoo uh
thank you uh Mr president i I believe I'm going to have to amend my own motion but uh before I do um you know there's some things that I've been around a long time some things that you just don't notice and it's been
brought to my attention that the kids are peeing in the trees and it's uh you know I know it's crude to say that but I mean we really we really do need to uh uh be reasonable about this but the
thing is that I now I'm going to change it to uh request a handicapped in fact wheelchair accessible porter party uh instead of just a porter party so it's a a more elaborate uh request but uh you
know it's probably something we should have done years ago but we won't we won't dwell in the past we'll move forward in the f future you know that park is a wonderful park it's well used but uh the trees don't deserve the abuse
they're getting so let's uh let's move forward thank you thank you councelor councelor Green I just have a question for my fellow counselor why only Sonny Myers and not the rest of the parks that's a great question you know I it
came to my attention that this is happening at Sunny Meers Park but I'm sure it's probably happening everywhere so I' I'd be in favor of putting them everywhere i mean you know uh let's have some sanitary conditions for the kids i
mean what other parks you Gibson Park you know I'm I'm cost a park yeah i mean We really should have facilities for the kids i mean yeah it's not a great facility but at least in an emergency it's something to use i do I do agree
but now we're getting in the terms for it to be going to Ways and Means yeah well I mean we could approve this one and then have a motion to go to put all of them in uh later so I'd like to approve this one quickly and then we can
evaluate how we get will do them for all of them thank you Council Council Colandro thank you uh Mr president could we just put a motion could we approve this motion and then put a motion on the floor to do just that to get a financial impact study done on what it would cost to put ADA accessible porter parties in
all the parks yep great idea great idea thank you councelor council McKenna thank you Mr president um just a point of information this is the most used park uh in the city uh so that's you know it's uh very
populated so this would be a great motion for the the first one thank you thank you all in favor all opposed so ordered motion second okay yes okay so do you want to read
um Zambos please no I do mr president could uh Mel I apologize but could we add the ward counselor to that Sunny Meers absolutely thank you oversight an oversight on my council McKenna to the Sunny Meers part thank you and if we
could roll call council Zambudo and councelor Kando's motion mr president I'm sorry to interrupt uh through you to madam clerk could we also add councel to this motion on the floor as well sharing is caring
so let's take care of counselor please so motion presented by counselors Zamutoo and McKenna that the mayor request the director of parks and recreation to make arrangements for the installation of an ADA accessible portaotty at Sunny Meyers
playground all in favor all opposed so ordered verbal motion by councelor councilors Kaggleandro and councelor Gino SA that the may request a cost analysis to install ADA accessible portaotties at
all playgrounds in the city of Rivier all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number 20 motion presented by councelor Go Sawai that the city council award a certificate of commendation to Lieutenant Robin Pembbea in recognition of his kindness and
compassion in organizing a police escort for a courageous young boy battling a rare cancer councelor Gino Suaya thank you Mr president if you don't mind I'll reserve my comments for the presentation thank you councelor Council Hario never
mind all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number 21 motion presented by councelor Gino SA that the city council award a certificate of accommodation to Paul Baglio in recognition of his strength and determination in his battle against a
rare form of cancer councelor I'll reserve my comments for the presentation thank you thank you Councelor Her um I I don't expect to speak at the presentation so I just want to thank my colleague for her work in um
bringing to light uh Paul's fight and I know folks have been wondering where my hair went we cut it and donated on uh in honor of Paul and just really excited uh for a few weeks ago you know the the event that was held at the VFW really
exciting um and now you know three more years and I'll grow my hair up uh but no really really appreciate and then to Paul of course you know rooting for you and um and and um you know you're just such an inspiration to all of us thank you councelor all in favor
all opposed calendar item number 22 motion presented by councelor Gino SA that the mayor request the department of public works to install appropriate signage and/or blinking lights ahead of all speed bumps to provide sufficient warning to drivers and improve roadway safety furthermore
that the traffic commission and department of public works conduct a review of all existing speed bump locations to ensure proper signage is in place and report back to the city council with its recommendations council Garinoa thank you Mr president
um I'm introducing this motion in um response to direct concerns that I've had from W 5 residents who actually were complaining that they were driving down Kushman A which isn't W 5 and Sergeant Street area and about the placement of
the speed bumps that are there but there's no appropriate warning that those speed bumps are coming up is what they said so they didn't know it was there um residents have shared stories of near nearly missing the bumps
entirely or having to slam the brakes at the last second in some cases hitting the bump at full speed which wasn't clearly visible especially at night which has caused residents um drivers to go airborne they didn't know it was there so they're driving 3540 m an hour
not realizing or whatever 30 m an hour whatever the um speed limit is and that's not safe and it's not safe for anyone because they don't know it's there um I'm requesting that the Department of Public Works install clear signage and blicking lights ahead of all speed bumps in Rivier to give drivers
enough time to slow down it i'm also asking the traffic commission in DPW to conduct a comprehensive review of existing speed bump locations and ensure everything is properly marked and report back to the council with their findings and recommendations um it will help
prevent accidents reduce vehicle damage and ensure consistency throughout the city most importantly it shows our residents that their concerns are being taken seriously and addressed responsibly thank you thank you councelor councelor Cabianoro
check oh there we go uh thank you Mr president uh I'm in favor of the signage um I've turned into the financial impact study guide uh so I just we should put this out to see how much it's going to cost before we pass the motion uh the
way it's worded it says to install appropriate signage and I know the second part was to conduct a review but I think we should either amend this one or put this into Ways and Means beforehand whatever you'd like to do ways and means or do you want to amend
it to do an impact study prior however you want to do it that's part of it so yeah do do the impact study first uh then just put it into Ways and Means if it's okay with councelor Greenway thank you this will be referred to Ways and Means all in favor all opposed
challenger item number 23 motion presented by councelor Gino SA that the mayor request the department of public works to install a pedestrian activated crossing signal and repaint the crosswalk on Rivier Street at 356 River Street to enhance pedestrian safety this is a highly traveled roadway with
constant traffic and during low traffic periods speeding is a frequent issue children and pedestrians crossing at this location are at risk as vehicles often fail to stop implementing these improvements will help prevent accidents and improve overall safety council
Garino Sua thank you Mr president um the intersection I'm speaking about is the corner of McKinley Street and 356 River Street um the crosswalk is faded and needs repainting to increase visibility a pedestrian activated uh signal will
help alert drivers and give people a safer way to cross these are lowcost improvements and can make a big difference in preventing accidents before they happen residents and business owners have raised concerns about the safety of this intersection and I believe it's our responsibility to
act on those concerns and make Revier's streets safer for everyone now I understand there's a school there and there is a stop sign crosswalk signal a little bit further down but what happens at night when when cars are traveling and there's no traffic they're flying
right past that school and the kids get out of dance school um quickly and the kids cross the street and cars are flying by there and they don't see them especially if there's a car parked on each side and cars usually do park on
that side of the opposite side of River Street where you can't park just to pick up their kids so if there's cars parked on both sides the cars are flying down on River Street you can't see the the kids crossing so it's really important and I would appreciate if we can get
this done tonight thank you thank you councelor any other counselors council Cianoro thank you Mr president i'm sorry i have to say something this is across the street from my school and I want to thank you for putting this
in thank you thank you councelor all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number 24 motion presented by council goa that the mayor be requested to approve the attached resolution relative to animal animal
control and a responsible dog ownership especially at Gibson Park council goa thank you Mr president um all right as the ward 5 city councelor I've heard from many residents concerned about off leash dogs and pet waste violations at
Gibson Park which continue despite the presence of signage i just had signs put up all over um Milzav that people had requested now these issues create safety hazards for pedestrians children and pet owners
leading to some residents to feel unsafe and avoid using the park now additionally pet waste poses health risks especially as warmer weather draws more families to the area in response I propose several actions one increasing
patrol by animal control to enforce the leash laws and issue citations something that hasn't been done collaborating with public works and pox and wreck on public education efforts exploring the feasibility of a public reporting system
via the Piper the Piper works amazingly i tried it this weekend to see if it works to address violations promptly reviewing and considering increased penalties for leash and waste violations and potentially adding a full-time
animal uh control officer in fiscal year 2026 budget while Gibson Park currently lacks dog waste stations it has to it needs a couple more i have discussed with Mayor Keefe the possibility of installing them and stations will also
be installed along Rice A i encourage the city to partner with community groups and pet owners to promote responsible pet ownership by adopting the these resolutions we can assure that Gibson Park remains a safe and welcoming space for all residents thank you
thank you councelor any other counselors all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number 25 motion presented by councelor Cogleandro that the mayor direct the police chief to increase patrols to combat speeding on Kushmanav mainly between the speed
table and the intersection of New Hall Street council Kandro thank you Mr president uh where the speed table has worked it slows people down uh up to that point it then becomes a race to the next intersection um with the new
measures that we have to go through I don't know if everybody knows what we have to do now to get a speed table or a speed bump done you have to have a community or the neighborhood fill out a petition and sign a petition and then fill out an entire application to send it into the city uh it's a lot of work
to get that done so if they can get it done it's costly as well and I'm just hoping that we can get this area monitored more often because that intersection of Kushmanav and Adam Street specifically is I'm surprised nobody's gotten hit over there
you know so thank you thank you counselor any other counselors all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number 26 motion presented by councelor Kelly that the city council order to a public hearing
the following proposed zoning ordinance amendment a zoning ordinance further amending the revised ordinances of the city of River relative to off- streetet parking be it ordained by the city of River as follows section one chapter 1728 off streetet parking and loading article one generally is hereby amended
by inserting the following new section section 172830 relief reduction in parking space ratio requirements shall require a special permit from the city council councelor Kelly thank you Mr president so I'm bringing this motion kind of as a
followup to the motion that was recently submitted regarding changing the ZBA to an elected body which I am in full support of however considering that that may take a while if it even turns out to be successful the change that this motion is requesting is something that we can get down get done now as a city
council and it does not require a lengthy home rule petition process currently requests for reductions in parking requirements are done by way of variances through the ZBA this motion would require that those requests are instead done by way of a special permit
through the city council i think we can all agree that parking requirements are a cornerstone of urban planning they directly impact traffic flow alter street congestion affect public space usage and emergency service access and since they have such broad implications
they are better suited to be dealt with by an elected body like the city council which is directly answerable to voters rather than an appointed body such as the ZBA the ZBA's unelected nature means it lacks the same direct accountability
to residents that we as elected council members have the bottom line is that we as council members are held to account and answer to residents demonstrated by residents either voting us in or voting us out therefore important decisions such as these regarding parking
reductions should rest with us and not the unelected members of the ZBA thank you Mr president thank you councelor any other counselors this will be referred to a public hearing on April 28th calendar item number 27 motion presented
by councelski that the mayor request the traffic commission to lower the speed limit on Campbell A from Centennial Avenue to River Beach Parkway from 25 mph to 20 m an hour council Novaski thank you Mr president mr president uh
Campbell over the past several years has become a pass through street to avoid Northshore Road and the lights at uh the Sonokco station and we've had at least nine in the last two years nine
automobile accidents with many residents vehicles being damaged just last week we had a rollover in the lower part of Campbell A where it was a to a drunk driver and uh the person actually I mean
rolled over the car smashed all the windows in and got out of the car and tried to walk away but you know they did catch the person and um I I just think it's it's time to try to reduce that speed limit to down to 20 m an hour you
know we already have a speed bump there further back but what happens is once people pass the speed bump just like councelor Cogleandro said they take off like bad out of hell so uh we moved the uh automatic speed limit sign the
flashing sign down to that particular area just last the week before this happened but it's terrible in the street everybody everybody in that street is complaining and in danger of their lives that's how bad it is so I'm asking that
the traffic commission reduce the uh speed limit down to 20 mph on Campbell A thank you thank you councelor any other city councilors all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number 28 motion presented
by councelor Kelly that the may request the director of elder affairs to offer a program for CPR AED and emergency preparedness training at the senior center during regular business hours councelor Kelly thank you Mr president um it was brought to my attention actually by a resident that a program
was being offered by the Department of Public Health I believe last Thursday um and I think it was held at 700 p.m at night at the Garfield School and this resident who happens to be a senior citizen was saying it it would be more
convenient if something like this was also held and put together and offered um at the senior center during business hours and would make it more convenient for seniors to take advantage of something like that so I thought um I'd put this motion in and hopefully we can
provide that to them thank you thank you councelor Council has Thank you Mr president i actually spoke to Adrien Maguire the director of um emergency preparedness and this is actually something that's in the works currently um this will be offered to
seniors at the senior center the staff I know gets trained once a year in CPR and AED um I know because I did it when I was employed there and they they currently still do that but um then they have the lifesavers training which was
what counselor Kelly had referenced last week at the Garfield school i did get a call from a senior as well who was a little upset that there was no transportation in the city whether it was from the senior center or um another city um department but she was a little
upset that there wasn't anything more centrally located say at the Remny or the high school or the Susan B anthony but there are going to be four lifesaver programs a year and um I think it's great that the seniors will get trained in the CPR and when I spoke to Adrian I
know she was really excited about getting this going thank you thank you counselor counselor Greenos fire i'm all said thank you the same senior reached out to me as well she was look actually looking for a ride because she doesn't drive at night
excellent great motion counselor thank you all in favor all opposed so ordered calendar item number 29 motion presented by councelor Jerio that the city council order to a public hearing an ordinance further amending wage theft policies in
the city of Rivier councelor Hario mr president thank you um we filed this I filed this um this motion to revamp our wage theft ordinance uh as folks know uh in Massachusetts about hund00 million
is lost in revenue from waste theft which uh which is not how much people are owed although a lot of people are owed a lot of millions of dollars this is the revenue can actually bring into the Commonwealth from wage theft and cities and towns around the Commonwealth
of course are not immune to this and the workers that work and live here are not immune to this and therefore our revenue here in the city of River is not immune to wage theft so uh I want to dive a little bit more into this ordinance but
this would uh at the very least ensure that we have a complaint process that'd be some accountability for folks um that employer employees feel like they can um that they can uh they have a process
that protects them um and that we're using things like TIFFs efficiently to ensure um that um that we're holding we're holding and contractors accountable who may not be playing above board but I want to talk a little bit more about this and I've uh discussed
with the chairman of legislative affairs and we have a little plan for this i think we if if it pleases the if it pleases the court I guess if it pleases the council um we could send this to the committee on workforce uh and sustainability and hopefully it'll get
referred out to a public uh hearing then back to legislative affairs for a final review um and if that's amendable with you Mr president that's the way we'd like to do it madame Clerk it was councelor Herio you wanted to go
to committee first and then to a public hearing or straight to a public hearing i think Yeah I think we can do uh sustainability they'll talk a little bit more there allow some folks to come in and tell us why this is important some community members that are affected by
wage theft and then prior prior to ordering it to a public hearing correct okay thank you yeah and like it to go to committee on sustainability work force on councelor Herio's motion to send it
to committee please calendar item number 30 motion presented by councelor H that the mayor request National Grid to relocate pole number 5154-7 located at 321 Charger Street the pole is located in the driveway and parking lot of the city's wellness
center and teamworks building there have been several instances of drivers hitting this pole due to its location council has Thank you Mr president this was something that was brought to my attention um I'm not even sure if this is possible but I'd like to reach out to our our good friends at National Grid
and see if this is something that they can do um I've had a number of residents at the wellness center and going to Teamworks to play soccer that have hit the pole direct located directly in the middle of the main drive parking lot
there hands at night this this poses a huge safety issue for someone turning the corner from the teamwork side of the building um backing up or anything like that thank you thank you councelor and all in favor all opposed so ordered
calendar item number 31 motion presented by councelor Sylvestri that the city council approve an act relative to term limits for elected officials in the city of River permission to speak from the chair thank you um this will be referred to
legislative affairs but I just wanted to touch briefly on it um this is something that I I truly believe in it's something that I ran on in 2021 and uh was one of the first motions I put forward as a city councelor and in 21 um it didn't
get much support then um so I figured I'd put it up now and um in recent recent surveys have indicated approximately five out of six of Americans 75% are in favor of elected term limits the overwhelming support
reflects a national sentiment which resonates resonates deeply within our community it underscores the desire for government that is responsive accountable to its constituents rather than one that is entrenched in power since 2012 incumbents have won 97% of
the time in elections which further highlights the need for term limits to help level the playing field the advantages of fundraising name recognition enjoyed by long-term incumbents can often def disenfranchise new candidates and discourage community members from getting involved in the
political process we have seen this desire manifest nationally in particularly the support for a president who ran on the promise of draining the swamp and the swamp being longtime political people that overstayed their
welcome i believe that serving our community is a noble endeavor and that's why I propose 10 years for an elected official this is duration not only allows the meaningful contribution to our city but also ensures that we remain accountable to the taxpayers we serve
after 10 years of officials become vested in health insurance for life and in in potential of longevity payments can inadvertently lead to a system where incumbents feel less compelled to be innovative and advocate for the community's best interests historically
our founding fathers recognized that and prolonged the power of undermined democracy this understanding is reflected in tradition of US presidents voluntarily stepping down after two terms we have seen consequences of extended tenor in cities just next door like Everett where complacently can
foster a disconnect between officials and the constituents they serve implementing term limits will no longer only promote accountability to transparency but also help prevent the kind of isolation that can occur in positions of power i want to clarify i am no way suggesting that anyone on this
council or in this city is in doing anything infriv and I believe that term limits can serve as a safeguard against potential complacency and enrich our local governance if we are truly committed to doing what is right for the Revier resident I urge my fellow council
members to support this home rule petition together we can ensure that our residents remain vibrant and responsive in all the needs thank you any other city councilors mr president councelor Arenzio thank you Mr president
um we usually agree on most things but I totally disagree with term limits if a voter is going to the ballot box and they're confident and they're comfortable voting for an incumbent we shouldn't be taking that right away from
them i think we need to give the voter a little bit more credit we have term limits they're called voters if they're comfortable with that incumbent they should be allowed to vote for them i think we've talked and the the country
has talked about uh fraudulent elections manipulating ballots this this to me is a manipulation we don't like that people are going in and voting for the same people so we're going to take that right away from them they no longer have that
i don't see that that's um the intelligence of the voter they're going in they're voting they choose to support an incumbent and I think they have that right and I and I wouldn't want to manipulate the system and saying that
after so many terms uh you can no longer vote that takes their right away and it takes the voters's right away um I know candidates have run on term limits and that's their prerogative if they want to put in their campaign platform or uh in
their statement that they feel as though they're only going to be around for two or three terms or for 10 years that's their choice and they can convey that to the public it shouldn't apply to everyone and I I think that uh we're going down a
slippery slope if we stop candidates from being able to run what else are we going to stop or h how else are we going to manipulate the system just because some people don't like that incumbents keep getting voted in doesn't mean we
can take that right away from them thank you thank you counselor um if I may um permission to speak thank you um and and I agree counselor and and that is why if you would like to get into um a
longevity of politics or make a career out of this which I don't think any political seat should be a career of um but if you would you would have the ability to serve five terms as a school committee member you'd have ability to serve five terms as a ward counselor
five terms as an atlarge counselor and three terms as mayor that's 42 years that's a lifetime of politics i don't think we're erasing anyone or removing them i think we're keeping people honest and that's just my opinion thank you and councelor
can I respond yes you can okay so so what is not being honest i mean if people like to be counselor they like to be mayor what are you going to be shifting from school committee to ward counselor to uh counselor at large to mayor uh I don't think anyone's being
dishonest and I don't think anyone's owning a seat you don't own a seat every two years your term expires voters go in they they go into the ballot box and they vote i don't think we need to insult the intelligence of a voter and
say you're not doing the right thing we don't like what you're doing uh that to me is just against every citizen of the United States has the right to run for office they have the right to seek re-election and every citizen in the United States has the the right to vote
for who they think they're most comfortable with and I don't want to take that right away from them thank you thank you Councelor Councel Garino Sua thank you Mr president um I want to begin by being completely transparent i supported this in fact I asked to be
included as a maker of it like many I believed term limits might be a good way to make room for fresh fresh voices and prevent people from staying in office too long but after giving it some serious thought I changed my position and I think it's important to say why as
a first term counselor in Ward 5 I'm learning every day how much time it takes to do a job effectively you don't just walk in and start passing motions or fixing citywide issues it takes time to understand the system build relationships and earn the
trust of your residents and it takes even more time to turn a good idea into real results if this motion passes we risk removing good leaders just as they've hit their stride we risk forcing
someone out who's experienced effective and connected to their community only to replace them with someone who may be less prepared simply because the seat became available that's not good government it's a gamble with real
consequences for the neighborhoods we represent and let's not forget we already have term limits they're called elections they are called elections every two years for counselors and every four years for mayors we have to stand
before the voters to earn their support if we're not doing the job then they have the power to make a change and to get us out but if we are doing the jobs and our community trust us to keep going then they should have the right to keep
us in office that's democracy that's the democracy we live in so while I understand or and respect your intentions behind the motion I cannot support it and thank you thank you any other counselors council Kelly thank you
Mr president i just want to applaud you for this motion because I am in full support of it um I really think well whenever I talk to people whoever I'm talking to whenever this issue comes up people are in favor of term limits there
is no doubt about it they want term limits um it def an incumbent definitely dissuades a newcomer from from even throwing their hat into the ring and I believe everyone should have the opportunity to serve their community um
if we're truly talking about democracy and what what our residents want and what voters want then maybe this should be something that should be entertained by a ballot vote or even a non-binding um ballot vote or question or something like that um if you really want to know
what your constituents want and what the people we're representing what they want and how they feel um maybe we should even go that way with this but I am in full support of it thank you Mr president thank you Councelor councelor Zambo uh thank you Mr president uh I'd
be remiss if I didn't say that this motion has merit because some 30 years ago I ran for office on the platform of term limits i'm not ashamed to say that
because because I got here and I found out I make a difference now I don't think anybody on this council or in this city would ever say that I'm complacent i get things done i do what I think is right i people don't always
agree with me but they know where I'm coming from so I said to myself I said right away after the first term that I got elected and I realized that I could make a difference up here that I changed my mind uh and people have used that or try
to use that against me in in elections and say he ran on term limits he's been there all these years and but the the answer is I'm here all these years because the people put me here the people know that I do the job and I do the job for them and I'm always
concerned for the taxpayer so I changed my mind like others but it wasn't because uh of the lucrative money I was going to make as a city council because we all know we work for pennies an hour here because it's a full-time job if
you're doing the job and uh I enjoy the job because I make a difference and uh that's why I can't support you on this but uh uh I do believe it has a lot of merit and I know that a lot of people say they want term limits but when they
see someone like myself that they think is doing a good job they want to put them back so they're conflicted but in a poll they're going to say "I'm for term limits." But when the rubber meets the road they're really not for term limits that's the way I see it and the term
limits my colleague from wide f five may you know term limits is every two years it's an election and people can throw you out at any time do the wrong thing and and and you're gone so I can't support you on this but I do respect you for putting it in thank you councelor
any other counselors council has Thank you Mr president mr president I have great respect for you great respect for the motion um when you put it that way and when you read it it is interesting to say "Oh I could do 10 years as an atlarge counselor and then jump 10 years
to a ward counselor." Um you know we've seen the last election that we had here in Ree just what new blood can do um to a city council it rejuvenates it it adds fresh energy fresh life and we had six new counselors
get on during the the last election um so I don't think it's a it's an idea that would breed a lot of new blood you'd still have counselors in for 10 years and then who else is going to run after those 10 years what if no one runs
um why not 12 years why not 14 years but like I said great respect for you Mr president um I just think we should leave it up to the voters like we always have you look around this room and uh there's a there's quite a few portraits of counselors and mayors who have served
for for well over 10 years and um I'd like to think they're important figures in the city and I know I've leaned on my veteran counselors here who have been here 10 years and and more um and that means a lot to have that mix of veteran
counselors and and new counselors i think that's important thank you thank you councelor any other counselors okay this will be referred to legislative affairs calendar item number 32 motion presented by councelor McKenna that the mayor
request municipal inspections in conjunction with the conservation commission to investigate the source of illegal dumping along sales creek and issue fines to the responsible party or parties further that the city install straw bales along the banks of Sales Creek or as determined by the
conservation commission to prevent pollutants and debris from entering the waterway causing harm to wildlife i know councelor me thank you Mr president uh walking furong drive that abut Seals
Creek this is an important waterway a key part of the ecosystem of Bell Marsh in the cities of Riviera Chelsea Winthrop and Boston the flow of this vital waterway is being stopped by litter and debris from the current
businesses such as Majestic Auto Full Rack Smokehouse and uh Sullivan Tire and on the adjacent side of the old Le trailer park where dumping and littering in this creek is happening this creek flows from Chelsea underneath Lee
Burbank Highway under the Suffach Downs property into Bell Marsh and out to the ocean it has many different species of bird birds and wildlife that depend on this waterway these businesses mentioned should be accountable for dumping oil
tires and litter in this and the city should take action to protect protect this vital resource so on the city's part I am asking that the city put hay bills along the businesses that abut Seals Creek from
the full rack rack smokehouse restaurant that starts on Lee Burbank Highway along Lee's trailer park property to end to the end of Furlong Drive doing this will slow down debris and litter and will help protect this natural resource and
the wildlife that lives there and by the way uh this waterway was just cleaned and it's back to uh deplorable conditions so I'm just asking if the city will do their part to uh help
protect this waterway that that's vital to the city thank you thank you councelor any other city councilors that's it all in favor all opposed so ordered Mr president Councelor uh
just a point of personal privilege state your point i just uh would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues and to the viewers at home um of the uh the sad situation that we're facing in the Commonwealth as it relates to to
revenue there's been a lot of talk in the last few weeks about trade deficits and uh you know tariffs and all this that and the other thing but I really would like to point out that the federal government cut $104 million from Massachusetts
education just last week public education this here Massachusetts is the home of public education and as a result we have some of the most advanced technologies in the country and in the world as a result we have some of the
highest per capita GDP in the entire world in fact we have a $5,000 per capita trade deficit with the federal government on average the Massachusetts resident sends the federal government 5,000 more
dollars than it receives in federal benefits and I bring this up because thanks to these cuts Mr president our own River Public School District is facing million potentially
millions of dollars in cuts from the federal funding that they've already promised now a lot of people out there are saying co oh it's co money well you can't design and prepare and engineer a
new HVAC system for the Garfield school for example overnight so when people say we're going to make our schools safe and they're cutting the funding that is going to ensure that we have good adequate
HVAC they're BSing us now Mr president I'm sorry I'm getting real riled up about this but Massachusetts is the single largest contributor to the national coffers and we're facing this and our
students are now are facing potentially having to study and go to school in harmful environments i think that's shameful absolutely 1,000% shameful these projects take a
long time and not to mention that our taxpayer here in River is getting ripped off now um I'm still unclear what exactly we should do about this but I just want to flag that for folks because we are facing real tight times here and we are
under attack our students are under attack our taxpayers are under attack and um and you know as a proud product of the public education system I just cannot stand idly by but we're going to lose millions of
dollars for the well-being of our kids we need to provide safe environments for kids um and with that I yield back thank you Mr president for the leeway thank you Councelor councelor Novaski thank you Mr president appreciate the uh latitude
uh we're here at the uh early April and we're not meeting till the end of the month and I just want to take this opportunity to wish everybody a happy Easter i want to wish everybody uh from my Jewish faith a
happy Passover and wish you be safe and everybody enjoy their holidays and uh be safe out there thank you thank you thank you councelor Mr point of personal privilege state your point
yesterday we lost River uh he was so much more than that um and I want to just say rest in peace and wish my condolences to Al Burrill he was a I grew growing up I was part of the
music scene i loved live music nothing made me feel more welcome and alive than when I would go to see a show uh and he was the person responsible for bringing that type of music mainly the hardcore scene to Boston he was
also one of the founding people involved with the straight edge movement and for people who don't know what that is that's people who don't drink they don't do drugs um he was an icon he's somebody that I looked up to and if anybody knew
Al I'm sure you listened to listening to his SSD control albums um I want to send uh condolences to Miss Nancy Burrill who was my teacher in high school that was her husband and uh thank you thank you
counselor council has I just like to echo counselor Cogleandro's um comments regarding Al Buril you know I had Nancy Burril her first year as a teacher i had her in um advanced composition class i think it was maybe
1996 but um but she was fantastic her and Al shared an incredible life together um they had an incredible bond and I just want to say we're thinking of Nancy and and their family thank you thank you counselor any other counselors and that
closes tonight's business thank you