Public Comment

Transcript (~4 min @ 29:50)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 29:51 Peter D. Mortimer: Madam President I make a motion to open the floor for public comment. We have a

▶ 29:55 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: motion to open the floor for public comment made by Alderman Mortimer. Is there a second? Seconded by Alderman Forbes. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? This is the portion of our meeting of the full board where any member of the public can come forward to speak on any item on our agenda. I would note that we do have a public hearing starting at 8 p.m. regarding a petition of National Grid and Verizon to move some polls if anyone is here to speak on any other item on the full board agenda

▶ 30:33 Speaker 3: please feel free to come forward hi my name is Mary Jovino I live in school street I am here I'm not an eloquent speaker so I'm here to let you know that I stand to block the installation of a marijuana dispensary in downtown Melrose I was able to go around excuse I'm sorry to interrupt you

▶ 30:50 Speaker 2: that's in the Appropriations Committee right now it's not on our agenda we will be returning to that as soon as we adjourn no no worries it's confusing

▶ 31:02 Speaker 3: because we have several items on our public on something else

▶ 31:04 Speaker 2: no worries please stay and there will be an opportunity to speak soon

▶ 31:12 Speaker 4: sure motion to close public comment oh good evening good evening um my name is

▶ 31:32 Speaker 1: jerry morose um i just wanted to make a note that the your one of the orders 2019-61 i believe is a transfer money from free cash for various accounts um and a number of those happen have to do with the um override election in april

▶ 31:55 Speaker 1: and with all the scare tactics that have been putting out there about senior citizens not being able to have their van if the override doesn't pass and the library is going to cut back hours and all these things you know i i think just what's on the this allocation from free cash is almost 35 000 to have the special election um and obviously we haven't scheduled we have to pay for it um but there's a lot of disingenuous comments being made from city officials about about the impact of the override and that we have no money and this whole override process as i said last fall could have been done much differently um i don't believe that it's really the appropriate mr morose i have to the override is not on our

▶ 32:45 Speaker 1: agenda no no i know but i'm talking about the funds that are being used for an election that

▶ 32:51 Speaker 1: they need to ask you to stick to that that's what i'm okay so i just want to point out that there are i think thirty four thousand five hundred dollars in that allocation there and you know our free cash we have a lot of it every year and it gets put into a lot of different things

▶ 33:11 Speaker 1: And a lot of that money is spent without a whole lot of discussion from this board about why it's spent and whether we really had to spend it in advance. And I'd appreciate people more conscientious about looking at free cash as not being free, that it came from people, and it's important, and it's valuable, and it ought to be applied in good ways. Thank you.

▶ 33:30 Speaker 2: Thank you.

▶ 33:35 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: Are there other members of the public wishing to speak?

▶ 33:38 Peter D. Mortimer: Motion to close. Closed public comment. Second. Madam President.