ORDER-2015-2 : Petition to Great and General Court to pass a Special Act to authorize the placement on the official ballot to be used in the City of Melrose at the biennial state election to be held in November 2014 two questions relative to the licensing of purveyors of alcoholic beverages in the City of Melrose as set forth herein.

Transcript (~11 min @ 21:16)

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▶ 21:16 Speaker 5: honor the mayor and other city officials order 2015-2 petition to great and general court to pass a special act to authorize the placement on the official ballot to be used in the city of Melrose at the biennial state election to be held in November 2014 two questions relative to the licensing of purveyors of alcoholic beverages in the city of Melrose as set forth herein madam

▶ 21:38 Peter D. Mortimer: president pro temp I make a motion to suspend the rules that we may hear from his honor mayor Robert J Dolan to speak on this order second alderman Mortimer

▶ 21:45 Gail Infurna: makes a motion for immediate is asking for media consideration is there an objection seeing none is there a suspension of the rules I make a motion to suspend the rules alderman waterman makes the motion to suspend the rules is there a second second by alderman forbes all those in favor suspension of the rules all those opposed the rules are now suspended and his honor the mayor if you'd like to come before

▶ 22:18 Speaker 6: us thank you very much i just would like to start by thanking each of you um for all your your work over the last fiscal year as we get a new fiscal year and for the pragmatic and fair and honorable way that you conduct business every day and i think tonight's a big night before i before i just if you just give me a few a little leeway um you know it's a beautiful night in july but tonight is the culmination or at least the next few weeks are a combination of three projects that are amongst the most important not to be overly dramatic but in the in the recent history of the city and we don't know how many people are actually watching they should be outside playing with their kids or at a ball game but those three issues are the overlay district which is something that has could be the most vetted um proposal in the history of the city that is going to

▶ 23:16 Speaker 6: fundamentally change our community a positive way and not just change but complete a a

▶ 23:24 Speaker 6: an initiative that was actually begun under mayor guerrero and will be completed in a different way under my administration with your support that will take every part of our city and utilize it

▶ 23:41 Speaker 6: to our good not just financially but to the the fabric of our community enhance the fabric of our community and it's very very important I can't tell you how how much I support it and hope that it passes tonight the second is the Hoover School which is on your agenda we've been working for many years to try to bring life into schools that were built in the 1950s in this project which could reach up to a million dollars 50% would be paid for the state will will protect that school on the hill which is such a beautiful neighborhood and a beautiful school for another 25 years and that's really important and we're ready for that project the third is the question before you and what I'm asking you to do is to approve the ballot question over the next few weeks to allow the legislature to decide whether or not the voters will be able to decide in the question of November 4th now that question is whether or not to lower the number of seats necessary for a restaurant liquor license in the city of Melrose I would like to share with you why I think we should begin the process tonight so that the citizens of Melrose will have the right to vote on that question on Tuesday November 4th and why I personally fully support the ballot question because I have been so involved in it over the last several months our Main Street has been the envy of the region ever since Mayor Milano made the investment in the 1970s to revitalize it through good times and bad some better than others some worse than others Melrose Ian's and Melrose entrepreneurs and business people have always found ways to keep our business district strong I was born in the early 1970s and I grew up in this community that gives me no other right other than to have a history the history of the evolution over the years of our local businesses growing up in the Highlands I remember Lyman supermarket being our primary market in town I remember that the two main culinary hotspots in Melrose was Brigham's on Main Street and Heavenly Donuts where Mexico Lindo is now. Most of our stores were stores of the times, a shoe store, Hill's stationery store, and we had two Melrose Public Libraries, one at its current location and one across the street from Charlie Ragucci's hardware store that served our neighborhood for years. Now there are many people that have a lot further history than i do but like everything else things change the economy evolves people's needs evolve the way goods are purchased evolves and therefore we need to evolve or we will fail our main street has been successful because professional business people in cooperation with our government have been able to stay ahead of the trends over the last decade I have worked together with our Chamber of Commerce and business people as have each of you and what some say is the worst economy since the Great Depression in 2008 we put a ballot question before the voters that was a major change for the city of Melrose we introduced three beer and wine licenses to our community and we lowered the requirement for beer and wine licenses for restaurants to 50, while keeping the requirement of 100 seats for a full liquor license. For those that did not live here during that time, there was a really emotional debate about this issue. And the question was, do we want Melrose to be and to stay a quasi-dry community? Some feared that this law would bring bar rooms and liquor stores and all the problems that sometimes come with those things. But at the ballot box, the voters responded at a rate of over three to one in favor of these changes, and entrepreneurs responded with historic investment in new restaurants and gourmet food stores that carried beer and wine. these restaurants, which drew people from around the region to our downtown, developed other new stores that all have thrived. These changes have enhanced our downtown and enhanced our economy. To think that we have become, in such a short period of time, we have gone from Brigham's on Main Street to a real dining and entertainment destination in Greater Boston is a testament to you and many but most of all to the residents of the city who believed that these ideas would work that this was right for our economy and most importantly they believed it would be managed properly and responsibly by our government while across the state business districts have for rent signs on every corner we have weathered the worst of this recent economic storm not only because that ballot question passed but more importantly more importantly because we have worked cooperatively and we have consistently given Melrose business people and entrepreneurs the tools and the options to be successful this ballot question does this and the overlay does this the ballot question that I propose continues this positive evolution the fact is that there are are very few if any developable sites in the city of Melrose that can be transformed into a hundred seat restaurant in fact there aren't very many properties that can be transformed into a 50 seat restaurant my question to you is why can't all business districts have a rich variety of business options that may include dining along with other successful businesses that will exist

▶ 30:13 Speaker 6: and that currently exist I think they can the incredible mass works Highlands renovation is going to transform that neighborhood we have made considerable reinvestment in Cedar Park in the Wyoming neighborhood as well and we have seen the fruits of our labor giving local entrepreneurs the option to open small restaurants with table service which will be a prerequisite that serve beer and wine or a full array of beverages would open up a world of business opportunities perhaps a small bistro in the Highlands a farm-to-table restaurant in Wyoming Square or a tapas restaurant in Cedar Park as well as many new possibilities for route 99 in Washington Street as we welcome new neighbors to these areas throughout the year this ballot question is not about beer and wine it is an economic development proposal a pro-business pro Melrose pro small business ballot question it is my hope that the Board of Aldermen will move it to the legislature to allow it on the ballot and give the people the right to vote and I hope the people at home will give it full consideration when they go to the ballot box on November 4th thank you very much

▶ 31:40 Gail Infurna: thank you very much motion to remand the audit committee alderman mortimer makes the motion to remand the rest of the order to uh the appropriation committee seconded by alderman Boisselle all those in favor aye aye all those opposed that order will be sent to the um appropriation committee which will meet um next monday evening uh madam clerk order 2015-3 reappointment of