← Boards & Commissions Committee · 2026-05-21 · Boards & Commissions Committee Meeting 5.21
MINUTES APPROVAL
Agenda original PDF
Minutes original PDF
PM Elizabeth Kowal At-Large Present Christopher Park Ward 3 Present William Bradley Freeman President, Ex Present Officio Member Ryan Williams Chair Absent Manjula Karamcheti, non-voting member, also attended and arrived at 6:56 PM II. MINUTES APPROVAL Boards & Commissions Committee Meeting April 6, 2026 6:40 PM Motion to Approve the minutes by unanimous consent made by Vice Chair Vandiver All were in favor and minutes were approved RESULT: ACCEPTED [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Cal Finocchiaro, Elizabeth Kowal, Christopher Park, Kim Vandiver, Bradley Freeman III. PUBLIC COMMENT 1 When: May 21, 2026 06:45 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: Boards & Commissions Committee Meeting Join from PC, Mac, iPad, or Android: https://cityofmelrose- org.zoom.us/j/94445450453?pwd=tvWoBbcGBhitkouMkKqkOBNtsmLrQ0.1 Passcode:923670 Webinar ID: 944 4545 0453 Motion to Open public comment made by Vice Chair Vandiver at 6:46 PM Comments on the floor: Jen McAndrew, 12 Sears Ave
Transcript
▶ 2:23 Jen Grigoraitis: Thank you. At this time, I'll motion by unanimous consent to close public comment. And I see I skipped minutes approval, so at this time, I'll also motion by unanimous consent to approve the minutes of the boards and commissions meeting from April 6th. Seeing no objections, those are now approved. The first order before us is ID number 2026-1146, the appointment of Mark McKinnon, 585 Franklin Street, to the Melrose Housing Authority for a five-year term, said term to expire first Monday of March 2029. Mr. McKinnon is completing the term of Ellen Connolly, who has stepped down. And we have with us Mr. McKinnon and the mayor. Welcome. Good evening, Madam Chair and councilors. Thank you for having us tonight. So just to expand on what was so articulately said in public comment, I'm thrilled to put Mark McKinnon before you tonight for your consideration to the housing authority. He will be replacing the longtime chair of the authority. It's not often that we replace members of that board, so it's really an important opportunity. As I believe you know, we have multiple public housing buildings here in Melrose, and while they're not directly run by the city, they're largely run through the federal and state programs. I do have the opportunity to appoint board members to help in their oversight. In addition to everything that was said about Mr. McKinnon, his lifelong commitment to Melrose, his vast professional experience, he also understands the nexus of federal, state, and local government, which is actively at play every day at the housing authority, as well as meeting the needs of complex individuals. The most frequent housing calls that come into my office are from our residents at the housing authority, and helping folks understand where the city versus the state versus the federal government ends can be really confusing, and being able to do that at a high level on the board and help to communicate that empathetically and consistently will be a really big asset for him on that board. So I'm thrilled to have him here tonight. I'm really grateful for his willingness to serve, and thank you for your consideration. Thank you, Madam Mayor. And Mr. McKinnon, would you like to say anything before we open it up for questions?