← City Council · 2025-01-06 · City Council Regular Meeting
Public Comment
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▶ 10:37 Leila Migliorelli: Next up is public comment. I will motion by unanimous consent to open the floor for public comment. Seeing no objections, we are now open for public comment per rule 33 A of the Melrose City Council rules. This is the portion of the meeting where the public may speak on any item on tonight's agenda. Comments expressing any other viewpoints on other matters are also welcome. Just a reminder that this is a public comment period and it's opportunity for the public to share comments.
▶ 11:04 Speaker 6: Counselors will not respond.
▶ 11:06 Leila Migliorelli: The public has up to five minutes for comments. Um, thank you. Please state your name and town.
▶ 11:11 Speaker 8: Sure. Uh, my name is Henry Kesner. I am from proudly from Melrose, Massachusetts. Okay, Welcome. Hello, city counselors. My name is Henry Kesner, my family and I live on North High Street. We are proud Lincoln Lions
▶ 11:25 Speaker 10: and Abutters to the BB school property. Each of you received at least an email from me before the holiday break and I wanted to properly introduce myself along with our group of neighbors. Some are here and several who cannot make it.
▶ 11:41 Speaker 8: Uh, they said they send their regards. Uh, thanks to all of you who have engaged thus far in person over coffee, uh, attending our neighborhood gatherings, talking on the phone, these small simple acts
▶ 11:53 Speaker 10: as our elected officials go a long way
▶ 11:56 Speaker 8: and we do not soon forget it. So really thank you. Today you are,
▶ 12:00 Speaker 10: you also should have received an email from Elizabeth Cowell. Elizabeth is here.
▶ 12:06 Speaker 8: She's our recently appointed representative
▶ 12:08 Speaker 10: to the Public Safety Committee
▶ 12:09 Speaker 8: and lives in the Phineas Sprague homestead.
▶ 12:13 Speaker 10: A historic home directly to the left of the BB on West Foster. It's a beautiful old home. Please pay homage if you wish. Elizabeth has, uh, was added
▶ 12:21 Speaker 8: to the committee in late November
▶ 12:23 Speaker 10: after repeated asks to have someone,
▶ 12:25 Speaker 8: anyone from our neighborhood involved, excuse me. Until that point, representation from our part of Melrose was neglected and there continues to be apprehension to fully involve our voice.
▶ 12:39 Speaker 8: As emphasized in the memo, initial work on the site has begun. Final decisions are due in February, uh, designs, sorry. Final designs are due in February and we have been presented with
▶ 12:52 Speaker 10: as one architect put it a baked cake.
▶ 12:54 Speaker 8: Meanwhile, the majority of Mel Rosens across all wards remain completely unaware of what is underway. This has only enhanced our frustrations and concerns from Melrose
▶ 13:04 Speaker 10: and eroded our trust despite
▶ 13:06 Speaker 8: being excluded from the process. We are approaching this from a place of compromise
▶ 13:11 Speaker 10: and a desire to work together towards a solution. We also see this unique project as an opportunity
▶ 13:16 Speaker 8: to set Melrose apart. The memo captures the key areas of interest from our point of view. Principle among them are concerns regarding the size and therefore budget of the plans and its downstream impact on other phases
▶ 13:29 Speaker 10: of the public safety project.
▶ 13:33 Speaker 8: With this, let today mark a new era
▶ 13:35 Speaker 10: of process with this project.
▶ 13:37 Speaker 8: The process that is rooted in inclusion and engagement and lays a foundation for what we see as a partnership ahead in front of the council is a vote
▶ 13:44 Speaker 10: to accept the BB school's town property
▶ 13:46 Speaker 8: and the decision to appropriate funds
▶ 13:50 Speaker 10: to its po potential future as a police station. With this I leave you, all of you with a single word legacy.
▶ 13:59 Speaker 8: As Melrose citizens, we see this as an opportunity for Melrose to do something special with a unique circumstance. There is no other town in Massachusetts that has a police station situated in a dense residential
▶ 14:10 Speaker 10: neighborhood and juxtaposed to a historic estate.
▶ 14:12 Speaker 8: Meanwhile, what has been proposed
▶ 14:14 Speaker 10: to date is a very large state-of-the-art police fortress of the for the future replacing what was one of our last remaining assets for education. In a town where we are desperate to improve all aspects of education for our children, the optics are not great and will get worse.
▶ 14:33 Speaker 8: Furthermore, the shift in focus from building a station
▶ 14:34 Speaker 10: that meets the well-deserving needs of our police force to a super structure that contemplates more policing and more crime is just bewildering to us
▶ 14:43 Speaker 8: and raises so many more questions and raises greater concerns.
▶ 14:47 Speaker 10: Why so big? It is not what we voted for.
▶ 14:53 Speaker 8: Maybe this is the most important question to bring to the com to bring to committee in closing.
▶ 14:58 Speaker 10: I shared the word, that word again legacy. What do you want the front page headline
▶ 15:03 Speaker 8: to read when considering your legacy for Melrose?
▶ 15:05 Speaker 10: Is it Melrose Open state-of-the-art, large,
▶ 15:11 Speaker 8: largest per capita in the Commonwealth Police Station while
▶ 15:14 Speaker 10: schools and fire stations are left wanting or Melrose successfully harmonizes public safety with historic charm of their neighborhoods.
▶ 15:23 Speaker 8: A lesson imbalance in community collaboration.
▶ 15:26 Speaker 10: There're probably others. I just went with those two for now. Thank you for reflecting on these points and hearing us as you take this forward to committee. We appreciate your care and collaboration in this process and look forward to partnering with you on what could be something very special for Melrose. Thank you.
▶ 15:42 Speaker 6: Thank you. Is there
▶ 15:46 Speaker 6: anyone else wishing to speak?
▶ 15:51 Speaker 6: Is there anyone online? Madam Clerk?
▶ 15:53 Speaker 5: There is not. Okay with that.
▶ 15:55 Speaker 6: I will motion by unanimous consent to close public comment.