PUBLIC COMMENT

Transcript (~6 min @ 6:54)

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

▶ 6:41 Bradley Freeman: Thank you. At this time, I'll motion by unanimous consent to approve without reading the minutes from July 20th. Seeing no objection, those minutes are now approved. I will now motion by unanimous consent to open the floor for public comment. Seeing no objection, we are open for public comment. Per Rule 33A 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 viewpoint on any other matter are also welcome. As a reminder, public comment period is an opportunity for the public to share comments. Councilors will not respond. You have up to five minutes for comments. I will notify you when you have 30 seconds left. Welcome, sir. If you wouldn't mind just starting with your name and address for the record?

▶ 7:24 Speaker 7: Be happy to, sir. Thank you. Good evening, Councilors. My name is Dennis McCarthy. I live at 104 Heywood Avenue in the Horace Mann area. I've been a Melrose resident for more than 40 years. My wife has served this community for many years as a school nurse at St Mary's and later at the Lincoln School. We moved here from Boston, in large part because of Melrose character. I was talking to Jason a moment ago. One of the things we always valued about the city is the character. When we were in Boston, we lived in Jamaica Plain. It wasn't quite the same, although the real stop was somebody was killed across the street from us, so that was a hard stop. We're getting out of here. But we found Melrose by accident through a friend, and then we rented, and then one thing became another thing, and then we wound up buying a house over on Heywood Avenue, by Heywood and Damon. But what we valued really here is that even when we disagree, we always, on important issues, they're usually discussed in public through hearings, council deliberation, and when appropriate, you all vote on it and make a decision. And the reason I'm here tonight is to raise a concern about the city's use of automated license plate readers, Flock. After reading about this technology, God knows where I was reading, it might've been CNN, whatever, I wondered whether it was used in Melrose. I later learned that we had two readers listed publicly online, and then I subsequently came to understand that we actually have three. I was very surprised and very concerned to learn this. My concern was, excuse me My concern is straightforward. How did this happen without there being any public conversation, debate, or a vote? Other cities that I looked at, like Cleveland, Los Angeles, Salem, Massachusetts, most recently, there were very vigorous public conversations about this.

▶ 9:29 Speaker 7: So I contacted the mayor's office. I received a PDF of the policy. I followed up to the mayor's office with additional questions and did not get a response. I then reached out to Councilor Jason Chen, who's been very helpful in discussing my concerns about the process and the potential impact on residents' privacy. I'm not here tonight as a lawyer or an expert on technology. I'm here as a longtime resident asking for a transparent public conversation. Specifically, I would respectfully ask the council to review the city's relationship with Flock, consider suspending the contract long enough to allow a broader public review, including an opportunity for all residents to share their thoughts. I would ask whether the city would consider labeling the locations where readers are installed and/or covering the cameras until the community's had a chance to discuss and decide how this type of surveillance should be used in Melrose. This has been done in other communities where we can't come to an accommodation, the cameras are covered until an accommodation can be found. In terms of labeling, I actually came across that idea when I was traveling to England. I was in London and Manchester, and if you've ever been to England, wherever you go, you see CCTVs. You're in a CCTV area. I was going to a gym in Manchester, down an alley. And in both cases, they were short. There were signs that said there was a camera there. While it made me a little jumpy, but at least I understood I was being surveilled. I was telling Jason, we were talking briefly before I sat here, that Whole Foods has posted a sign outside their store now. That they now surveil their customers inside the store. I don't have as much an issue with that. It's private property. The sign's prominently displayed. I can choose to go some other place, go to Shaw's if I want to. So I appreciate that transparency. This really isn't about opposing public safety. I come from a public safety background. My father's a police officer, my brother's a police officer. It's about making sure that the tools with privacy implications are reviewed openly with the mayor's office, the police department, the city council, and that the public are all part of that conversation, and that we're not left out of that conversation. The place where we are now is a place where many cities-

▶ 12:02 Speaker 4: 30 seconds left, Mr. McCarthy

▶ 12:02 Speaker 7: Thank you. Where many cities find themselves. Thank you very much for your time, and thank you for your service to the city.

▶ 12:11 Bradley Freeman: Thank you, Mr. McCarthy. You're welcome, sir. Is there anyone else who would like to offer public comment today? Seeing no one in person. Madam Clerk, is there anyone online? No one online. Thank you. If there's no objection, a motion by unanimous consent to close public comment. Seeing no objection, we are now closed for public comment. There are no communications from the honorable mayor tonight. Moving on to new business. Filings by the honorable mayor, appointments, and reappointments.