Department Budget Presentations

Transcript (~46 min @ 1:40)

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

▶ 1:27 Mark Garipay: Um, so first up, we have Department 6 93 Memorial Hall, and we have with us, uh, Ms.

▶ 1:41 Speaker 1: Kathy Pickett, Broder, director of Memorial Hall,

▶ 1:46 Mark Garipay: and Lou Izzy, um, one of the trustees. I'm not sure your title on the I'm,

▶ 1:49 Speaker 2: I don't have a title. So Mary Sexton, who's our chairperson, uh, couldn't make it this evening, so they've asked me to sit in, but also joined by, um, Michael Margolis and Jay Webb, who are also trustees.

▶ 2:05 Speaker 3: Hello Floor Trust. Thank you very much. Um, first of all, I wanna thank you for your time tonight. I appreciate you listening and hearing us out. Um, I, as you know, I'm the Executive director and exec operations manager of the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building. Um, I want, first off, wanna thank my incredibly hardworking staff who last year executed with me over 259 events with over 48,000 guests to our building as of this morning. And I do it day by day, how many events I have. Um, but as of this morning, I have 203 requests for event dates for fiscal year 26. Um, the Memorial Hall rental rates, um, will increase as of July, 2025. I researched for the trustees. 18 municipal communities surround all our surrounding communities. Um, it took several months, but I researched only municipal owned properties, what their rental rates were, and I presented it to the trustees. They, in turn, took that along with the cost to run Memorial Health, given to us by the CFO to determine the new rates. Uh, great news at Memorial Health for next year is, um, as you have heard, the Mayor's office successfully applied and got a grant from the, and I wanna say it correctly, the Massachusetts Association Planning Council's Technical Assistance Program Program for a strategic planning for Memorial Hall as a regional arts and cultural venue. The grants is worth $95,000, and what it will do is MAP staff will work with city staff to determine the next chapter of Memorial Hall. Um, and what are the options for management of Memorial Hall in the future? Um, the FY 26 budget that you have presented to you, um, represents a reduction in the Memorial Hall salaries, which is a lowering of the, the hours for the Memorial Hall staff, a reduction in the elevator, um, service, annual service plan. That's a mandatory service plan, but it's based on union rates and everything else is level funded. I'm happy to take any questions you have regarding the budget.

▶ 4:12 Speaker 1: Uh, council Hamilton, thank you.

▶ 4:14 Ward Hamilton: Thank you for being here tonight. And I have a statement prepared, but before I read it, there is no one in Melrose that doesn't recognize the value of Memorial Hall in the asset that it is in this community, we are a municipality, a city government, a corporation that delivers services to residents funded by their tax dollars. The essential services we deliver are public works, water, sewer, trash, and recycling streets, sidewalks, parks and buildings. That's our infrastructure. Public safety, police and fire and public education. Our school system. During the present budget season, we've heard about dramatic cuts in city services to police, fire and DPW, and we have gutted the school budget simultaneously. We have approved putting an override measure on the ballot in November, signaling to the community our position that we need more of their tax dollars to get the job done.

▶ 5:21 Speaker 2: How do we approve the department budget

▶ 5:23 Ward Hamilton: before us when we don't have a city engineer or a facilities director, when we cannot fully fund our police or fire departments the way they deserve to be? And when we are literally laying off dozens of teachers, what are the optics on that? And what is the message we would be sending to the taxpayers? A municipality that operates a non-essential ancillary resource at a loss during a time like this is literally telling the community we don't really need an override. And that's the wrong message to be sending. I make a message to, I make a motion to reduce the bottom line of department 6 9 3 Memorial building budget total to $0.

▶ 6:18 Mark Garipay: We have a motion on the floor by Cons.

▶ 6:24 Speaker 1: Hamilton, do we have a second? Second.

▶ 6:25 Mark Garipay: Second. Okay. So we have a motion on the floor to reduce the Memorial Hall budget, uh, to zero. So that would be reducing it, $215,937, um, made by Council Hamilton, seconded by Council Ro on discussion. Council Romanul,

▶ 6:44 Devin Romanul: I have some thoughts, but first, I, I wanted to ask, um, a question. It, the study that, for which we've applied for the funding from MAPC, is there a timeline, anticipated timeline for, um, execution for, uh, getting those policy recommendations? And how might they line up with the City of Melrose's fiscal year?

▶ 7:03 Speaker 3: It's going to be exec be done next fiscal year, so it'll be done within the next fiscal year, fiscal year 26, right?

▶ 7:09 Devin Romanul: Right. So maybe sometime in the spring we'd get a series of recommendations.

▶ 7:14 Speaker 3: Great. Um,

▶ 7:17 Mark Garipay: Okay. Councilor Kahan,

▶ 7:19 Manjula Karamcheti: Um, I do not have a formal statement present, uh, to give as, uh, councilor Hamilton did, but there's a couple things on my mind. I have actually been someone who, if you look back, past couple of meetings, have been very interested in looking at Memorial Hall and its potential to become an entity in the city that actually raises more money, particularly at the 95% residential, um, rate that we have. However, I believe very strongly that it is something that needs to be done thoughtfully, strategically, and as a community, meaning the city works together with the community to determine the future, and one that is actually able to reach the goals of helping us with our finances. I believe very strongly that doing this right now is actually the worst thing that we could do for a variety of reasons. Um, one, it is a, it is a resource that the community depends on in many ways. I think if you ask folks, regardless of the financial situation that we're in, there are a lot of school entities and community entities that use Memorial Hall. It is an affordable rate, and to get rid of it just leaves it empty and doing nothing for our community. And I just, I don't think that is the right thing at all for us right now. Um, I was just there a few weeks ago for the, for the pops with high school students. We had, like our artists use that space. I just think it's very shortsighted to get rid of the one entity that oversees that space. That is an important part of our community. And again, I have been someone who is championed looking at Memorial Hall and how it could be closer to a Valier theater closer to other entities. And we actually have $95,000 to do that. So again, it seems very shortsighted to me to do this now as opposed to keep it going. Learn with experts on how to use this resource to the benefit our community to actually help us get out of our financial situation. Thank

▶ 9:45 Mark Garipay: You. Thank you. Uh, councilor Jamal. Thank

▶ 9:47 Maya Jamaleddine: You. Um, thank you Councilor Ka. Sheri, I wouldn't have said it better than, um, you. Um, I wanted to thank you for all the services that you've been providing to the community, and especially at the Memorial Hall. I wanted to thank your team. I do think that this, I was saving my, um, comments for later, but since we have a motion on, uh, before us, so I would like to actually mention that I think this is very premature, uh, decision to make, to close, uh, uh, the building. As for now, we have a great opportunity with the $95,000 to actually, um, I'm, I'm a strategic planner, so to have that opportunity to strategically plan of how to best use that building and that's this great resource is, um, uh, we don't wanna miss that opportunity. Um, uh, I see a lot of communities, uh, in a neighborhood are looking for this kind of buildings and resource. Um, they actually, we, I know that a couple of, uh, other communities, they come and, um, uh, celebrate their events and hold their events at, uh, Memorial Hall, um, and actually attending couple, um, in the next couple of weeks. So, um, just to summarize my thoughts, I think the revenue that we are having In addition to the support and the resources that we provide them for the community and beyond, it's a loss for us to close that building. I do also think that this 95 grand that we are grateful, uh, to be able to secure is, um, it, it's good to take the chance and see what we, what would hold for the Memorial Hall so that we can see if actually it would improve and bring more revenue for the city. So thank you so much, and I would definitely support this budget.

▶ 11:47 Mark Garipay: Thank you. Thank you. Um, vice chair, Jamal, councilor, FANUC Chiro, then mayor of Vandiver, and then Stuart, thank you For the first time. Um,

▶ 11:54 Cal Finocchiaro: thank you for being here. And I, it pains me to vote against this budget. Um, it, I do not take it lightly. My decision, I thought about it over and over again because, you know, growing up here, and I've performed at Memorial Hall. I mean, we've worked together for years. Uh, the talent show and various other, um, sporting events that have been there, banquets. Um, it's my favorite building in the city. I just, every time I'd think about the budget and how we're spending money to keep the building open, I thought of, you know, Mr. Murphy, who just lost his job at the middle school and we're having Principal Merrill cover both buildings. I've thought about the teachers that we've laid out,

▶ 12:41 Speaker 4: and it just, I'm looking at this and this is not, you know, I'm trying

▶ 12:45 Cal Finocchiaro: to remove the emotion from it and looking at it from numbers and just saying, you know, and I, I know I've talked to you about this and, and like I said, this is a very difficult situation for me. And this is where we find ourselves as city counselors. We sign up for this job, but I can't approve a bottom line. And, and I've said this before when I, I, I feel like

▶ 13:07 Cal Finocchiaro: we're, we are, we're asking the community to vote on a very expensive override in the fall, and we're giving up so much right now. Um, you know, the schools are obviously one thing, but in various areas in the city. And, um, this is not a perfect situation. Um, I wish there was something else we could do, but, um, it's just, I wanted to explain to you that, uh, this, I did not take my decision lightly, so, and I do wanna say, you're excellent at your job. You run that place perfectly, and I appreciate all the years. I think you've been there 17 years, you said. Um, so again, I, I'm sorry, but I feel like I had to give you my explanation, but I just, um, like I said, I'm just looking at numbers at this point, and that's how I made my decision.

▶ 13:56 Mark Garipay: Thank you. Thank you. Council Vandiver.

▶ 13:58 Kimberly Vandiver: Uh, thank you. Uh, uh, I wanted to ask a question. Uh, you mentioned the increase in rates, the study that was done, and, uh, upcoming change to the rate structure. Um, do you have an expectation for the amount of increased revenue for the next fiscal year compared to the prior year based on that rate change?

▶ 14:19 Speaker 3: Yes. Um, we do with the rate, if everybody books that has booked for this year, um, the increase in revenue would be around 40, 50,000 more, closer to $50,000.

▶ 14:32 Kimberly Vandiver: Okay. Thank you. I only have that one question at this time. Thank you. Thank you.

▶ 14:36 Speaker 1: Um, counsel Stewart.

▶ 14:38 Robb Stewart: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you Mr. And miss, uh, for being here. Um, so I look at the numbers closely. I drive everyone up the wall here probably. Um, but it's, it's a loss leader, right? It's, we're a hundred thousand dollars, uh, behind and, um, but we're not $215,000 behind. And so what I've heard so far this evening is that, you know, 120 4K plus the additional seven K, so you're gonna be at about, um, 1 31. So that leaves one 17 left. So you're about one 17 behind. Um, if you look at 259 events and you say, well, we're only gonna have 216 events, that's about 83%. You do the multiple, you're gonna get about 88 K, but then you add another maybe 5K, so you're talking about 92, 93 K, and if you add the additional rate increase, you're looking of 40 to $50,000. You're looking at about 140, so you're about 70 short, uh, versus 117 short. So I'd be interested in hearing what the, uh, this $95,000 grant investment. And my understanding, and please correct me if I'm wrong, my understanding is they would help try to understand, uh, how we can narrow that gap of $70,000. Is that accurate? Yes. Uh, and what we could do, what are the different scenarios for the building, right.

▶ 16:18 Speaker 3: The best use and the management of Memorial Hall, the, that's the goal. The best use, what's The best use, and the management of Memorial Hall and various options

▶ 16:26 Robb Stewart: From a financial perspective. Mm-hmm. Right. Okay. So, Mr. Chair, um, what I would say is, um, I, I, I would agree with the reduction. I do not agree at all to reduce to zero. I think we need to keep it as a functioning building. Um, I think there's, uh, tremendous value, um, not just from a nostalgic perspective, but from a functional perspective. A lot of this community relies on this building for a number of different things, um, both adults as well as children. And I think it would be, uh, irresponsible of us to take that away when, for two things. One, there is a reduction and we could potentially further reduce, but there's also a, a plan to figure out what's gonna be done with this building. And I'd rather see us run at a lower loss or make an adjustment versus taking a more draconian act of closing it down completely. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

▶ 17:35 Mark Garipay: Thank you. Um, I have Councilor Williams for the first time, and then is there any Councilor Williams and President Elli? And then I have councilor, uh, Ramal Council Machete and Council Hamilton for the second time.

▶ 17:51 Speaker 5: Okay. Thank you. Um, Okay. Got everyone.

▶ 17:56 Ryan Williams: The, The, uh, the revenue that comes into Memorial Hall, is it consistent in its pace, or is there a busy season?

▶ 18:05 Speaker 3: No, when you sign the contract, you have to pay a 50% non-refundable deposit. So when they sign the contract, they get it. So it's sort of spread out. Okay. Then when, eight weeks before your event, you must pay it in full. Okay.

▶ 18:20 Ryan Williams: So there's really, is there a, is there a particularly slow time of year at Memorial Hall?

▶ 18:26 Speaker 3: Yes, January is very slow. Um, August is very slow. That's about

▶ 18:32 Ryan Williams: It. Do you have any contracts currently in between origination and execution of the event, for lack of a better word? Have people, have people booked the hall, but they haven't had the event yet?

▶ 18:45 Speaker 3: Yes. Okay. For fiscal year 25 or 26

▶ 18:48 Ryan Williams: For the calendar year to that remains. So we would be talking mostly about fiscal year 26,

▶ 18:53 Speaker 3: Fiscal year 25. I have all of my, their contracts, once I sign 'em, they come contracts. I've mailed out rental applications to all of the events for fiscal, most of them for fiscal year 26. I've only had a return of, well, the deadline is July 1st. That's when I asked for the contracts to come back, and I have only had two return so Far. Okay. Um, But the con the rental applications have been mailed out to the people that have requested dates.

▶ 19:20 Ryan Williams: Okay. Thank you. So, I'm gonna opine for a minute here, as many of us have done, um, tonight. I, I think it's a fair through the chair. It is a fair point of discussion. That's what we're here for, to ask, is this worth it for all of this, the whole budget? So I appreciate, um, although a bold move, I appreciate counselors, uh, raising this question and allowing us to have a robust discussion on it. It's a discussion I'm prepared to have. Like Councillor Stewart said, I've, I have thought about the numbers, and one thing that jumped out at me right away was the fact that if you reduce the budget to zero, you've effectively cut something like $50,000 of budgeted expenses for utilities and heat and ongoing maintenance, excuse me, things that might come back to Vita. Um, you know, certainly we would need the building to be heated. We would need the electricity to be left on, and those costs would have to enter the budget at some other point. And we are in an unfortunate, um, moment where our budget is, is extremely, extremely tight. And I don't think that that $50,000 lives right now anywhere else in the budget. That's number one. Number two, I do tend to agree that, um, since we're really only talking about a, like a $75,000 or so deficit in this, and it's, you know, kind of a quasi-public private building, that it's a good idea for us to pause to see what this report or analysis comes up with, um, before we make any, any big moves. I will say that I'm not at the point right now where I'm ready to make cuts. I think I've demonstrated that with other votes we've had where other counselors have had appetites for cuts. I don't have an appetite for further cuts from the mayor's already low budget. Um, but if we don't pass an override in November, if there are people who are talking out of both sides of their mouth and are not going to help us get the revenue that we need to push this city forward, then we're gonna be in a different position in 2026. But today, where I sit right now, um, I'm not ready, uh, certainly to reduce this budget to zero, which is the motion on the floor. Thank you

▶ 21:25 Speaker 1: President Meley early.

▶ 21:26 Leila Migliorelli: Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you Ms. Picket Broder for being here. Um, I guess I am sort of questioning the zero cut here, because as I understand it, we cut this budget. Um, it's not like we're saving the schools with it. Um, I know this is not your forte and you know, I know that CFO Golden is here, but, um, it's a little sort of, uh, performative to cut a budget, um, for with no plan. Um, we can't add it. We can't bring back teachers, we cannot bring back principals. Um, so just kind of gives me pause, um, as to why we would be doing this. It wouldn't necessarily save the city anything at this point in time. I mean, we've gone through seven weeks of budget hearings and have had nothing cut from any budget. Um, we've cut trees and we've cut the inauguration we have left in our salaries, which total 55,000. I, you know, it's kind of questionable whether we need that. So I, I'm just, I'm definitely not supportive of zeroing out the budget, particularly as I think Councillor Stewart pointed out. You know, we have a plan, um, to study the revenue, um, to kind of go through that process and find out what is the future of Memorial Hall. It's a municipal building that brings not only revenue, um, but it has that un like incalculable public good that needs to be looked at. So, do we have to, as a community decide whether that public good is worth supporting at a loss, or whether it's time to move on and, um, explore other options, which would be selling the building, having someone, you know, a professional company management manage it, but there's no one around this horseshoe that's qualified to make that decision. I'm sorry. I know we like to think that, I know we campaign on these things, um, but it's not, I don't know that anyone here has had experience in running a venue. Um, I think, I think that the other piece of this is public lack of public conversation and input. Um, I would not be comfortable, and I'm kind of fairly shocked that we would go and try to motion to cut a building without any public input when we have, um, you know, decided to use, uh, the BB school for the police station. We've had extensive public discussions on this extensive, painful discussions about that building. And again, I think it's a little bit, um, a little ambitious of us to go and cut a building that, what did you say, Kathy? There is, um, 200 and something events planned for next year.

▶ 24:03 Speaker 3: Right now it's 203 dates this year we have 259

▶ 24:07 Leila Migliorelli: And let's some of that, you know, fiscal year 26 starts July one. Correct. And I know that there's camps there this summer. Yes. In July. Yeah. So again, I don't really see how this is helping the community at all, or how it's a difficult decision, um, to deal with it, particularly since we have a plan as how, uh, how to deal with it.

▶ 24:32 Leila Migliorelli: Um, I will just also point out, um, that if we don't, if so, if we close the building, we still have to, we would have to cancel all of those contracts and those events with zero plans. And I, I would invite through the chair if my council colleagues have plans on how to hold these events, what their communication strategy would be for canceling all of them, um, or if they have other ideas in mind. So, um, I'll leave it for there right now. Thank you. Thank you.

▶ 25:00 Mark Garipay: Okay. That's everyone for the first time. Second time I have Councilor Romanul, and then Council Ham, uh, sorry, councilor Machete, and then Councilor Hamilton.

▶ 25:09 Devin Romanul: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I, I did have one more question as, as I heard my colleagues talking. Has there ever been any analysis or thought into what the economic impact is for the 48,000 people who come into our city who ostensibly might stick around to shop, walk around, visit our various beautiful, you know, shops, restaurants, parks, things like that? Has there any been any thought or, or competitive analysis on, on what that looks like?

▶ 25:41 Speaker 2: No, I don't think there's been any analysis of it, but I do think that, uh, Kathy's done a pretty spectacular job of advertising our local businesses during those events. Um, I think at this point you have a QR code that, uh, folks can, uh, access in order to visit, you know, the restaurants and other businesses in our community when they hear from an event. So that's been, I think, um, of a tremendous benefit to the business community. I'm also a member of the Chamber of Commerce and, um, you know, many of our members appreciate what she's done to promote the business community here.

▶ 26:15 Speaker 3: Yeah. I also get a lot of phone calls from people asking me about what the attendance is in some of events, especially in directly downtown, the pizza places. And Sep will call me, Shaw's will call me for June for recital month. Like, how many people do you think of attending? Because they know it directly affects them. And the QR code is on our, is directly set up so that you can go to our website and I list all the businesses, Mount Wells, not just downtown, and I list them by category. If it's, you're looking for a grocery store, if you're list looking for a florist so that they can just scan it and say, this is where I can go to get what I need. Yeah. Also, in between for, for example, recitals, when they drop off rehearsals, the parents are here for two hours, where can they go? They can scan the code 'cause it's right as they enter the building and they can know what's in the neighbor the area, so they can promote, they can, we can promote our local businesses. Yeah.

▶ 27:02 Devin Romanul: I, I was, I was just thinking about the, you know, secondary and tertiary impacts of, of closing an institution that it's difficult to make that kind of decision in a vacuum. Makes me think of, I was at the, um, grocery store today and my 5-year-old pulled out the bottom grapefruit. Um, unbeknownst to him what was holding it up on the, the pyramid of other grapefruits. And I, I just, I think about the proposal and what that might mean. I, I, I take very seriously, I, I through the chair appreciate my colleagues, um, creativity and suggestions and, and I think that I, I really, uh, wanted to give it some serious thought. And, um, I take the concern seriously, the fiscal pinch inflationary challenges are hitting everywhere, and it's making us pit teacher salaries against events. It's making us pit paving roads against, you know, a DPW director against a, you know, a firefighter. And it really, um, tho those are very difficult conversations to have, to figure out what is the public utility, and that's not in dollars and cents. What is the public utility of having each of these positions? And that, that is a very complicated question. It's a very different question for each of us. Those who are parents, those who aren't, those who live in particular neighborhoods, those who don't. And I think that, um, we, we have to feed the soul too. I think that that is a part of the character of our community. Um, you know, I, I pulled up a quote that John Adams said, I must study politics and war. So my sons have the liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, and naval architecture. So my others, their children can study painting, poetry and music. And I, I think that this is a part of the character of our community, and I don't so b blindly dismiss it. And I, I'm not saying that blithely is the right word for my colleagues. I just, I feel strongly that, uh, the practical implication of it is, is pretty profound. I think, um, as some other colleagues noted, if we go to zero, you know, things can break. I don't know if anyone has not heated their house when they go away on vacation, but it really stinks when you come home to, uh, water in the basement. Um, and, and then there's the economic implications as well. So I, I think I would be a no on, on zeroing out. Um, and I also, uh, just two more things. I'm sorry. Uh, if, if we, I feel like it is shortsighted to say, zeroing it out because we are on the precipice of a study that will give us a roadmap forward. And I think that we do take a couple of steps backwards on that, where we to zero it out and lose out, uh, I think a more, um, expeditious opportunity to take advantage of the beautiful asset that we have. We have on there a couple times a month for various events. And, uh, and then finally it's not as if, you know, I think I also think play the tape to the end. Well then this becomes free cash. And while free cash is valuable, it does not effectively solve the litany of, uh, fiscal challenges that we have that I think would be, um, better addressed in other methods. So I really appreciate the, the candor and the, uh, thoughts. But I would be, uh, a pretty strong No, thank you. Thank

▶ 30:07 Speaker 1: You. Council Chetty.

▶ 30:09 Manjula Karamcheti: Um, just a couple things in listening to my colleagues, um, from the original proposal, two positions that were mentioned on the city side, which were the city engineer and facilities. I think something that I'm thinking about is those two positions are vacant. And I appreciate fiscally when any city or school department has to make hard decisions about positions. The humane thing is to not fill positions. I I think we are in a different situation when we're thinking about cutting positions that are filled. And I know we needed to do that with the school department, but that's situation in terms of the deficit is very different. Um, and our superintendent had a strategy for why he thought the positions that he was removing made sense for kids and for the community. I am not seeing that here, and the dots are just not adding up for me in terms of why this cut right now, given the, the pieces of this puzzle. There is a grant, there is a human in a position running this building that serves our community in a wide variety of ways. And so, I guess one of the things I wanted to ask you, and I don't mean to put you on the spot, but like, I think you said like 293 events, like, those are the school, like 2 59, 2 50, sorry. Um, but like, I would love for you to just share as many as you can think of in terms of what those events are. Not expecting you to do the two 50, but I think it is relevant to the conversation. We have what we lose in being able to host people who are paying to use the building. So that part is not lost on me.

▶ 32:08 Speaker 3: Well, right off the bat, Meryll Symphony Orchestra, it's the oldest continuing orchestra in the building. They've been there for over a hundred years. The Merose Youth Ballet comes in and does rehearsals all through October and November. And for performances, which they had to increase to six performances last year, 'cause they sold out within a a week of selling tickets. We have just today, I, we have a group, it's called the Parish Air. It's an Indian concert series throughout the country. And they're coming to us. I have recitals and rehearsals the entire month of June. I have the Knights of Columbus fundraiser. I'm trying to go through my list of events. I have, um, uh, in July. July was a dead month for me. No one was, um, booking it. So I, um, connected with the rec department. They needed a location for the Lego Robotics Lego Program, which started out two weeks, and it grew so fast. We now do four weeks, which fills the hall. 'cause the most expensive room in a hotel is the empty one.

▶ 33:08 Speaker 3: I have, um, auditions for the Mel Youth Ballet in August, then starting in September, I have the food in October. The food drive has their host, their fundraiser there. We have the Mouse High School Pops concert. The kid, the high school, um, band and orchestra had their concert there. We just had a three day event with the polymer. I had, I just had an event, it's called Kids' Curtain Call. It's a theater group. It's actually out of Lynn Winthrop and one other town. I don't know. They have three locations. They just had a three day event there. They had two days of rehearsals and one day of, um, performances all day where people from around the city around, not within the city, but outside the city, came and went downtown for businesses. Um, I,

▶ 33:53 Speaker 3: I'm, that's pretty good.

▶ 33:53 Manjula Karamcheti: I think that's a wonderful cross section of who is served, um, in, in the building and what it's providing. So I appreciate that, and I recognize it's a snapshot.

▶ 34:07 Speaker 3: Well, I, I know I've got Bo Boston boxing and Like my tag, which The adults of this community Love those events. I get more calls when those are coming and they come for, they, I've now booked them for four times a year. Each of those organizations.

▶ 34:20 Manjula Karamcheti: And I will just say again, as a community member, but as a city counselor, it's probably Memorial hall's, probably the place that I have spent the most time in other than these Chambers and Melrose High School when it comes to my kids' events and community events. And, and that does matter, um, from Lego Camp to the marching band banquet and everything in between. So it's a cherished space and I appreciate it.

▶ 34:48 Speaker 1: Thank you. Council Hamilton. Thank you.

▶ 34:51 Ward Hamilton: To reiterate, uh, my first comment, there is no doubt what the value is to Memorial Hall and our community.

▶ 35:05 Ward Hamilton: No doubt whatsoever. Our position on the city council is very limited. We can approve a budget before us, we can reject it, or we can make a motion to cut it in some way. And I studied on that and I worked with the city solicitor. I don't feel qualified to go into this budget and find a way to make it make sense to reduce it. I see that it's $61,000 to keep the lights and the heat on and to honor our contractual obligations. What I'm concerned about is the narrative in this community. And if anyone around this horseshoe thinks that they're gonna go and they're gonna sell to the community, I don't mean the people that are gonna automatically vote yes. And we forget the people who are gonna vote no, but the people in the middle who we need to sell and override to, which I have been very vocally supportive of. If you think that you can convince them that it makes sense to keep a building open, that is a financial loser. And I don't like that word. It's unfortunate, but that's what it is. And if you think that you can simultaneously sell that to the community, well, it's a wonderful place and great things happen. And I know it costs a lot. Good luck if this stays in the budget as it is in full. I'm, I'm open to amending this number. If this stays in his full next week. I'm a no vote on this budget. And I don't know where I stand on the override because I'm about making difficult decisions. Things like Memorial Hall, the library, the senior center, they are wonderful things in this community.

▶ 36:51 Ward Hamilton: But If you think, if anyone thinks that we can just continue to operate, like nothing bad is happening here, look the other way. Just give us more money. It's not gonna fly and it's gonna be a disaster in November, and we need an override to pass or we're gonna be in big trouble.

▶ 37:08 Speaker 2: So I'm open to what, uh, folks here think.

▶ 37:10 Ward Hamilton: If someone is open to amending this budget, then I'm certainly work willing to work with, you know, my, my colleagues. But as it is, as it stands right here, I can't get behind this and not, 'cause I don't want to. I love Melrose. I love good times in mellows. I love events and, and, and great things that we can do in our community, but it's gonna be a very hard sell, um, to our voters.

▶ 37:37 Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you.

▶ 37:40 Mark Garipay: Council Fanook Yarro, then Council Vandiver and Council Chetty, then Councilor, president Elli.

▶ 37:49 Cal Finocchiaro: Thanks. Um, councilor, uh, Hamilton said some of the things I wanted to say, but I'll just reiterate. Um, you know, mayor passes the budget down to us and we are elected to look at it and make decisions on it. And we are limited with what we can do. And zeroing of this budget is not a perfect situation. Um, I would also be open to amending it if that's possible. But, um, we are talking about dire budget, dire budgets with everything that has been going on with this, um, with the current budget and, you know, police, fire, DBW, the schools, those are like essentials. And I'm not saying I, I love Memorial Hall and it is an essential part of our community,

▶ 38:36 Cal Finocchiaro: but it's not essential when we're talking about like a, a very dire budget. And that, that's just, that's how I see it going forward. And I, it's not that I never wanna see Memorial Hall operating, it's just right now, um, that was kind of the, the thought process of my decision. It's, you know, um, so anyways, I, um,

▶ 38:58 Cal Finocchiaro: like I would be open to, like I said, possibly amending the budget, zeroing it is not ideal, but, um, like, like counselor will, um, Hamilton said, we are limited to what we can do, um, with the mayor's budget. So, um, that's it.

▶ 39:15 Mark Garipay: Thank you Councilor Vandiver.

▶ 39:19 Kimberly Vandiver: Thank you Chair. Uh, a few comments, uh, one minor point, but you mentioned the QR code. That's very, that's fairly neat and those can be set up as well to track the traffic that originates from them. Might be something to consider in the future to further show the utilization. Um, I wanted to clarify my understanding of the way that our role works for anybody who's listing in the public is that, you know, others have alluded to it, but I just want to be very clear that if we use zeroed out this budget, this money would not go to free cash. It would not go to another budget. It would not go to next year. It would in fact remove, it would lower entire spending cap. So it would essentially be a mini anti override. We would be saying our ability to raise funds in the future is two point half percent of a lower number every single year from now forward. Um, so I just, I don't think it makes any sense. I, I think it's frustrating that our, in our role as counselors that we can't, you know, move money around more than we can. But, but really we can say yes or we can say less money that that's our role as counselors. Um, so I, I just don't think that makes any sense from that perspective. Um, I wanted to, through the chair also comment on, I think a great point that may have, um, also, um, I'd like to spell it more that Councilor Stewart made. Um, he mentioned that this is a loss leader. Um, a loss leader for anyone who doesn't know is a technical term that's a, is something that you lose money on that brings people in the door so that they spend more money throughout your entire business. And so what I believe I would assume he means by that is that, um, you know, that this work and, and money that's spent, even if at a loss, is having a much greater impact financially as well as, um, in other ways within the community and is worth having. Um, I believe the classic example of a loss leader is hot dogs at Costco. And, uh, the CEO has threatened everyone on the staff that if you ever raise them above a dollar, whatever it is, you know, you can never do that because that's what gets people in the door. They spend lots of other money at Costco. Um, so I just wanted to highlight that. Um, and then looking at, I, I know we're talking at the moment about the relu, the, um, motion to zero it out, but I just, I mean, I'm looking at, there are eight lines in this budget and they, none of them seem particularly fluffy. I don't know where you would even cut anything. Electricity, gas, heat, elevator maintenance. We've heard that's required. Building repair and maintenance, professional services, maybe, I dunno what the 16 k there goes, I know I've asked last year about supplies, that's cleaning supplies. I mean, I cut the cleaning supplies. I, I don't know, um, marketing supplies, um, $800, I assume that's like paper and ink and then salary and wages and I, I mean, maybe you could run with one less custodian, it'd be a little dirtier. I'm not sure. I'm not sure where you would, there's not a lot, you know, it's not like you could take some money out and then I, I just don't understand what would happen there. And as the others have mentioned, I mean, I assume that if we were to cancel all these contracts, if we were even going down that road, which I don't think makes any sense. I mean, I assume we would be hit with all sorts of fees in the contract on our end for canceling everything. So I, I just, I understand the sentiment, I understand that it's tough. I understand that, you know, it might be difficult

▶ 42:42 Kimberly Vandiver: for the community to understand, but I think it's very defensible to spend this money. So thank you.

▶ 42:49 Mark Garipay: Thank you. Um, for the council, we have a, a hearing at 7 45. We need to, um, we need to gavel into, we do have two counselors that are speaking for the second time. We do have another third counsel are speaking for the third time. Our rules do say they could speak twice to a, something at hand. So, um, I think I've been pretty lenient on, on the discussion. Um, so we have 15 minutes to the two counselors that are speaking for the second time, do they think we can do this fairly, fairly quickly? And then, okay, president Elli and then Council Stewart for the second time.

▶ 43:31 Speaker 4: Thank you, Mr. Chair.

▶ 43:36 Leila Migliorelli: Um, I, I'm a little, I think troubled by a conversation about how this impacts quote, selling and override. I mean, that's not our job as a council. That's, that's a campaign objective. Um, I support an override. I also support thoughtful planning. Um, I'm not worried about, you know, what people say in the community. My job is to make hard decisions. And the hard decision is that, you know, we've supported the mayor's $2.6 million in cuts. That's based on her knowledge and her team's knowledge on where they think the cuts make sense. Um, and I'm imagining that the Memorial Hall budget wasn't touched because of this planning grant in place, and that it is true that if we end up not ha not passing the override, passing the override, whatever, regardless, that that planning process will then prove a point as to what will happen next. And then it will be cut then. So again, I I, I don't, I really don't understand the logic in this. And, um, and I, you know, if we're gonna again, cut something, cut our salaries $55,000, I don't, I don't really see the point. And, um, you know, are we integral to be being paid? Um, no.

▶ 44:54 Speaker 3: Just, you know, there is a cut in this budget. I

▶ 44:58 Leila Migliorelli: Cut the s Right, exactly. Yes. And I cut, there's cuts. Yes. Thank you. So 2.6 million. Um, and, and it, this saves nothing. So it's, it's demonstrative to whomever people are talking to. Um, and it's not actually having an impact, um, on the lives of residents. It's, it's just not so, uh, I'm really, I'm just not comfortable. I'm not comfortable in cutting it. Um, I, and, and I don't really see the, the point of bringing up quote, selling and override in this council chamber. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

▶ 45:35 Speaker 1: Council Stewart. Thank You, Mr. Chair. Um,

▶ 45:39 Robb Stewart: just briefly and, uh, to the chair, uh, president mc kind of said what I was thinking, uh, in terms of, um, the mayor and her team has spent a lot of time, uh, inordinate amount of time going through and, and justifying, uh, all aspects of this budget. And, and I don't think that it was overlooked that this, um, would be, uh, a cost to the community. But, uh, what I'm assuming is that the value that the, that the cost brings supersedes the impact of the budget. And for that reason, um, I think it's justified. Uh, I, again, I'm a numbers guide and you know this Mr. Chair. I, I do have concerns about the gap. Um, uh, my, I would not support, uh, a reduction to zero. Um, what I would do, I, I, I would support this budget, but with the expectation from the administration to solve the problem going forward. And I know they have money to help do that, but I would expect them to not come to us the following year with the same problem. I would expect that this problem is gonna be solved this year, and figuring out how Memorial Hall can be used,