ORDER-2022-112 : Appointment of Christopher Bernard, of 71 Cranmore Lane, to the City of Melrose Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building Board of Trustees.

Transcript (~7 min @ 40:40)

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▶ 40:41 Robb Stewart: without objection I'll close public comment and we have one item on the agenda this evening and I believe we have both the Honorable Mayor and other speakers here this evening so without objection I will motion to suspend I

▶ 41:06 Robb Stewart: i will suspend rule 37a okay so uh the first order of this evening is order 2022-112 which is the appointment of christopher bernard of 71 cranmore lane to the city of melrose soldiers and

▶ 41:22 Paul Brodeur: sailors memorial building board of trustees mr mayor mr chairman members of the committee thank you very much uh for giving us the opportunity to present mr bernard for your consideration as you know we've had a little bit of talk about soldiers sales memorial hall earlier this evening it is in addition to being a performance space in some respects a meeting place but it is first and foremost exactly what it says it is a memorial it was constructed for that purpose and as part of that process as you all know board of trustees was created and quite reasonably the drafters of the legislation that created the memorial hall board of trustees recognized that there should be representation from the military on that board and set aside two positions for that for that purpose as i suspect you all know Eric De Noto served us for 10 years in that role, did an incredible job, an opening was created by his departure, and when I say departure, I kind of say it in quotes because I suspect we will continue to hear from Mr. De Noto, and not just because of his outstanding side business that he now runs. We had the good fortune to have several folks step up, including Mr. Bernard, who's before you tonight. I think it's interesting, as Jim was talking to us and mentioned his Navy experience, I don't go back far enough, but I'm not sure, quite frankly, we've ever had a Navy guy take on this role before. And Chris's background is in, it's not just in the Navy, but he is an Annapolis grad, and the most I can say about Annapolis is that I visited there. I think it would have lasted about 14 seconds based on what the folks that run the tour tell you, what, is it the plebs? Plebs go through. And then, not exactly resting on his laurel after his Navy career, which you have information about before you, got his MBA from Wharton, which is another outstanding institution that I suspect I would not be able to get into. But happily, we are not here about me. But in addition to that military background, which is necessary but not sufficient to get you, in my opinion, a nomination to this position, Chris, in his civilian life, has also excelled and has a range of experiences. both as a father and just as kind of a regular resident here in the city, including, not sure what it is about you military guys, but a certain expertise in craft brewing that is in some respects very important to the future of Memorial Hall potentially. So with that, I won't belabor it any longer. Chris, as you know, is an outstanding candidate that I think will do a tremendous job both representing the military and his service in that role, but also serving the general public as we invest in and continue to expand opportunities at Memorial Hall.

▶ 44:46 Robb Stewart: Thank you, Mr. Nguyen. Mr. Benai, would you like to share any comments?

▶ 44:49 Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you, first of all, Councilors, for your time this evening and your consideration. It means a lot to me. My wife and I moved up to Massachusetts and Boston area in 2016, and we looked around all the North Shore, and we fell in love with melrose um we built a family here uh and her most recent installment uh was monday um so forgive me i'm a little tired i didn't know what happened yeah so we just got home today um but as we look to to build our roots here in melrose i've been looking uh for the past few years to find a way to give back to the melrose community as this opportunity came up it's something that just blended all of my experience together and felt like a just perfect way for me to get back to my roots and that's why I'm here tonight I

▶ 45:39 Paul Brodeur: would respectfully suggest given that most recent piece of information that we hustle this along and let you're looking for some time she's doing well good are

▶ 45:49 Robb Stewart: there any questions from the committee

▶ 45:54 Christopher Cinella: I just want to thank you, Mr. Bernard, for your service to this country and for stepping up to serve on this board. And congrats on the baby, and I promise that my children will keep the noise down.

▶ 46:07 Speaker 1: It has been good to talk to you. Thank you. He's not great.

▶ 46:09 Speaker 4: Councilor Chabot.

▶ 46:10 Manjula Karamcheti: Well, I just echo what Councilor Sinella said. Thank you for your service. Thank you for stepping up to be a member of this commission. And something that you wrote in your letter I just really love, so I'm just going to say it back to you. and why I'm so excited that you're gonna be a part of this. I have witnessed buildings like the Melrose Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building can simultaneously be a monument for those who have come before, an approachable venue for all, and an inspiration for new generations to serve. That's what I really feel like our Memorial Hall is, and I just feel like you beautifully captured it. So look forward to seeing what you do on the commission.

▶ 46:53 Speaker 4: Awesome, thank you. Council Williams?

▶ 46:55 Ryan Williams: Yeah, if you can manage and retrofit a Navy ship, I hope that you can help us retrofit Memorial Hall because it needs it and you have an amazing resume. It's very impressive and I'm very excited for you to be in this role because I think that Memorial Hall needs all the help it can get and it seems like it's coming. So thanks for coming out tonight.

▶ 47:17 Speaker 2: Awesome, thank you.

▶ 47:19 Robb Stewart: Anybody else for the first?

▶ 47:22 Manjula Karamcheti: Council of Camcetti. I just want to say congratulations on the baby and a motion to move this to approval on the full committee.

▶ 47:31 Robb Stewart: Second. We have a motion made by Council of Camcetti, seconded by President Cinella.

▶ 47:37 Speaker 4: All in favor? Aye. Opposed?

▶ 47:41 Robb Stewart: Okay, this will be presented as recommended to the full council on May 16th. You do not need to be there. You can gladly watch as most of Melrose I know