City Council — 2019-03-18

City Council Regular Meeting

This meeting starts at 20:46 in a recording that covers several meetings.

Attendance

Manisha Bewtra present · Alderman at Large; Robert A. Boisselle present · Ward 4 Alderman; Scott M. Forbes present · Ward 7 Alderman; Jennifer L. Lemmerman present · Ward 2 Alderman; Kate Lipper-Garabedian present · Alderman at Large; Shawn M. MacMaster present · Ward 5 Alderman; Monica C. Medeiros present · Alderman at Large; Peter D. Mortimer present · Ward 6 Alderman; John N. Tramontozzi present · Ward 1 Alderman; Francis X. Wright Jr. present · Ward 3 Alderman; Michael P. Zwirko present · Alderman at Large

Agenda

Minutes

CITY OF MELROSE BOARD OF ALDERMEN BULLETIN● MARCH 18, 2019 Aldermanic Chamber, Melrose City Hall Regular Meeting 7:45 PM 562 Main Street, Melrose, MA 02176 Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Manisha Bewtra Alderman at Large Present Robert A. Boisselle Ward 4 Alderman Present Scott M. Forbes Ward 7 Alderman Present Jennifer L. Lemmerman Ward 2 Alderman Present Kate Lipper-Garabedian Alderman at Large Present Shawn M. MacMaster Ward 5 Alderman Present Monica C. Medeiros Alderman at Large Present Peter D. Mortimer Ward 6 Alderman Present John N. Tramontozzi Ward 1 Alderman Present Francis X. Wright Jr. Ward 3 Alderman Present Michael P. Zwirko Alderman at Large Present

ORDER-2019-47 Utility Petition Petition of National Grid for multiple pole and conduit relocations throughout Melrose as set forth herein as part of Electrical Transmission Line Upgrade Project. Assigned to Committee Board of Aldermen

ORDER-2019-64 Transfer Transfer of $169,103 from Account #019142-549201, Health Insurance, to various Accounts as set forth herein Assigned to Committee Finance Committee

ORDER-2019-65 Appointment Reappointment of Mary Sexton, 19 Sears Ave., to the Memorial Hall Board of Trustees for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February 2022. Assigned to Committee Public Service Committee

ORDER-2019-66 Appointment City of Melrose Page 1 5/2/2019 10:21 AM Minutes Board of Aldermen March 18, 2019 Reappointment of Laura Paladino, 67 Ardsmoor Road, to the Memorial Hall Board of Trustees for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February 2022. Assigned to Committee Public Service Committee

ORDER-2019-67 Appointment Reappointment of Eric DiNoto, 142 Youle St., to the Memorial Hall Board of Trustees for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February 2021. Assigned to Committee Public Service Committee

ORDER-2019-68 Appointment Reappointment of Louis P. Izzi, 45 Damon Ave. to the Memorial Hall Board of Trustees for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February 2021. Assigned to Committee Public Service Committee

ORDER-2019-69 Appointment Reappointment of Edward Waystack III, 50 Glen St., to serve as a Trustee of the Melrose Public Library for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February 2022. Assigned to Committee Health, Education & Welfare Committee

ORDER-2019-70 Appointment Reappointment of Nancy Kukura, 79 Mt. Vernon St., to serve as a member of the Library Board of Trustees for a three-year term; said term to end on the last day of February 2021. Assigned to Committee Health, Education & Welfare Committee

ORDER-2019-71 Appointment Reappointment of Curtis Dooling, 53 Orient Ave., to the Board of Appeals for a five-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February 2024. Assigned to Committee Appropriations Committee

ORDER-2019-72 Appointment City of Melrose Page 2 5/2/2019 10:21 AM Minutes Board of Aldermen March 18, 2019 Reappointment of Ellen P. Connolly, 7 Union St., to the Melrose Housing Authority for a five-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February 2024. Assigned to Committee Health, Education & Welfare Committee

ORDER-2019-73 Appointment Reappointment of Carol Hoffman, 97 Cochrane St., to the Library Board of Trustees for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February 2021. Assigned to Committee Health, Education & Welfare Committee

ORDER-2019-74 Appointment Reappointment of Paul Cunningham, 83 Bellevue Ave., to the Historical Commission for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February 2022. Assigned to Committee Health, Education & Welfare Committee

ORDER-2019-75 Appointment Reappointment of Ward Hamilton, 87 East Emerson St., to the Historical Commission for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February 2022. Assigned to Committee Health, Education & Welfare Committee

ORDER-2019-76 Request Communication from Massachusetts State Lottery Commission regarding KENO To Go License at Village Variety, 446 Main St., Melrose, MA Placed on File

ORDER-2019-63 Appointment Reappointment of Eric Wildman, 105 Laurel St., to the Board of Registrars of Voters for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of March 2022. Passed Board of Aldermen

ORDER-2019-62 Appointment City of Melrose Page 3 5/2/2019 10:21 AM Minutes Board of Aldermen March 18, 2019 Reappointment of Theodore Hunt, Jr., 241 Tremont St., Apt. 2, to the Board of Registrars of Voters for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of March 2022. Passed Board of Aldermen

ORDER-2019-54 Appointment Reappointment of Lee Phelan, 102 Clifford St., to the Board of Assessors for a three-year term; said term to expire on the last day of February, 2022. Passed Board of Aldermen

ORDER-2019-56 Grant Accept a FY19 State 911 Department Training and EMD Regulatory Compliance Grant in the amount of $92,636.72 Passed Board of Aldermen

ORDER-2019-60 License Application of Mohamed Nidali Oubella d/b/a Boston Limousine Ride for a livery license Passed Board of Aldermen

ORDER-2019-53 Grant Accept a FY 19 State 911 Department Support and Incentive Grant in the amount of $56,187.00. Passed Board of Aldermen

ORDER-2019-52 Appropriation An Appropriation from the Contract Stabilization Fund (84042- 590000) in the amount of $101,827.00 to the Police Salary & Wages and Overtime accounts(012111-511000 and 012111-513000) to fund year one of the new contract. Passed

ORDER-2019-51 Grant Accept a FY 19 Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Grant in the amount of $7,750.00 Passed Board of Aldermen

ORDER-2019-61 Appropriation City of Melrose Page 4 5/2/2019 10:21 AM Minutes Board of Aldermen March 18, 2019 An appropriation from Free Cash (01-324001), in the amount of $102,000.00 to various accounts as set forth here in. Passed

ORDER-2019-31 Amending Revised Zoning Ordinances Amending Melrose Revised Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 235, Article XI to create a new Section 235-73.4 and amend Section 235-5 (Definitions), Section 235-16.1 (Site Plan Review), Section 235-17 (Table of Use and Parking Regulations) and Section 235-61 (Special Permit Granting Authorities) to regulate Marijuana Establishments Passed as Amended

ORDER-2019-49 Administrative Order An order to limit the location of any Marijuana Businesses in Melrose to Route 99, also known as the Newburyport Turnpike. Placed on File City of Melrose Page 5 5/2/2019 10:21 AM

Transcript

▶ 20:48 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: here alderman Boisselle here alderman forbes here alderman Letter garabedian here alderman mcmaster here alderman medeiros here alderman mortimer yeah alderman Tramontozzi yeah alderman Rita here alderman's work oh here president lemmerman here 11 present 11 present rise and join me in saluting me just would like to note that in accordance with mass general laws this meeting is being recorded it's also being broadcast live on MMTV and can be viewed on the MMTV website a motion to open the floor for public comment madam president second we have a motion to open the floor for public comment made by Alderman Mortimer seconded by Alderman Boisselle all in favor any opposed we are now in the portion of our meeting where any member of the public

▶ 21:50 may come forward who wishes to speak on any item on our agenda this evening good Good evening. Good evening, my name is George Lasky, I live in Malden. And I'm here about the marijuana zone. We weren't properly notified in Malden of any changes in your zoning. And I'd just like to know, is this the map that you sent to the state? It says Mount Hood Golf Course. Mount Hood Golf Course is a federal park, and it's also advertised in your flyer as a park with kids playing there. And I understand the medical marijuana. You're not supposed to be within so many feet of a public park. One of your aldermen said they didn't want it in their front yard. Well, we don't want it in our front yard. this is our front yard right here

▶ 23:00 your police cannot get there without going to either Sargis or Malden I know this land at the golf course was taken my family was one of the ones that lost it during the depression days to the government for a public park and also I like to mention that two weeks ago I complained about the door to this hall. The handicapped door is not working properly. Twenty-something years ago I put a complaint in, and the state fined you people for that door because it was locked. Also, you have a training center in between the two floors. You were told to lock it with a padlock. You cannot use that room up there for anything. Also, one of your aldermen said that there was no neighbors on the Malden side until you got to Salem and Broadway. Well, we're a neighborhood up

▶ 24:14 here of people. And many years ago, we had a mayor in Malden, and our neighborhood, he He was in for 16 years, and our neighborhood got together and sued the city, and we put him out of office. Also, the mayor here at the present time has not talked to me. I've been up twice, and quite a few years ago when you guys were doing the golf course with the illegal fill, state rep asked me to come out and check it you're all the men of what seven at the time asked me to check it I call the mayor's office that time and I got no response I got told there was nothing I could do about it well I had that job shut down within a day and a half I had a state trooper on the state highway which is Broadway and they tagged all these trucks for their tires and all

▶ 25:18 that sir thank you I need to ask you to stick to the items on the agenda this evening you're here to speak on the marijuana ordinance right I'm here to speak this is a federal pack you people took money from the federal government you if this is the flyer you sent to the state it does not say it's a pack it says it's a golf course my father told us when we were kids you guys go down and play on that golf course play your football your baseball coach and if any of one asked you any questions tell them to come and see me he says I was down there selling tonic one time in the park department truck combined took me up to the clubhouse Park Commissioner seen me going into the clubhouse with the man

▶ 26:05 told him to put me back in the truck and take me back down and set up my stand again. This is a public park. It is not a golf course. And if you people want to open up a marijuana spot and break the federal law, it is against the federal government. One of you aldermen said that a couple weeks ago. You people are going to get sued. And I'm telling you, you need an override now. You're definitely going to need an override then I am going to have the federal government come in and take the pack back and give it back to the people they took it from if you people let this marijuana shop go in there thank you very much thank you sir would you mind if you haven't already signing in on the sheet for the record thank you thank you

▶ 27:35 there are any other members of the public wishing to speak on the items before us this evening good evening good evening my name is Peter Dunbar thank for your time the no intentions of keeping you on orders third uh 2019 31 longer than the public hearing um so hopefully everybody will get home decent time tonight um i come from a company in boston known as b green supply we're a hardware and manufacturing business we supply hardware consumables to cannabis businesses throughout the country and the reason i come to you tonight addresses a lot of the concerns that we heard from the last public hearing a lot coming from the residents as well as from the council and what we've noticed and we appreciate in hearing

▶ 28:52 from the planning committee is a further understanding of the different types of licenses so that not everything is a retail license and not everything bears a traffic burden to the city in fact many of these businesses can exist right in front of you and many of them that we've seen throughout the country and had experience working with firsthand you have no idea what they're doing in there you don't even know what type of a business it is in fact you would walk by and think all they manufacture widgets and that's the reality that there's an option for this city to take advantage of and that's that there's a lot of cities here that are vibing for this retail market and we see an opportunity for the for the town of Melrose to

▶ 29:35 embrace the cannabis industry that is coming that your that your city has voted for and to acknowledge that companies that are in manufacturing that are testing the product don't bear the same kind of a burden on a town but they still provide a very beneficial financial impact to the community and we've seen that with ways that you know certainly with taxes can certainly go to good use and as we just caught the tail end of you know certainly there's always room for needed spending in the town especially with things that come to safety and so when we look at this we encourage the town to vote and think about that division of licenses in a way that isn't all retail and isn't everything that you see on the front page and that there's many ways where the

▶ 30:23 town of melrose can contribute to the statewide economy of the marijuana industry without bringing people through a front of you know a retail store on main street and it's also in a way that some of the sensitivities that we heard regarding we don't want this in our front yard and we understand that and we see that in a lot of the communities that we've worked with throughout the country and with that being said we've seen the the benefit of that that business being there uh in fact many of them the property values are increasing safety is increasing violent crime is decreasing a lot of real real concerns that uh you know whether whether the town wants it or not um you know we've heard a lot about how in malden just around the corner you're going to

▶ 31:04 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: be having uh these types of businesses open up so whether you restrict them from here they are going to exist and they'll exist around you and there's an opportunity to benefit from it in a way that supports the concerns and financial needs of the community the citizens and uh certainly the town so thank you very much thank you did you get a chance to sign in sir i did okay thank you any further comments from members of the public motion to close public comment second promotion of closed public comment made by alderman forbes seconded by alderman poysel all in favor aye aye any opposed that concludes the portion of our meeting for public comment It is now 8.02, and we do have a public hearing scheduled for 8 p.m. this evening.

▶ 1:07:23 families got the phone call that they dreaded when they watched the horror play on on TV that the hatred they were witnessing was in fact their own lives that will be changed forever and when such hatred is it acted upon anywhere in the world it's felt everywhere in the world and in an effort to show our support for those who are hurting in New Zealand and for those that are hurting in our own community I ask that you rise and join me in a moment of silence thank you we'll move on to communications from her honor the mayor and other city officials order two zero one nine dash six four transfer of one hundred and sixty nine thousand one hundred three dollars from account number zero one nine one four two five four nine two zero one health insurance to various

▶ 1:08:51 accounts as set forth herein I will go to the Committee on Finance order two zero one nine dash six five reappointment of Mary Sexton 19 Sears Ave to the Memorial Hall Board of Trustees for a three-year term said term to expire on the last day of february 2022. it will go to the committee on public service order 2019-66 reappointment of laura paladino 67 artsmoor road to the memorial hall board of trustees for a three-year term said term to expire on the last day of february 2022. i will go to the committee on public service order 2019-67 reappointment of eric denoto 142 yule street to the memorial hall board of trustees for a three-year term said term to expire on the last day of february 2021 i will also go to the committee on public service order 2019-68

▶ 1:09:43 reappointment of louis p izzy 45 damon ab to the memorial hall board of trustees for a three-year term said term to expire on the last day of february 2021 the committee on public service as well reappointment of edward wastack the third 50 glen street to serve as a trustee of the melrose Public Library for a three-year term said term to expire on the last day of February 2022 I will go to the committee on health education and welfare order to 0 1 9 7 0 reappointment of Nancy Kokora 79 Mount Vernon Street to serve as a member of the library board of trustees for a three-year term said term to end on the last day of February 2021 this will go to the committee on health education and welfare order to 0 1 9 7 1 reappointment of Curtis dueling 53

▶ 1:10:30 Orient Ave to the Board of Appeals for a five-year term said term to expire on the last day of February 2024 I will go to the committee on appropriations ordered to 0 1 9 7 to reappointment of Ellen P Connelly 7 Union Street to the Melrose Housing Authority for a five-year term said term to expire on the last day of February 2024 we'll go to the committee on health education and welfare order to 0 1 9 7 3 reappointment of Carol Hoffman 97 Cochrane Street to the library board of trustees for a three-year term said term to expire in the last day of February 2021 we'll go to the committee on health education and welfare order 2 0 1 9 7 4 reappointment of Paul Cunningham 83 Bellevue Ave to the Historical Commission for a three-year term said

▶ 1:11:18 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: term to expire on the last day of February 2022 go to the committee on health education and welfare order 2 0 1 9 7 5 reappointment of Ward Hamilton 87 East Emerson Street to the Historical Commission for a three-year term. Said term to expire on the last day of February 2022. I will also go to the Committee on Health Education and Welfare. Move on to New Business. Order 2019-76, communication from Massachusetts State Lottery Commission regarding keynote to go license at Village Variety, 446 Main Street, Melrose Mass. Alderman Mortimer. Madam President, I request immediate consideration on this order. Alderman Mortimer requests immediate consideration. Is there opposition to immediate consideration? Seeing none, the order is before you.

▶ 1:12:05 Peter D. Mortimer: Madam President, I make an amendment that we request and direct our city clerk in collaboration with our city solicitor to send a communication, a letter to the Massachusetts State Lottery that we do object and do not desire to have Keno on in Melrose Alderman Mortimer makes a motion requesting that the city clerk write to the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission in opposition to this application second there's seconded by Alderman Medeiros on discussion Alderman Zuerko Thank You madam president and thank you Alderman Mortimer for making this motion I just just wanted to clarify I believe what we've done in the past is just to remove the television screen not the keynote itself we do have

▶ 1:12:52 Peter D. Mortimer: other Keno to go licenses in in Melrose so I think it's just to object to the actual screen itself not Keno to go right correct okay Keno to go is here in Melrose if I may through the chair to the president you know to go is at various locations throughout Melrose but we do not have the actual Keno with the screen which sets up somewhat of a casino effect or a little gambling parlor effect in some places so thank you madam president any further discussion all in favor of the motion all right any opposed the motion passes and the request will be made through the city clerk madam president I make a motion to place the balance of the order on file we have a motion to place the balance of the order made by Alderman Mortimer second by Alderman Forbes all

▶ 1:13:46 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: all in favor aye any opposed that order will be placed on file we have any orders out of order no orders from committee I will just note that there are eight orders that are on the agenda that are listed as orders from committee they were incorrectly categorized in IQ m2 they were sent to us from committee with plenty of notice and they do not actually need to be pulled a motion is not necessary to pull these ones okay oh it was before us my apologies we do need to pull it so we will start with the first before us Alderman Bewtra so motion to remove order orders 2019-63 2019-62 and 2019-54 from the Finance Committee alderman Bewtra are you we either need to take each of these separately separately or if you're making a motion to join them

▶ 1:14:58 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: them that's a different motion I'm like it's I can read the order if that would be helpful I would like to make a motion to join those three orders we have a motion from alderman Bewtra to join orders 2019-63 reappointment of Eric Wildman 105 Laurel Street to the Board of Registrars of Voters for a three-year term said term to expire on the last day of March 2022 order 2019-62 reappointment of Theodore hunt jr. 241 Tremont Street apartment 2 to the Board of Registrars of Voters for a three-year term said term to expire on the last day of March 2022 and order 2019-54 reappointment of Lee Phelan 102 Clifford Street to the Board of Assessors for a three-year term said term to expire on the last day of 2022 second the motion to join these three

▶ 1:15:53 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: orders has been seconded by alderman Wright on discussion all in favor aye any opposed those orders are joined and before you do I still need to make a motion to remove these from committee motion to remove those joined orders from the Finance Committee we have a motion to remove the joined orders from the Finance Committee. Second. Made by Alderman Butcher, seconded by Alderman Zwirko. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Thank you and I'd like to make a motion for passage. Alderman Butcher makes a motion for passage of the three orders which all were recommended for passage in the Finance Committee last week. Is that a second? Seconded by Alderman Zwirko. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Those orders pass. Next

▶ 1:16:44 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: before us thank you president Lemmerman following in my colleagues footsteps I will suggest I will make a motion to join three orders that come from the Appropriations Committee related to state grant money that is order 2 0 1 9 dash 56 except as fiscal at 19 state 9 1 1 department training and EMD regulatory compliance grant in the amount of ninety two thousand six hundred and thirty six dollars and seventy two cents order number two zero one nine dash fifty three except a fiscal year 19 state one one department support an incentive grant in the amount of fifty six thousand one hundred and eighty seven dollars and order number two zero one nine dash fifty one except a fiscal 19 fiscal year 19 pedestrian and bicycle safety grant in the amount

▶ 1:17:33 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: of seven thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars we have a motion made by by alderman Letter garabedian to join the three orders for current action seconded by alderman Boisselle all in favor aye aye any opposed those orders are joined thank you i would now make a motion to remove those joined orders from committee the motion remove those orders from committee second made by alderman Letter garabedian second seconded by alderman forbes all in favor any opposed those orders are pulled from committee thank you and now i would make a motion uh to approve these this order these joint orders we have a motion for passage on the joint orders made by alderman Letter garabedian second motion seconded by alderman forbes

▶ 1:18:16 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: all in favor aye aye any opposed excuse me the these three are okay uh i'll remember yours point of order i believe these may be roll call votes 56 53 and 51 or not there's just state grants thank you thank you so now I would make a motion to remove from the Appropriations Committee order number two zero one nine dash fifty two an appropriation from the contract stabilization fund eight four zero four two dash five nine zero zero zero zero in the amount of one hundred and one thousand eight hundred and twenty dollars to the police salary and wages and overtime accounts which are 0 1 2 1 1 1 dash 51 5 1 1 0 0 0 and 0 1 2 1 1 1 dash 5 1 3 0 0 0 to fund year 1 of the new contract. Alderman Lipper-Garabedian

▶ 1:19:14 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: makes a motion to remove that order from the Appropriations Committee which comes to us with recommended recommendation for passage. Seconded by is that Alderman Mortimer? Yes ma'am. On discussion. All in favor? Aye. The order is removed from committee I would make a motion to recommend for path for passage have a motion for passage made by alderman Lipper-Garabedian second second by alderman Forbes this one is a roll call vote madam clerk if you would call yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes President Lemmerman. Yes. The order passes. Madam President I would also move to make a motion to move from committee order number 2019-61 in appropriation from free cash zero one three two four zero zero one in the

▶ 1:20:12 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: amount of one hundred and two thousand dollars to various accounts as set forth herein which we heard about tonight. We have a motion from Alderman Letter Garabedian to remove order 2019-61 from committee which was recommended for passage earlier this evening. Second. Seconded by Alderman McMaster. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That order's before you. I would make a motion for passage. Vote. That order. Second. Motion for passage made by Alderman Lipper-Garabedian. Is there a second? Second. Alderman Zwirko. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That order passes. We have one final order from Protection and license madam president I will make a motion to remove order 2 0 1 9 dash 6 0 from committee it is the application of Mohammed Nadali Ubella doing business as

▶ 1:21:04 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: Boston limousine ride for a livery license from committee we have a motion to remove 2019 dash 60 from committee made by alderman Mortimer second second by alderman Boisselle all in favor the order is before you motion for passage second we have a motion for passage made by alderman Mortimer seconded by alderman Boisselle all in favor okay that is all of our orders from committee thank you everyone for your patience with the procedural requirements there we will move on to reports under rule 53 from any boards or commissions alderman Boisselle I like to make an announcement to the public that the next traffic Commission meeting will be on Wednesday March 20th at 5 30 p.m. in this chamber and the agenda is posted on the city of Melrose portals and you have a listing

▶ 1:21:59 Monica C. Medeiros: of the agenda items there thank you thank you Alderman Medeiros thank you I have a report as a school committee liaison I just wanted to cover primarily the school committee sort of conversely to our board has really been primarily focused on the override for the last last couple of months in particular the different budget scenarios and so at the last meeting and they had a detailed presentation from the CPAC it's the special education parent advisory committee led presentation given by Sheila Gauch who's the chair and Mary Sparks who's the vice chair and these are two very dedicated volunteers in our community who came forward and gave their presentation it focused primarily on something that's called MTSS and I'll

▶ 1:23:03 Monica C. Medeiros: do my best as a lay person to explain this is multi-tiered system of supports in education, and hopefully get this correct, but in general education, a way to sort of evaluate and hopefully reach the needs of all students in the classroom, depending on what levels they're at. And the presentation by Ms. Gouch and Ms. Sparks really focused on what they how well they think that this system has been working in the city of Melrose especially with our limited resources and how well it's been going and their concerns that if this goes away with any kind of cuts that that may come that this could put the system at risk and so they talked very much about different challenges and how things students who may not have special needs

▶ 1:24:07 Monica C. Medeiros: may start to appear as though they do need have special needs and how some challenge children may not be as challenged as they should and may appear to have behavioral issues as a result so I think they did a very good job of presenting that again that's from from two volunteers in addition you know we did hear a lot of the different budget scenarios and in particular the school committee is sort of a different board than we are legislative they are also the not just legislative in terms of school policy but also the executive and so they can do things like that we can't add where they could say cut here and and add somewhere else or you know if there's an order about fees for instance they do have the ability to to change that themselves it doesn't have to come

▶ 1:25:04 Monica C. Medeiros: from the mayor's office as though it does here that wasn't quite the presentation that we saw so far as we did see some discussions about for instance freshman sports and there's a proposal that if the override fails that freshman sports would be eliminated they didn't at that time they chose not to discuss the options of maybe changing the fee schedule or any kind of alternative I think we will probably see that in the meetings coming forward once the override question has gone forward the next scheduled meeting in particular related to the school budget is on March 26th and it's going to be budget scenarios topics topics as needed so expect that coming up and then at that point I think we'll have some kind of idea a better idea of where we stand and

▶ 1:26:04 Monica C. Medeiros: you'll see that the committee will return to a full public hearing on the budget scheduled for April 9th 2019 and budget deliberation and discussion of fees as well on that that meeting with possible votes on April 9th and more budget deliberations and a likely vote probable on April 23rd so that's kind of the schedule there and of course there's lots of information on the Melrose school's website and on the meeting portal meeting agenda portal thank you any further reports that concludes report section of our agenda we will now move on to the calendar order 2 0 1 9 dash 31 amending Melrose revised zoning ordinance chapter 235 article 11 to create a new section 235 dash 73.4 and amend section 235-5 definitions section 235-16.1 site plan review section 235-17 table of use in

▶ 1:27:14 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: parking regulations and section 235-61 special permit granting authorities to regulate marijuana establishments adam and luper garabedian thank you i'd like to make an emotion at this time to amend the ordinance as we have it before us on in terms of the table on page three regarding marijuana related uses to amend to zone for all marijuana establishments only in the BB and I district so consistent with how we approached the retailers last week second alderman Letter Garabedian makes a motion to further amend this order which came from the Appropriations Committee with recommended with amendments Alderman Lipper-Garabedian is making a motion to further amend as described seconded by Alderman Wright on

▶ 1:28:05 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: discussion Alderman Lipper-Garabedian thank you so I just wanted us to have an opportunity to be intentional whatever the decision of this group is because we just didn't have an opportunity to talk about this and I think it's a substantive enough issue for us to have a little bit of time with it as I mentioned at our Appropriations Committee we didn't really speak to the other types of establishments beyond the retailer and so those under our ordinance would be a cultivator which is a business that can cultivate grow and package and transfer marijuana products a product manufacturer which could obtain manufacture process package and transfer the products a research facility a testing lab and then the one that I continuously focus on personally

▶ 1:28:53 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: is the transportation or distribution facility which can purchase obtain possess and temporarily store marijuana products so right now the ordinance we have before us would zone for any of these establishments to exist in any of our business districts for the most part which would include our downtown area it would include our area by Franklin Street all along the Tremont Essex corridor down by Pine Banks and you know personally I voted in favor of legalization but and I so but on this and maybe I come across a little bit as a Luddite but I also am an incrementalist and I think many of the concerns that we heard from the public are applicable not only to retailers but also to other establishments you know it's not just about traffic it's also

▶ 1:29:49 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: just that our history as a city includes the fact that you cannot go out and have multiple alcoholic drinks right now we don't have any breweries in town we don't have distilleries in town we don't have packaged stores we don't store alcohol in places so you know I think it would be okay to start more conservatively and then decide over time as we learn more about these different establishments and the types of opportunities that they might have for our city as well as potential detriments we can then loosen up if we'd like and and you know i appreciate the opportunity for us just to talk this through um i we i know that we've heard from several individuals as a board as a the chair of the appropriations committee

▶ 1:30:40 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: i also received a couple individual emails that sort of said my comments against a retailer stand for all these types of establishments downtown please don't put them there i'm happy to add those to the record the chamber of commerce uh you know decided that they didn't have sufficient time to make a determination on this i don't think they reached a true consensus um but you know it's something that they could continue to discuss as well so i'll rest there i'll stop there for now and just i appreciate the opportunity for us all to talk about this thank you alderman wright thank you madam president just echoing um the movers uh words um i just see this as something that you know we're stepping into an industry that we really don't know where it's going to go

▶ 1:31:24 Michael P. Zwirko: let's keep it zoned in areas that are going to have the least impact on our neighborhoods these are the industrial the heavy business zone and see how it goes and if we want to revisit this in a few years we can but for the time being let's go where it's going to have the least impact on our residents thank you thank you Alderman Tuerco Thank You madam president I just wanted to extend uh thanks to not only the mover uh alderman Letter garabedian but also uh alderman wright for looking at this incremental approach i think it serves a purpose at this time as well we we do get queried a lot outside of this chamber about what it is we can do to bring further commercial and industry to town and you know the voters spoke loud and clear in approving this back

▶ 1:32:21 Shawn M. MacMaster: in 2016 but oftentimes we wrestle with how best to implement something and that's what we're doing here this evening so i think that this implementation inching along is is appropriate for the community and i'm happy to support this further amendment thank you madam president thank you alderman mcmaster thank you madam president i applaud alderman lipa garabedian for drawing attention to this important part of the zoning proposal i'm in complete agreement with her position because for public safety purposes we should be as restrictive as possible when it comes to zoning for marijuana establishments i'm particularly uncomfortable with the area of ward 5 where non-retail marijuana establishments could go the bbi and bc zones are directly across the

▶ 1:33:09 Shawn M. MacMaster: street from pine banks in the melrose ymca child care center at 106 main street it's directly across the street in fact that is within the bbi zone i can't stress this point enough all marijuana related establishments retail or otherwise are prime targets for an armed robbery there have been a slew of very serious very violent very well organized armed robberies in california colorado and nevada the planning board and those who support the marijuana industry have tried to assuage concerns about public safety by saying that security issues can be addressed through the special permit process but although this process can look to mitigate risk the The assumption of risk is inherently connected to the nature of the business, so risk will

▶ 1:34:09 Shawn M. MacMaster: never be completely averted when it comes to marijuana establishments, regardless of the restrictions and regulations that are put in place. Security plans, security cameras, panic buttons, armed guards, banks all have these too, yet there were still approximately 4 000 bank robberies nationwide last year and we've had three in melrose over the last three years in fact everyone remembers in april of last year the td bank on main street just steps away from the police department was robbed my point is that all marijuana facilities have marijuana on site so retailers cultivators product manufacturers transportation and distribution facilities should be as far away from schools daycares parks and residential neighborhoods because of the risk for an armed robbery

▶ 1:35:10 Manisha Bewtra: my point shouldn't be misinterpreted as me being in support of marijuana establishments in melrose but i do support the most restrictive regulations that we can set and i thank alderman lipa garabedian for her amendment thank you madam president thank you any further discussion on the motion to amend ultimate future thank you um i'm inclined to it sounds like the board is leaning towards supporting this amendment and um i just wanted to sort of state for the record that at the previous meeting when we discussed this i supported the planning board's initial proposal um i think that's sort of where my heart is but i'm very willing to yield to the will of the board at this point for the more incremental approach thank you thank you any further discussion on the motion to amend

▶ 1:36:05 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: um just one thing i admit meant to say and i i know it's just for the the people watching at home um i am very much mindful as uh alderman's work will mention about the importance of the commercial districts and thinking about ways to encourage business here the retailer we would we will risk you know there is a tax incentive there for dispensaries but my understanding is with all these other establishments there's no additional sort of revenue opportunity for these other than just adding commercial space to our sort of portfolio of taxable property so you know we're not um giving up some sort of local tax bump like we would have perhaps what like perhaps we did with the dispensary um so i just wanted to make that point thank you sure on the motion

▶ 1:36:59 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: to amend the order all in favor aye any opposed the motion to amend passes the order is now before us as amended in committee and further amended this evening motion for passage as amended we We have a motion for passage as amended, made by Alderman Zwirko. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Alderman Wright. Any further discussion? Alderman McMaster. Madam President, again, even though I supported the amendment, I just want to rest on the points I made at our Appropriations Committee meeting where we discussed this, and for the four reasons that I cited, I will be voting against any zoning proposal for marijuana establishments. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you. alderman wright just for the record if we do not vote to zone then they these facilities just like

▶ 1:37:50 in any situation where we don't zone something it can pop up anywhere so for the public to understand why we're voting to put this in a particular zoning district or zoning districts it means we we otherwise would have a situation where the industry could situate themselves anywhere within the city thank you any further discussion this order does require a roll call vote it also requires a two-thirds vote of the board alderman Peter yes alderman voyzel yes alderman forbes yes alderman Letter garabedian yes alderman master no alderman medeiros yes alderman mortimer yes alderman chairman tozy yes alderman wright yes alderman Zwirko yes president Lemmerman yes the order passes ten to one final order on our agenda for the full board this evening uh order 2019-49 in order to limit

▶ 1:38:56 Jennifer L. Lemmerman: the location of any marijuana businesses in melrose to route 99 also known as the newbury port turnpike this order comes to us from the appropriations committee with a recommendation to place on file. Motion to place on file? Second. Alderman Mortimer makes a motion to place the order on file, seconded by Alderman Boisselle on discussion. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? The order will be placed on file. Motion to adjourn? Second. A motion to adjourn made by Alderman Forbes, seconded by Alderman Mortimer. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? We are now adjourned and will return to the Appropriations Committee we're back the Appropriations Committee and next on our agenda is order 2 0 1 9 dash 45 home rule petition to amend Melrose City

▶ 1:39:54 Francis X. Wright Jr.: Charter section 2 dash 11 filling of vacancies as set forth herein this is sponsored by alderman right Alderman right thank you madam chair Late fall we received notice from the State House that the Charter amendments that were proposed a year earlier had passed and had now become part of our Charter which is a Charter that was amended in reviewing those changes I noticed in section 2-11 that the Charter is now changed in such a way that should have seat be vacated on this board that it will be filled by the next highest vote getter and there's no restriction on what percentage of votes that person has to have received and I I was opposed to this originally and the more I look at I think it its intentions of I think you know it's well intended so I think it

▶ 1:41:11 Francis X. Wright Jr.: honors the candidate and not so much the voter in that you know we all know to get on the ballot you only need 20 signatures to be a ward alderman and I can get 20 of that without leaving my living room um and i can get the rest of them within 100 yards of my house so it's not a particularly difficult feat get your name on the ballot further i pointed out to the city solicitor that if if there's only one candidate on the ballot and that person is elected and then doesn't fulfill their term I asked him if they were preserving all the ballots till the next election because a writing candidate with two votes if they're the height next highest vote getter will take a seat on this board I don't think that's what the public understands so

▶ 1:42:23 Francis X. Wright Jr.: I'm proposing that we set a requirement that the next highest vote getter who gets at least 40% of the vote so that means you only have to come within 20% which is a very wide gap of the highest vote getter in order to to succeed a person who vacates the seat and if you don't get 40% and you're still interested and it goes to the the existing process for filling a vacancy which we've all seen which Alderman McMaster went through which is you make your intentions known to this board all those who do so come before this board the public gets a chance to comment because they can contact us they can appear and that then we can make a selection to fill the remaining the remaining length of time for that particular term I think that works

▶ 1:43:28 Francis X. Wright Jr.: better I think that honors the constituents more than it does the candidates we also know that candidates just because you put your name on the ballot doesn't necessarily mean that that people are inclined to support you like i said the constituency in any particular ward or across the city may have an issue with a candidate a candidate could get 10 of the vote less than 20 of the vote less than 30 of the vote and does that person do the people in the city really want that person to sit on this board automatically i would i would venture to guess no that said if that person wants to come forward and make the argument that hey I made the effort I put my name on the ballot I've worked hard there are people willing to speak for me whatever their

▶ 1:44:28 Francis X. Wright Jr.: arguments are and they want to come forward and members of this board believe there's there's some measure of some measure of the the interest of that person that they want to take into consideration when appointing someone to fill out a seat then fine but right now as it stands we have a situation where people could just fill a seat and I really I really do not believe that that's what we had had in mind or we had we thought this through it's not what we would have had in mind when we passed this so you know I lay it before this board and I hope you'll take it into consideration I would appreciate your thoughts and you know I look forward to a healthy discussion on this thank you thank you madam chair first

▶ 1:45:38 Michael P. Zwirko: I'd like to say thank you to the maker of this order taking a detailed look at this and creating a threshold which didn't exist it did actually exist prior but was removed in the recent charter review so I have a I guess I in the spirit of this I think we should have a further discussion about in many parts so the this is now the third attempt to alter the Charter since the Charter review process occurred 15 months ago and when we were deliberating this section the aldermen in their Appropriations Committee of hearing the over 40 items that were recommended this item for section 211 passed 7 to 2 so there was overwhelming support to remove the barrier I will also say that anytime you make home rule on a charter because it is state law it does take a while I

▶ 1:46:48 Michael P. Zwirko: I was actually surprised at how long it took the legislature to codify all the edits that we had made it took nearly 11 months so we can talk about this but I also know that there's an appetite of which I support to further alter the Charter doing so potentially by changing the name of this board so if we are going to make further edits to the Charter I think it would be expedient to lump them together and do it in a manner in which we're sending the legislature any other changes that we have instead of a piecemeal fashion but to this particular piece I think the 40% is a very high barrier I feel that it could be lower just like when we talked about the threshold for a citizen's petition we did that with the basis of trying to allow the public to participate in what

▶ 1:47:52 Michael P. Zwirko: it is that we do and I think the spirit of the removal of the threshold was so that it would hopefully bring more candidates to make our democratic process and elections more vibrant so I could see myself supporting some of these changes here in section 211 I do think that the 40% is a little too high so I think we should discuss this a little bit more if there are gonna be other changes to the the Charter those are those are my comments at this time Alderman Wright thank you madam chair I appreciate all the minister Arco's comments personally as someone who works for municipality and has for 20 years and has been through a number of these home rule petitions in a in a city that's very aggressive about continuing to stay current with with you

▶ 1:48:47 Francis X. Wright Jr.: know trends in municipal government I've seen dozens of these go through sometimes in a year so I don't see a need to wait to lump anything together I think we can pass this and if there's other things we want to do throughout year we can revisit and we can do that and then we can look to our state delegation to shepherd them through the state house for us um i um so that that for me is is is uh not something that hold should hold this up uh and i do agree with all the moserco that it takes a while every home rule petition can take more than a year um sometimes it can take several months but that's that's uh not comment that usually takes somewhere I'd say between nine months in a year other issue that all the Missouri co raised was the 40% the way it was

▶ 1:49:48 Francis X. Wright Jr.: structured before it was 30% of the highest vote getters total which I mean do the math I mean so if the highest vote getter gets 70% and the 75% and the next person gets 25% even though they've got 25% of the total vote they've got more than 30% of of the highest vote getters total you could bring that all the way you could bring that down to I think close to 20% and still get 30% of the highest vote get as total so if 80% of the people who turn out to vote do not select someone to be their next elected representative do we really want to award that person with the seat without any type of process to bring that people before the public and before this board you just want to say you got 20% of the total vote we're gonna give you a seat I as we saw with me

▶ 1:50:55 Francis X. Wright Jr.: Madolin that could be someone could get on this board and then for some personal reason have to leave right away now you're gonna be end up with somebody who most people in a ward or across the city had no interest in voting for being put on this board so I don't see any reason to hold this up to lump it with anything else I don't see any reason if you can't come within 20% of the highest vote getter why you should be given a seat so I think we need to think about the voters that can stitch our constituents and what's in their best interest and what did they choose when they went to the ballot box so again that's my thoughts thank you Alderman Medeiros thank you yes I recall our debate about

▶ 1:51:43 Monica C. Medeiros: this in in committee in regards to the last Charter review I think there was some merit to the to having some limit there's a couple of things that should should we move forward with this I think we need to take into account and one is is the time taking effect I think it's very important for us to have a clear understanding one way or the other if well if we are going to move forward with the change that that we perhaps consider as an amendment to this the time taking effect to make it in effect with the next election date so that you The rules are very clearly set forth before the election of what our intentions are, and so the candidates know when they're deciding whether or not they're going to run and how

▶ 1:52:34 Monica C. Medeiros: hard they're going to run, and the voters understand the ramifications at least somewhat. So I think that would be important, and I think it would be wise to add time-taking effect to be synonymous with the election date in November. That being said, I think the 40% threshold is probably a good one for a ward alderman, although if there's multiple people running, you could certainly get into a situation where the winner doesn't get 40% of the vote. So I think we do need to think about this in that regard. In particular, in the alderman at large race, and I think some of why the old charter was written the way it was is because the you we want to make it very clear if that total votes cast includes the what's called the under vote so for

▶ 1:53:32 Monica C. Medeiros: instance every voter goes in to vote for Alderman at large and they get four votes so they are that voter has gone and voted but they don't always use all four of their votes and the difference of the unused votes I think they believed to call the the under vote so if you look at like the last city election, the total votes between the undervotes and the votes cast are much higher than ... So you see that some of the candidates that won, maybe if you count them both, might not have even got 40% so it's I think that was the reason why the old Charter took you know 30% of the highest vote total vote getter and I thought that was a good threshold it did allow for you know the next runner-up to go in but with some

▶ 1:54:35 kind of threshold and so I think if we're going to to vote on this we should definitely make sure that it's it's clear and I would like to see the city solicitors opinion on on the language and if it's clear enough to stave off any challenges because obviously none of us want to challenge any other my mission is before the first time all right very briefly I appreciate all the member Davis's comment and I welcome having the city solicitor present he drafted this. At my request. What is the will of the committee tonight? Alderman Dutra. I'm inclined to support this. I'm looking at our last election totals so I just quickly did the math and I remember going through this whole process and I know my colleague the chair of the Appropriations Committee and I knocked

▶ 1:55:56 Manisha Bewtra: on a lot of doors to get here um and so to me i sort of to grapple with the notion that somebody who um maybe showed up to debate and didn't really put in the work could get in um to our board versus going through the process that we did with alderman mcmaster doesn't sit well with me so i'm sorry i wasn't part of the more closely involved as a resident in the charter review process but i appreciate the intentions of this order and i'm inclined to support it thank you ultimate chairman tozy if nobody else has any other comments i'll make a motion for passage of it of this order second we have a message for passage made by alderman tram and Tosi seconded by Alderman Bewtra one discussion just as I've been looking it

▶ 1:57:04 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: over trying to sort of think through how this would have played out in the last election in my first it looks like under the the way in which the Charter was written previously if I'm correct it was 30% you had to get 30% of the total number of votes that the winner received and in that in that scenario it appears that all three of the challengers to the ward aldermen would have been able to take the seats had someone needed to vacate under the example or the proposal before us tonight one of the three challengers would have been able to take the seat but the other two would not so it's there's it's just a little complicated for me to sort of wrestle with here's how we you know what are the

▶ 1:58:02 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: merits of the Charter that was then amended what are the merits of the current Charter that has no threshold which I I do find it sounds like of all the people who've spoken tonight there's at least some recognition that there are some drawbacks to the current status but it did go through a vetting process I wasn't on the board either so I wasn't focused on this particular provision and then there also are merits perhaps you know to this proposal so I don't really know how to vote tonight but I'm just I'm just thinking out loud and sort of demonstrating that a choice between 30% of the top vote getter versus 40% of the overall votes would have significant differences in just our very last election or what that's worth we do have a motion on the floor for passage that's

▶ 1:59:00 Monica C. Medeiros: been duly seconded there's any more discussion alderman Medeiros if you find it an order I'd like to move to make an amendment and to amend to add under section 10-6 time of taking effect this Charter shall take effect upon its ratification actually I shouldn't say this this this Charter shall take effect under the first election of officers should be held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November 2018 for the purposes of electing gosh I know i actually you know what i have to tell you that i'm going to withdraw that and i believe that that some some amendment would be in order um however i'm going to vote against moving this forward for for recommendation for passage at this time because i really think we could use a little

▶ 2:00:04 Scott M. Forbes: bit more time to tweak something like that and to have a little bit more discussion in the in committee so it's not necessarily that i'm opposed to it but that i just think we could use it a little bit more tweaking alderman forbes thank you um i i intend to group i i do agree with the language that's in the order i appreciate uh allman wright for drafting this i think that i'm with some of my colleagues here that are kind of unsure how i want to vote this evening that being said if there is any other back and forth that we could have with the city solicitor if holding it one more session would be the right thing to do so we all have kind of a um a better understanding and confidence in our vote when the time comes i think that that may be

▶ 2:00:53 Scott M. Forbes: the answer i'm not sure what my other colleagues feel at this time but i know right now i i intend to agree with the language i think i do have some questions uh so being able to have that length of time in order to make a well-informed decision would work in on behalf of myself i'm not sure how that would work on behalf of my colleagues i know there's a motion already on here uh to to approve but i would hope that we could possibly consider to hold it in committee for one more session alderman oh sorry is that all yes alderman mortimer thank you very much madam chair um that's where i stand as well if i'm forced to vote tonight and under procedural purposes we have a motion to recommend for passage uh duly seconded and the only way that can be rewound is if they

▶ 2:01:48 Shawn M. MacMaster: both agree to pull it back if i'm forced to vote tonight if i'm forced to vote tonight i will vote in favor of it but i would also like to see uh maybe a little further discussion automatic master thank you madam chair um i'm inclined to support this tonight as it is currently written i appreciate alderman Wright um order and i accept his representation that he's been in contact with the the city solicitor so if it comes down to a vote tonight i'll be voting to support this thank you madam chair alderman wright very briefly uh as i indicated when all the members originally spoke i don't have any issue with uh having the city solicitor come forward and speak on this so um if the maker and the second uh withdrawn and uh rather there's a motion to hold it in committee

▶ 2:02:44 i'm fine with that with that in mind i will withdraw my motion if the second one's still withdrawing and i'll um file i'll request a new motion to hold it in committee i will withdraw my second and second that motion then i move to hold in committee okay we have a motion to hold in committee made by Alderman Tramontozzi and seconded by Alderman Bewtra I need more discussion okay all in favor opposed okay we'll hold that in committee and maybe hear from the city solicitor at a meeting upcoming thank you that concludes our agenda yes yes motion for personal privilege just want to let everybody know this Sunday I believe that is the 24th of March at the VFW Norman Prince post number 1506 we have our I believe it's our fifth annual

▶ 2:03:31 Scott M. Forbes: Chile Chowder Challenge. The proceeds go to Operation Resilient which is the middle school students combined with local area veterans. I believe it's their eighth trip down to Washington DC to go on a trip to visit the memorials and they spend a year long doing research projects on local area veterans. I can't thank everybody enough for all the support. I know many of you are there and many of you will be participating as myself so I encourage everybody in the public to come by on Sunday is from 12 to 3 Thank You Alderman Forbes and I will echo you that that's a great event and hopefully the Board of Aldermen will have a good showing this year and we're coming for the firefighters right that

▶ 2:04:12 Peter D. Mortimer: is Alderman Mortimer also on a point of personal privilege I would like to point out to the community that this Saturday night is the trivia be held by the Melrose bridge the Board of Aldermen has a team the Rotary Club has a team many Many other organizations have teams throughout the city. It supports the bridge, which does a tremendous amount of volunteer work for our schools. All of the schools throughout Melrose, so it's a good time. The teams that have entered have all paid a fee, which is a charitable donation to the bridge. But for everyone else in the city, it's free, it's a fun time. You can go there, you can help by buying food and beverage at the event. And every year it's a good time for a great cause, so I'd like to point that out.

▶ 2:05:02 Kate Lipper-Garabedian: Thank you very much. And a motion to adjourn? Second. We have a motion to adjourn made by Alderman Mortimer, seconded by Alderman Forbes. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Thank you.

City Council — 2019-03-18

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