Appropriations & Oversight Committee — 2021-06-09

Appropriations and Oversight Budget Hearing

This meeting starts at 0:01 in a recording that covers several meetings.

Attendance

Christopher Cinella present · President, ex oficio; Jack Eccles present · Vice Chair; Mark Garipay present; Jen Grigoraitis present; Maya Jamaleddine present; Shawn M. MacMaster present; Jeff McNaught present · Chair; Leila Migliorelli present, 6:40 PM; Robb Stewart present; Cory Thomas present; John N. Tramontozzi present

Agenda

Minutes

CITY OF MELROSE APPROPRIATIONS & OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE CALENDAR● JUNE 9, 2021 Web-based remote meeting Budget Hearing 6:30 PM , Melrose, MA 02176 Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Jeff McNaught Chair Present Jack Eccles Vice Chair Present John N. Tramontozzi Present Shawn M. MacMaster Present Mark Garipay Present Jen Grigoraitis Present Leila Migliorelli Present 6:40 PM Robb Stewart Present Cory Thomas Present Maya Jamaleddine Present Christopher Cinella President, ex oficio Present

ORDER-2021-122 Operating Budgets (City, School, Regional School) City of Melrose Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2022 in the amount of $91,000,522.33 (Ninety-One Million, Five Hundred Twenty-Two Dollars and Thirty-Three Cents). Hold Appropriations & Oversight Committee

ORDER-2021-128 Revolving Fund/Reauthorization Reauthorization of City of Melrose Revolving Fund table as first adopted by City Ordinance June 18th, 2018 and annually thereafter. Revolving Funds are further authorized under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 44 Section 53E 1/2. Ought to Pass City Council

ORDER-2021-139 Appropriation An Appropriation from Free Cash, account 01-324001, in the amount of $30,000 to Veterans Professional Services, account 015432-529000. Ought to Pass City Council

ORDER-2021-127 Enterprise Fund City of Melrose Page 1 3/16/2022 2:30 PM Minutes Appropriations & Oversight Committee June 9, 2021 Mt. Hood Operating Budget for Fiscal 2022 in the amount of $1,561,141.36 (One Million, Five Hundred Sixty-One Thousand, One Hundred Forty-One Dollars and Thirty-Six Cents). Ought to Pass City Council

ORDER-2021-133 Appropriation An Appropriation from Free Cash, account 01-324001, in the amount of $502,500 to various Park Capital Project Accounts as set forth herein. Ought to Pass City Council

ORDER-2021-124 Enterprise Fund Ambulance Enterprise Operating Budget for Fiscal 2022 in the amount of $945,353.00 (Nine Hundred Forty-Five Thousand, Three Hundred and Fifty-Three Dollars). Ought to Pass City Council

ORDER-2021-123 Amending Something Previously Adopted Amend Melrose Revised Ordinances, Chapter 24, Article II - Fire Department, Sec. 24-32(E) - Emergency Rescue Vehicle, to set fees for FY 22. Ought to Pass City Council

ORDER-2021-119 Grant Acceptance of the FY21 Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant awarded to the Melrose Fire Department by The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Fire Services, in the amount of $14,941.00. Ought to Pass City Council

ORDER-2021-130 Appropriation An Appropriation from Free Cash, 01-324001, in the amount of $265,000 to Fire Capital Outlay, account 019313-551081, to purchase an Ambulance. Ought to Pass Appropriations & Oversight Committee City of Melrose Page 2 3/16/2022 2:30 PM

Transcript

▶ 0:01 Jeff McNaught: Okay, we're recording. Good evening, the time is 6 30 p.m. on June 9th, 2021. Wednesday evening, a beautiful evening here in Melrose, Massachusetts. Another toasty one. This is a meeting of the Appropriations Committee. My name is Councilor McNaught and I am the chair of this committee. In lieu of a roll call attendance, joining me this evening Our Councilor Tramontozzi, Councilor McMaster, Councilor Garipay, Councilor Grigoraitis, Councilor Jamaleddine, Councilor Stewart, Councilor Thomas, and President Cinella. I just want to note that Councilor Migliorelli is at her son's, I believe it's, I figure what they call it for the middle school, it's the open house for the middle school this evening.

▶ 0:53 Jeff McNaught: Last night we saw all the kids out for the step up to the high school program, um, out and about town. Um, and I just want to note that vice chair Eccles is with us now, uh, as well. So the attendance provides a notice of a quorum for the record. Pursuant to Governor Baker's March 12th, 2020 order, imposing Suspending certain provisions of the open meeting law and the governor's March 15th, 2020 order imposing strict limitations on the number of people that may gather in 1 place. This meeting of the appropriations committee will be conducted via remote participation to the greatest extent possible. We'll post an audio or video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City of Marlowe's website and on mmtv3.org.

▶ 1:48 Jeff McNaught: For folks joining us from home this evening, the first portion of our meeting is public comment, where anyone from the public can raise their digital hand and speak to any item on our agenda. I can already see that we have a fair amount of people in the attendee room. I'm not sure how many are from the administration as opposed to public commenters, but I do see a couple of digital hands. And I will just say at this time, if there is no objection, I will move by unanimous consent to open the floor for public comment. Seeing no objection, public comment is now open. Madam clerk, can we. Bring our 1st person into the room. We do Mr. bell. I'm going to unmute you. I can hear you. Can you hear me? Yes. Yes. Fantastic. Thank you. Counselors for taking my time.

▶ 2:44 I'm here just to give public comment on the importance of. Melrose to create an inclusive playground again. My name is Chris. My wife, Sarah, and I have lived here at Melrose since 2008 and have 3 wonderful children. Our oldest daughter is almost 12 years old. is non-verbal has autism as well as other intellectual and physical disabilities playgrounds have been one of those of her favorite outings a place charlotte can enjoy being herself and participate in an activity with her siblings it's always been a challenge to find playgrounds that offer structures that she can access and enjoy safely beyond just the standard handicap accessible swing we are huge road trippers and are always seeking out new playgrounds

▶ 3:26 it's incredible to see all the creative and sensory oriented elements that are now available i think it would be a huge asset to our community to have an inclusive playground that is access accessible to everyone regardless of their abilities or their age i also think a playground will just be another reason why the city of melrose is truly one community open to all i thank you for your time thank you mr bell mr bellum sorry um just looking in the Attendee room, Madam clerk, do we have anyone else who. I see another hand up Mr. McSweeney. I'm going to unmute you now. Yes, I can McSweeney 160 West Wyoming. I actually just wanted to also briefly comment on the inclusive playground idea. Which I think is is really, really a cool idea for Melrose.

▶ 4:27 We have 2 young kids, we go all over the city to every different playground and it'd be really nice to have this be a destination playground. That's that's different for our kids and I know that will also draw other people in from outside Melrose. I just wanted to identify this as a really. Good opportunity to draw in a lot of expertise in the community. um into creating a really good plan um for the neighborhood and the playground when i think about that particular playground i first became aware of it in a traffic commission meeting um where there was a resident up there who was saying that there was no crosswalk on franklin street to get to that playground and i checked it out afterwards and there's actually there's no crosswalks um on

▶ 5:20 at the intersection of warren and melrose right next to the playground there's literally no crosswalk to the playground and there's also no contiguous crosswalks on melrose street on either side of the playground to to get there and i started thinking about the recent wayfinding and creative placemaking initiative and i just think this would be a really cool area to draw in the work of that committee which the mayor put together to draw in the commission on disability which which the mayor um put together and really do you know like where i think about People talk about, you know, a rainbow crosswalks, things like that really inclusive. Celebratory place making, I want to plug this as an opportunity.

▶ 6:06 To to establish that block and that. New playground as as a really inclusive destination. Through place making, and of course, you know, through. Accessibility elements and traffic, calming elements. We know that Franklin street is not particularly safe. I just went up there today. There's a speed. There's a speed feedback sign right there because people speed. So let's let's. I just want to encourage anyone who's involved in a decision making capacity to really cast a wide net and make this a very inclusive. Place within the context of of what place making is and what we've been doing as a city lately. So, thank you everybody. I appreciate the time. Thank you Mr. I do see other folks in the attendee room, madam clerk, but, um.

▶ 7:06 I'm not sure if you're in the attendee room, and you would like to speak in public comment, please raise your digital hand. And if there's a counselor who sees somebody in the waiting room, who they know wants to speak, but may not. know how to do that um can you please advise or we're gonna we're gonna move on from public comment i just want to make sure that everybody gets a chance to speak who wants to and some of these names don't look familiar to me council thomas thank you mr chairman i believe uh cammy ahern is here to speak on uh one of the orders uh tonight in public uh in the participation list would that be last name judge i'm sorry john can you judge that's correct Ms. Judge, can you hear us? Yes. Yes, I'm here. Hi.

▶ 8:16 Hello. Hi, Ms. Judge. Thank you for being with us. We can hear you. Oh, great. Thank you. Hi. So, my name is Kami Judge. I'm a lifelong resident of Melrose, Mass. And I attended Melrose High School, graduated in 1990. Thanks so much for letting me speak to you guys tonight about a project I'm very passionate about, the improvement of Lebanon softball field. This is the only dedicated softball field in the city. I grew up playing softball in Melrose as a young girl, and I have so many great memories of hours of a softball diamond with girls that became lifelong friends. My mom, Anna Hearn, started a league called Melrose Girls Softball back in the 80s, and we actually played at Heseltine Field. At Melrose High in the

▶ 9:05 late 1980s, our varsity team, the softball team, practiced and played games at Lewis Monk's baseball field. This, as some of you may know, is not a regulation softball field with its dimensions and it has an elevated mound. We're in softball. We pitch from a flat circle. I remember thinking it was odd that they had girls playing softball on the baseball field, but, you know, years past, I was at a Mellor's softball crowd for a bit when my daughter, Emmy, who's a seventh grader at Maurer's middle school expressed interest in the sport. I signed a write-up with Maurer's Youth Softball and quickly became a volunteer coach and eventually a board member. My daughter, Emmy, loves softball. Many of her games, when she began to play five or six years ago,

▶ 9:47 were played at Lebanon Field. I soon saw problems with the field. They were pretty obvious. Third base, after the most mild of rainstorms, would flood for days. Many games, the umpire would deem third base out of play for safety reasons. The infield had weeds that would stick to the girls' cleats and trip them. First baseline in the woods with bugs and mosquitoes. The dugouts are fenced but uncovered, so a risk from foul balls for injury. There's no stands for fans or family to sit. The day that I said, ooh, this is bad, it was 95-degree summer ball game, and the port-a-potty was placed right behind home plate instead of the outfield. And that is one of the few areas in the park you have a decent view of the field.

▶ 10:33 But I brushed it off. I said, hey, I grew up playing high school field hockey on the old Cabbage Patch. And if any of you know that, it's right in front of the high school. And back then, there were rocks beside us and boulders. And the ball would take some, you know, treacherous hops. But honestly, some of my best Moro's High memories were made on that field, that not-so-great field with my field hockey teammates. And it was a real sandlot, but we had a great time. So I sort of at that time thought, oh, Lebanon's sort of like that. And I'm a big believer that great memories can be made on not the greatest of fields. But it wasn't until my daughter was about 10, she was playing softball for multiple teams,

▶ 11:14 practicing constantly. We went to Lebanon on our own time so she could pitch. And on the pitcher's circle, it was like quicksand due to previous rain. And that rain wasn't recent. And I coached there, so I knew where the quick drive was. So I kept a rake in my car, and I did this to make it safe for her to practice. But that same night we had practiced, we went to my nephew's baseball game at Lewis Monk. When we got there, my daughter, Emmy, just started to laugh. She said, Mom, look at this field. It's amazing. These boys are so lucky. They have this beautiful field to play on. It's like a mini Fenway, and it has stands and a scoreboard and covered dugouts. I said, gee, how does this make you feel, Emmy?

▶ 11:53 And she said, oh, I love softball so much, Mom. the weeds at Lebanon could be three feet tall and I'd still want to play. It's not the field, it's the sport that you love. And I thought, we'll shave it off to get out. But a few days later, we're at Conant watching another nephew's game. And this time she had a more serious look and said, mom, why do these boys get such nice fields? Why don't they have this awesome baseball field so we get this flooded out Lebanon? This is the second baseball field you've taken to me too that, you know, it's just a much better shape than what we play on. that can't be right, right, mom? And I told her I thought she had an excellent point and that it was not wrong in her observations. But I would write to the city as a board member and request

▶ 12:34 they invest to make some improvements in the one dedicated softball field in the city. I wrote to Corey Thomas. From my first email, he supported my concerns that I brought up. And even during COVID, when no softball or baseball, sadly, was being played, he was constantly giving the updates on the efforts to improve Lebanon for the girls in Melrose. And I felt so supported by Corey, and I want to thank him for that. I also want to say a big thank you to my classmate Gappa, Mark Garipay, Mayor Broder, Peter Petrinonio, and Joan Bell. I know funds are limited and they have to be used judiciously, but I think we can all agree that this is a great investment in the girls of our city. And in closing, I think by improving Lebanon, there's a bigger and more

▶ 13:22 important message that we're sending to the girls in our community, that they're valued, that their city wants what's best for them, and so they will feel inspired to put their best efforts forward. And I just want to thank everyone so much for all the time and work you've put into this project. I really, really appreciate it. Thank you, Ms. Judge. We really appreciate you you coming in and speaking tonight thank you do we have anyone else in queue madam clerk no one's raised their hand but i'm not sure if it's that they don't want to speak if they don't know how to um any counselors recognize anyone else that may want to speak that you know of that we're here to speak tonight i'm gonna guess by now that folks would have figured it out or phone

▶ 14:21 Jeff McNaught: someone so if there's no objection i will move by unanimous consent to close public comment seeing no objection public comment is now closed and i will also move by unanimous consent to suspend the rules if there's no objection seeing no objection the rules are now suspended Our first order of business tonight is the Order 2021-122, City of Melrose Operating Budget for the fiscal year 2022 in the amount of $91,522.33. First coming into the room this evening is Veteran Services. Director Burke, can you hear us? I can. Can you hear me? We can, we can see you and hear you. Thank you. Thank you counselors for those to be watching from home. My name is Karen Burke and I'm the director of veteran services for Melrose Lakefield and Saugus.

▶ 15:29 Here in Melrose, we are a 2 person department consisting of myself and Sue Kathy. Melrose veteran services is the lead office of the Melrose Lakefield Saugus veteran services district. The veteran services office and the district and the districts seek to advocate on behalf of all the districts veterans and provide them with guidance on local state and federal benefit program. Quality support services and to direct an emergency financial assistance program for those veterans and their departments. We serve 75 to 100 chapter 115 clients across 3 communities and bring over 625,000 dollars back. To be a beneficiaries across the 3 communities 1 of our main missions is connecting veterans and their families to resources.

▶ 16:09 while we are mostly seen at public events and ceremonies most of what we do is behind the scenes commemorating honoring and celebrating our community's veterans is vital to their well-being we serve as an important resource hub and in some cases serve as an important source of socialization for some of our elder veterans we administer the massachusetts state chapter 115 program which is a financial assistance program for low-income low-asset veterans and their families the program primarily assists veterans and surviving spouses moving on their social securities. It also assists working-age veterans who are looking for work or are underemployed. This program is executed locally. The city is reimbursed by the state of Massachusetts

▶ 16:47 up to 75 percent of the money paid out in benefits. This program is unique to Massachusetts and is the only one like it in the United States. It is a great safety net for veterans who may be struggling financially. Another area we assist veterans with is applying for VA benefits such as VA pension, disability compensation, and aid and attendance. The application process can be tedious and difficult to manage, so providing assistance is a vital role we play. In Massachusetts, every city or town has to have a VSO. The role of the VSO is to administer Chapter 115, assist with VA benefits, in addition to many other responsibilities. The requirement to have a VSO in each community is also unique to Massachusetts and is a great resource for our

▶ 17:25 veterans. Many states only offer VSO services regionally or by county. We partner with the Greater Boston Food Bank, and here in Melrose, Wakefield, and Saugus, all of us partner with the greater boston food bank to run a monthly veterans mobile food market this provides food to veterans and their families once a month this market serves six communities providing food to over 200 families during covid we modified the way we did business and implemented a drive-through system for veterans in melrose and saugus this allowed us to continue serving our communities when facilities previously used were closed to the public the no contact distribution helped battle food insecurity during a difficult time we also increased our delivery numbers delivering

▶ 18:03 food to residents who were too high risk to feel comfortable leaving their homes. Throughout COVID, we have played an important role in responding to the pandemic by continuing to provide our services and assisting with Melrose Health's initiatives. For example, Sue Caffey delivered groceries weekly to veterans participating in the program. This pandemic brought so many services together. My background as a nurse allowed me to volunteer to give shots at our vaccine clinics. This was an unforgettable experience to see so many communities organizations departments and volunteers work together to vaccinate our citizens i've never had such happy smiling faces come for a shot before it was truly rewarding experience

▶ 18:40 that i was fortunate to participate in we also oversee the veteran relief fund this fund is built from donations it is a resource we have to assist veterans in need that may not qualify for other services or who need additional help we are able to offer food cards to veterans with food insecurity have helped with things like rental assistance and emergency home repairs just to name a few. We also connect these veterans with other resources such as Melrose Health, Mystic Valley Elder Services, Veterans Northeast Outreach Center, and the Red Cross. John Gately has an annual fundraiser for the Veteran Relief Fund. In addition, we get donations. We are thankful for the continued support of this amazing community. If you know of a veteran or surviving spouse in need,

▶ 19:19 please have them contact our office. There are many ways we may be able to help them. In fiscal year 22, I am happy to report that we will be moving our office to the Milano Center, which will be a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with the Council on Aging and enhance services to our veterans. There is some overlap in the community members we serve, and it will be great to have that building as a resource hub when it opens back up in September. In terms of budget, we have no major financial changes. We continue to provide Chapter 115 services in Melrose to, on average, 30 clients monthly. We help with a wide range of VA applications. We are looking forward to getting back to collaborating with the Veterans Advisory

▶ 19:55 board to have our food drives and fundraising events for our memorials we also hope to be back at the melrose veterans memorial middle school next year to work with the eighth graders and our operation club culminating in a trip that we bring veterans to the war memorials in washington dc we have also started the process of soliciting bids from contractors to restore the honor roll in main street to return it to a veteran memorial we can all be proud of thank you for all your thank you all for your time this evening please let me know if you have any questions and go bees Thank you, Director Burke. Do we have any questions? I have Councillor McMaster. Is there anyone else who would like to get in queue for questions?

▶ 20:37 Robb Stewart: Councillor McMaster. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel Burke for being here tonight. As the council liaison to the Veterans Advisory Board, I know how hard you and Ms. Caffey work. I just want to thank you for everything that you do throughout the course of the year, and I'm happy to support your essentially level funded budget this evening. Thank you. Thank you, Council McMaster. Councilor Stewart. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel Burke again for being here. I wanna echo Councilor McMaster's thoughts and also thank you for helping me personally with the recent situation with one of my former ward constituents. That was a great help. um i'll just emphasize to uh the full council and to the public that um ms burke is uh an extremely

▶ 21:35 valuable asset to this community and she she goes above and beyond uh in terms of supporting and helping people and families of people that have served so thank you very much appreciate it thank you mr chair thank you councillor stewart councillor thomas thank you mr chair lieutenant Thank you for being here. Thank you for all you do for our area veterans. It was great seeing you over Memorial Day during Memorial Day services. And at this time, I'd like to make a motion to move the bottom line. 2nd, so we have a motion to move the bottom line of veteran services line 543 made by counter Thomas, seconded by counter Stewart. On discussion seeing none, Madam clerk, we please call the role. Chair McNaught?

▶ 22:27 Yes. Vice Chair Eccles? Yes. Councillor Tramontozzi? Yes. Councillor McMaster? Yes. Councillor Garipay? Yes. Councillor Grigoraitis? Yes. Councillor Migliorelli? Yes. Councillor Stewart? Yes. Councillor Thomas? Yes. Councillor Jamaleddine? Yes. President Sinella? Yes. Councillor McNaught? Yes. Councillor Kate? Yes. Councillor Kate? Yes. 11, yes, motion passes counselor at McMaster. Yes, Mr. chairman, I think it may at this time make sense since Lieutenant Colonel Burke is here to take order 2021 dash 139 out of order. And unless there's an objection from you, Mr. chairman, I'd make a motion to that effect at this time. Can I get you to do that in 1 moment after we vote on the revolving account?

▶ 23:25 Jeff McNaught: certainly so so can i have you withdraw withdraw your motion sorry i would withdraw my motion at this time mr chairman thank you councilman mcmaster and councillor stewart um i don't i know we don't need to officially withdraw the second but i'm assuming you withdraw the second as well i don't think i made a second on that it was me i would withdraw it's you and jack you have the same singing voice my apologies um so uh i will entertain a motion to move the bottom line on the revolving account for veteran services that's 2021-2607 second motion to move the bottom line on revolving account 2021-2607 second great uh we have a motion to move 2021-2607 made by councillor Grigoraitis seconded by councillor thomas on discussion seeing none madam clerk will you please call the roll

▶ 24:37 chair mcnaught yes yes vice chair eccles yes councillor Tramontozzi yes councillor mcmaster yes councillor Garipay yeah councillor Grigoraitis yes councillor Migliorelli yes counselor stewart yes yes counselor thomas yes yes councilor maladin yes president tanella yes 11 yes okay the order passes councilor mcmaster i'll go to you thank you mr chairman at this time i would make a motion to take order number 2021-139 out of order second motion to take 2021-139 out of order made by councillor mcmaster seconded by councillor eccles madam clerk will you please call the roll mayor mcnaught yes yes vice chair eccles yes councillor Tramontozzi yes councillor mcmaster Yes. Councilor Garipay? Yes. Councilor Grigoraitis?

▶ 25:51 Jeff McNaught: Yes. Councilor Migliorelli? Yes. Councilor Stewart? Yes. Councilor Thomas? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. President Sinella? Yes. 11 yes. Motion passes. So, before us now is Order 2021-139, an appropriation from Free Cash, account zero one dash three two four zero zero one in the amount of thirty thousand dollars to veterans professional services account zero one five four three two dash five two nine zero zero zero and uh lieutenant colonel burke if you wanted to speak on that uh you can if not i think enough of us have uh read read the material that's come with it and we're familiar enough with the with the order so if there are no questions uh i'll entertain uh whatever the will of the committee is i'd just like to take a quick moment to thank everyone for

▶ 26:55 Shawn M. MacMaster: your support and all of the veteran services things that we have in the community it's a wonderful community to be a vso in and if you have any questions specifically regarding the honor roll i'm happy to answer them otherwise i will stand by thank you thank you councillor mcmaster thank you mr chairman i think most of us are aware of the condition uh of the honor role especially the counselors who have been to past memorial day events including the most recent one so at this time i would make a motion uh to recommend for passage second we have a motion to recommend for passage made by councillor mcmaster seconded by councillor Jamaleddine on discussion seeing none madam clark will you please call the role i think you're you're

▶ 27:44 You're muted, Madam Chair, but I'll give you a yes anyway. Chair McNaught? Yes. Vice Chair Eccles? Yes. Councilor Tramontozzi? Yes. Councilor McMaster? Yes. Councilor Garipay? Yes. Councilor Grigoraitis? Yes. Councilor Migliorelli? Yes. Councilor Stewart? Yes. Councilor Thomas? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. President Sinella? Yes. 11 yes. The motion passes. Lieutenant Colonel Burke, thank you for being with us this evening. Thank you, Councilman McMaster for bringing that out of order. That made a lot of sense. We can let you go now. Thanks very much. Thank you. Okay. Next up, we have Pine Banks, Department 652. i'm looking in the room and i do not see an attendee at this time from oh i see mr gardner

▶ 28:59 perhaps let me call him in mr gardner would you be speaking to pine banks mr gardner point of honor mr chair i think it's mr kieser that usually is the person an individual who speaks for pine banks i'm not sure if his name is in the queue he's not in the queue i believe he retired from that role no i i i don't believe so but i'm not sure i spoke last year yep uh we do have another hand raised in the room perhaps that's stephen yes hi will you be speaking to pine banks will you be speaking to pine banks steven no no i will be speaking about pickleball Okay, thank you. Okay. Why don't we, um. Let's move away from pine banks. Um, we'll go with, um, Mount hood next department 653. we'll come back to pine banks.

▶ 30:47 So, next up is Mount hood, I should say Mount hood and parks commission. My apologies. Miss bell, can you hear us? Yes, I can. Good evening miss bell. How are we great? How are you? Little technical difficulties. I think it's the heat. I don't know bill if, you know, to unmute yourself and turn your video on. Bill get stuck in traffic and ran back to the office. So he might be. A little discombobulated. Were you going to lead off? miss bell or was i can leave off bill was going to do it but i don't have any problem with it for those of you who don't know me i'm joan bell i'm the superintendent of parks and public open space in the city of melrose i have been here since 2003 2008 as the superintendent i oversee

▶ 32:18 the mount hood golf course contract and i oversee open space playgrounds parks adopter sites dog parks community gardens i issue all the permits for melrose youth high school i'm the liaison with pine banks on the melrose side so i do all the permits for melrose user groups in pine banks last year was kind of a rough year for us with covid everybody knows it was not fun especially for open space um user time on open space was a gold mine and worth a million to anybody who could get it you know when we eventually got back out there um as far as the golf course now we're open for a regular season right now um we're making strides to catching up um to some of the revenue that we were down year to date last year per month

▶ 33:18 as we have this year um so we're hoping for a good season up here um i don't know if you have any other questions or i'll just have any questions for miss bell on anything related to to Mount Hood budget and the parks. Seeing no questions, President Sinella. Just motioning to move the bottom line. Second. So we have a motion to move the bottom line of 653 Mount Hood and Parks Commission made by President Sinella, seconded by Councilor Grigoraitis on discussion. Seeing none, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Chair McNaught. Yes. Vice Chair Eccles? Yes. Councilor Tramontozzi? Yes. Councilor McMaster? Yes. Councilor Garipay? Yes. Councilor Grigoraitis? Yes. Councilor Migliorelli? Councilor Stewart?

▶ 34:31 Yes. Councilor Thomas? Yes. Councilor Malady? Yes. President Cinella? Yes. 11. yes okay the the motion passes um we also have um they re the park permits revolving account 2669 um what is the will of the committee on on that line mr chair i'll make a motion to move um the revolving count number 2669 to the bottom line second uh motion to move uh revolving account 2669 made by councillor stewart seconded by president sanella on discussion seeing none madam clerk we please call the role chair mcnaught yes yes vice chair eccles yes yes councillor treyman yes yes councillor mcmaster yes councillor Garipay yeah council Grigoraitis yeah council Migliorelli yes councillor stewart yes yes councillor thomas yes councillor jamala dean yes yes president

▶ 35:57 Jeff McNaught: sanella yes eleven yes the motion passes uh miss bell i was just curious would you happen to know who may be speaking to pine banks this evening i think you're you're muted sorry it should be hank kieser from the foundation and um andrew walsh the superintendent i thought it would be andrew okay um thank you miss bell um i know that um you're here for a couple of other orders this evening as well um but i think what we're going to do is is move on um the next couple of groups should be quick and then we'll be able to come back to those because i feel as though there may be some discussion um if that's okay with you um but thank you very much we'll be back back to you shortly um and i'm just going to ask the the council what is the will of the committee on pine

▶ 36:56 banks if there's a will to move on anything now we can do that or we can go to fire president sanella i'm having a motion to move the bottom line on 652 pine banks second we have a motion to move the bottom line on department 652 pine banks made by president sanella seconded by council Grigoraitis on discussion council mcmaster thank you mr chairman through you to the clerk i'm I'm just wondering if we received confirmation from either party that they were planning to attend tonight. So, the chair, they received the original email about the schedule. I have not received anything back. If it's the will of the committee, it can be held to the next session or not. I just asked that Mr. chairman, because there is almost a 10% increase in overtime. So I did have some questions on that.

▶ 37:56 I'm not opposed, if it's the will of the Council, to moving forward on it, but I'm not in a position to support it tonight with an increase without the opportunity to ask some questions. Thank you. Councillor Garipay? The overall budget looks like a slight increase. If we were to hold this, would we have time to put it in on Monday, right before Monday? On Monday's agenda appropriations? Yeah, I think within the 48 hours. Yes. Yeah, thank you. All that said, um. We have a motion on the table to move the bottom line. So we'll, we'll take that vote. If there's no further discussion, Madam clerk, can you please call the roll? Chair Mcnaught? Yes, yes. Vice chair Eccles? Yes. Councilor Tramm and Josie? No.

▶ 39:00 Councilor McMaster? No. Councilor Garipay? No. Councilor Grigoraitis? Yes. Councilor Migliorelli? No. Councilor Stewart? No. Councilor Thomas? No. Councilor Jamaleddine? No. President Cinella? Yes. Four yes. Okay the motion fails. Motion to hold in committee. Do we have a second? Second. Motion to hold in committee made by Councilor Tramontozzi, seconded by Councilor McMaster on discussion. Seeing none, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Chair McNaught? Yes. Yes. Vice Chair Eccles? Yes. Councilor Tramontozzi? Yes. Yes. Councilor McMaster? Yes. Councilor Garipay? Yes. Councilor Grigoraitis? Yes, absolutely. Really? Yes, yes. Yeah. Yes, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, yes. Okay, the motion passes to hold, uh, pine banks department 652 and committee and we'll revisit that on Monday night. Next we'll be bringing in chief Kalina and the fire department.

▶ 40:58 you hear me yes uh thank you uh good evening counselors and to everyone viewing at home who might not know me i'm ed kalina i'm your fire chief i'd like to talk about the fire department a little bit the fire department's composed of 59 members including myself the department is broken down into four working groups that rotate daily uh which provides a 24 7 coverage The department has one fire chief, seven fire captains, nine fire lieutenants, 40 firefighters, one fire alarm superintendent, and one financial administrator, also the assistant to the chief. Of these department members, 21 are EMTs and 34 are paramedics. The fire department has been at the front line of the pandemic response. 16 Melrose firefighters were exposed to the COVID-19 virus in the past 15 months. All have

▶ 42:13 recovered. Many firefighters across the nation have died from the COVID and that weighed heavily on my members. We dealt with increased anxiety levels on and off the job because of the invisible threat in the fear that potentially being exposed and bringing it home to their family members our firefighters are professional and they signed up to protect the public and protect the public they did while we face the challenges throughout this year the members of the fire department came to work stepped up to the extra challenges that covert brought to our doorsteps and executed their duties with compassion and professionalism. I'm very grateful and proud to work with each and every member of the fire department. They truly are the best. Thus far in fiscal year 21,

▶ 43:11 we've responded to 4,021 emergency calls, conducted 270 training activities, issued 540 permits conducted 646 six inspections and uh budget this year you'll see an increase in educational and seminars line item it's an increase of 200 percent but it's going from 500 to 1500 and it's for the professional development of my offices other increases will be in the tire line in the uniform lines uh if you have any questions i'd be more than happy to answer them for you thank you thank you chief kalina and uh thank you to the fire department for your courageous efforts this year um i i know i speak on behalf of all of us i could feel safely in saying how grateful we are to all of you for the work that you do every day especially during this

▶ 44:16 Shawn M. MacMaster: most trying year um more than a year almost 16 months now that said um any counselors have any questions for chief kalina council mcmaster thank you mr chairman good evening chief chief my question probably will not surprise you it's the same question i think this is the fourth year i've asked about and that is the vehicle maintenance uh line item um for the last four years in which I've served the council, there has been an increase between 30 and 40 percent a year. Is the reason we're still seeing that because we haven't received the new firetruck that the council approved? Or is there another reason? I'm wondering if we expect that number to go down next year. Correct. There's a couple of questions in there.

▶ 45:15 our vehicle maintenance has increased because of the need the the fleet is still aging in fact uh right now we're currently borrowing a stonem engine company because engine two had mechanical issues a second time this month and prior to that we had borrowed the linfield engine company for three weeks the pumper that the council approved um has been delayed in production um about two months we should hopefully see it by the end of the month early july i'm hoping and that's uh the delay is due to the covet with the factory shutting down uh so when the new engine comes on board that should uh reduce some however engine three ironically even last night uh failed to start and due to uh lieutenant madden for those that know him he took it upon himself

▶ 46:18 um with my okay obviously and uh he took a part out of the engine tool that was broken down at the tremont street and he was able to wire it in to engine three until we could get that pump up and running um but the the fleet is old um it's it's tired and it's becoming very unreliable we'll be getting one pump by summer and the the ladder truck assuming the two months that would cause the pump to be delayed would still be there in the fall I'm anticipating the new ladder truck arriving just after Christmas time and then council McMaster we should see vehicle repairs that to stabilize and and go on the decline thank you and um you mentioned chief the anxiety uh experience by firefighters over the last uh year obviously this has been a unique year uh but anxiety and stress

▶ 47:25 Shawn M. MacMaster: and trauma is is nothing common uh to firefighters as as you know um i am hopeful and i know we had a preliminary discussion about this and you seemed very open to it that we have a firefighter wellness um line item um maybe next year um so that there is a really robust way um in a specialized way to address the uh the the needs that our firefighters face which are really unique uh to other departments across the city so i hope we can keep that conversation open uh and that we involve the administration in that as well and uh thank you for all that you do please extend your thanks uh to the entire department 10-4 will do thank you council mcmaster council thomas thank you mr chairman uh chief kalina welcome and thank you for being here and the information you provided

▶ 48:14 Cory Thomas: um i just want to say thank you you know not only to you in the department um you know each and every year but this year and particularly you know dealing with the cove and then our all the problems that we've been in service and so on and so forth. Buildings in Melrose and nursing homes, you guys face extreme cold, extreme heat, but the pandemic was something else that you had to deal with. Our thoughts with you and your entire department. Then Ward 7 specifically, thank you for all the conversations that we've had regarding the blasting up there. Thank you to the efforts of Captain Gibson and all the members of fire department that provided fire watch uh during the blasting up there very much

▶ 48:58 Jen Grigoraitis: day in and day out um and if there's no other discussion i'd like to make a motion to move the bottom line we have a motion to move the bottom line made by councillor thomas seconded by president sanella on discussion i'll go to council Grigoraitis first thank you chair McNaught and thank you chief for being here i just had two brief questions about the budget which i'm happy to ask on discussion if you could just um just provide uh illumination about the five percent increase in overtime and the 125 increase to the radio maintenance contract i believe you're on mute chief i apologize uh i'll talk to the radio contract first um so our radios are old and they're starting they're actually not um being maintained uh by the vendor anymore

▶ 49:58 Jen Grigoraitis: so but we moved we cleaned up some uh items and we just moved it into the one line if you look um in the year past um we had see if i could find it yeah we had radio repair um we had radio system upgrade we moved some of the money all into the one item it should be the same thank you that's helpful i just was i wanted to make sure that i might understand that what i was seeing on the page was what was happening and hopefully we'll maybe see a free cash order for new radios at some point if the vendor is no longer servicing them well yeah we did put in for a grant back in february so we'll keep our fingers crossed that we'll be successful in that grant and is the overtime just due to increased call volume or just um

▶ 50:53 Is there, or is it just standard increase year over year? It's a standard increase. We have military commitments. We have the fire department is aging as well. So just contractually members are getting into accrual more vacation time and we're pretty much at a one for one replacement. So the more vacation time the members have Is that the cost of increased over time to that? Thank you. I appreciate those clarifications. Thank you. Any other councils have any questions for chief? Seeing none, um, we'll, we'll vote on the motion to move the bottom line. Madam clerk, will you please call the role? Chair Mcnaught? Yes. Vice chair Eccles? Yes. Yeah. Councilor Tramontozzi? yes yes councillor mcmaster yes councillor Garipay

▶ 51:56 Jeff McNaught: councillor Grigoraitis yes councillor Migliorelli yes councillor stewart yes yes councillor thomas yes councillor maladin yes president zanella yes 11 yes the motion passes just looking we have a couple of other orders here that we could we could take uh while chief cleaner is here if anybody wants the motion to take those out of order otherwise we can just go in order i want to confuse things why don't we do that chief cleaner we'll be back to you in a few minutes um been a been a glitchy night on webex i think we're We're all breaking down with it, so we'll come back to you in a few minutes, but thank you very much. Next, we have Order 2021-127, Mount Hood Operating Budget for Fiscal 2022 in the amount of $1,561,141.36.

▶ 53:26 Again, we have Mr. Bell and Mr. Gardner back. Yeah, I think Bill's having a hard time. He's trying to another part of his building. He's in Boston. Maybe I can get him on speakerphone. Yeah. What's the number? Yep. All right. That's okay. I don't know what's happened. Um, okay. So the order before you, uh, for 3 projects, is that what we're. Are we starting with 1 in particular? Now, this is the amount had salaries and operating budget. Okay. Yep. So, are we going to wait for Mr. Gardner on that 1? I think you'd like to, but I don't know if we're having any luck. Mr. chairman yes. Council chairman. Yeah, at this time I moved to take order 2021 dash 133 and appropriation for free cash. Account 0, 1, 3, 2, 4, 0, 0, 0, and the amount of 502,500, the various part capital project accounts are set up in here out of order.

▶ 55:42 Jeff McNaught: 2nd, we have a motion to take 2021 dash 133 out of order by Council tram and tozy seconded by Council McMaster. Madam clerk. Will you please call the roll? Chairman not yes. Yes. Vice chair. Council Tramontozzi? Yes. Council McMaster? Yes. Council Garipay? Yes. Council Grigorettis? Yes. Council Migliorelli? Yes. Councilor Stewart? Yes. Councilor Thomas? Yes. Council Jamaleddine? Yes. President Tannella? Yes. 11 yes. Motion passes. Now, Miss Bell we have the projects that you were talking about before now on the table um being water chestnuts pickleball inclusive playground and lebanon um softball field all right and i have bill on speaker bill you there i am i'm sorry folks uh i don't know what happened here but just couldn't couldn't get the audit

▶ 56:47 Jeff McNaught: over to work that that's okay mr gardner thank you for being here with us um just want to clarify we're on 2021-133 now. This is the free cash order regarding the water chestnut cleanup, pickleball court, inclusive playground, and Lebanon softball field. So we're going to go with that first. We took this one out of order so that we could get you situated, Mr. Gardner. Then we can go back to the Mount Hood operating budget. Okay, thank you. So the first one on the water chestnuts is for Townes Pond, El Pond, Swains Pond. As you all know, we have a terrible problem with lots of weeds and algae that is really not healthy for the pond or And animal species or anything else that's in there. So what this money is going to do is going to allow us to go in and hydro rake and get rid of a lot of the.

▶ 57:55 Jen Grigoraitis: Um, weeds that we wouldn't be able to get by canoe and by boat that the residents have been helping us out and doing, um, Eric from conservation is, um, going to be the lead on this. I'm going to oversee it for the days that Eric is not he's a part time employee. So we're going to kind of do it jointly. Seeing none, you can just keep rolling through them all, Ms. Bell. Councillor Grigoraitis. Sorry. I apologize, Chair McNaught. I couldn't see your video, so I wasn't sure. I think there's a lot of technical issues tonight. I just had a quick question, Ms. Bell, and the memo that we got on the water chestnut treatment, it indicated that this is a part of a multi-year treatment plan that we anticipate we would need to do

▶ 58:51 this for the next two to three years. Would that be for all of the ponds or just for El Pons? It's a little unclear. Well, the ones that they put in, what Eric put in for was for Thomas Pond, El Pond, and Swains Pond. To be for those three ponds, it's not a one-shot deal. It has to be done numerous years in a row in order to attack the plants and stop the growth permanently. or as much as we can so no it's going to be something that they're going to we're going to have to put back in the budget every year um this year it just came up outside of the budget i think it'll be included um next two years moving forward it's a three-year plan okay so that you feel like there's a budgetary plan for covering the remaining tiers okay thank you i appreciate

▶ 59:41 that clarification okay so next is lebanon street park i think amy spoke beautifully i don't think i could have said anything um any better i want to thank um counselor thomas and counselor garapate for making softball field respected and loved in the community as much as all the other teams i think this is a long time coming for the girls the plan that we have down there is is a good plan i think it gets the girls to where they want to be it's not the ultimate plan but it's it's the best we can do with the area footage that we have. So the plan is to redo the infield and to use the Dura Red clay that we use on Morelli Field. We have to heighten the fences all around. We're going to do the basketball court. We're going to freshen up the pavement on it and put up some new

▶ 1:00:45 backboards bleaches for the fans to be able to sit which they've never had down there the dugouts are awful hot when the sun in the afternoon is shining right on them so we're going to get some covering over the dugouts and the bulk of the money is going to be on digging the trench around the outside of the field to try to correct capture and move the water that is currently um taken over the the infield and outfield madam clerk um if the the mayor is in the attendee room i know that um wanted to make a few comments i think i see him in in the attendee room can we bring him in sure good evening everybody can you all hear me we can outstanding thank you mr chair and members of the council i appreciate the opportunity to

▶ 1:01:54 Paul Brodeur: address you all briefly about all three projects uh related to parks that are before you this evening for your consideration and use the kind of the tagline melrose plays and one thing that i think we're all confident of is that there's been an increased emphasis on outdoor space the value of that space the need for folks to to get outdoors uh it covers a lot of bases in terms of physical health social emotional health um opportunity for the for the community to gather and what i see just quite frankly is an opportunity in the case of the girls softball field uh as a matter of equity we have some great facilities um for a lot of our other organizations and girls softball really deserves a dedicated field that um that is and that is theirs

▶ 1:02:47 Paul Brodeur: there's a ton of participation in the sport i expect that to grow and from i know that counselor uh Garipay and counselor thomas are familiar with the the short porch in right field means that you know even someone like me um can hit a home run and that's that's really not a great barometer for how to design any kind of a sports facility so that is a that is i think a very very worthwhile investment um and the the second matter before you is the pickleball court and i think you all know that that is a sport that is great for a lot of reasons in particular it's a little bit lower impact than some other sports and it is something that um certainly not exclusive to older melroseans but is certainly something that is very popular amongst them but it is

▶ 1:03:38 Paul Brodeur: It is an activity that is in fact open and available to all and bluntly we don't do a lot in terms of dedicated recreational facilities that are accessible to our seniors. And I think this is a big step forward. If you had a chance to take a look at the demographic study cited at last night's school committee meeting, you'll know that the, certainly that is a segment of our population that is growing. And I expect that the demand will only grow and 3rd, of course, certainly last, but not least is this a, is this investment that I believe we should make an inclusive park. Our parks are available and some of them have certain amenities available to folks that might have different abilities than a typically developing youth.

▶ 1:04:29 Paul Brodeur: An inclusive park is really, should be understood as a park that is truly open to all. So no matter how a child, really children of all ages present themselves, this park will present an opportunity for everyone to enjoy that park together. So, you know, there are some obvious reasons why that's great. So that families that need that amenity don't have to travel outside the city to enjoy it. And it's also, again, an additional opportunity to socialize for folks to get to know each other, to reduce some of the stigma that might be involved with some folks' approach to this case. So I think it's a really worthwhile opportunity to expand what we offer to all our citizens. I very much appreciate the time and interest that you all have taken, that a lot of our residents have taken, and I appreciate your consideration.

▶ 1:05:26 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Ms. Bell, if there was anything further that you wanted to present on any one of the projects, feel free. If not, we can go to questions from counselors. Nope. The only other thing is there was one person that was in the room waiting that has been texting me saying that he's finally got on. I don't know if anybody... And it wasn't me. Yes. All right. I think that might have been the person that we thought was here to present on pine banks. Are they are they here to present with you? Or is that somebody who wanted to make a public comment? We just wanted to make a public comment. Yeah, we're unfortunately too late for that. He just wants it known that he's in favor.

▶ 1:06:15 Maya Jamaleddine: Um, certainly, certainly, um, so, um, I have, uh, council, Jamal, Dean and council chairman toes. The in queue. Um, is there anyone else? We'll start with council. Thank you chairman. Um, uh, thank you for being with us today. Thank you mayor for your leadership. Um, I'm thrilled to see this order coming before us and I commend my fellow counselor and Thomas for taking the lead on this, um, talking with families and that walking around mirrors with their little 1, the 1st, the only question that I asked for. The new generation, our kids, we ask, what is it? The 1 thing you want to see in my roles. they all agree on one answer which is more parks and more playgrounds. So this is definitely something that will have a lot of cheering seeing it happening in Monroe's. I am thrilled to see

▶ 1:07:24 Maya Jamaleddine: also that the idea of having a more inclusive park in Monroe's. I think this is another thing we need to invest in um i my only question uh to you is uh when would this start and do we have a timeline when is it gonna be done um i think as as soon as we get the funding i have uh playground reps and a parent board in place to start the design um so i think as as quickly as we can pull it together as quickly as we'll get it. Okay. Are we going to ask different contractors or do we have? Yeah, we have three that are really good in this area. And we have a parent board that has been all over Massachusetts on their own visiting. So, they all have some great ideas and they all have specifics from different companies. So,

▶ 1:08:30 John N. Tramontozzi: i think the best way is to bring in three or four different companies um get the get in you know kind of an idea of what we want here in the city and have each company um present present to us and then we can pick a final design awesome i will have great news to tell our kids tonight so they would look forward to it thank you so much thank you council Jamaleddine council tram and tozi Thank you Mr. Chairman and I want to thank Ms. Bell and the administration for putting this order together and I just want you to know that you have my full support. I appreciate the inclusive playground. It's a perfect opportunity to place it at Volunteer Park. It's a little gem of the community and especially in ward one um i recall when we first um visited that park when

▶ 1:09:32 John N. Tramontozzi: when i first came to the community um 27 there about a year a year ago and then we we upgraded it and so it's in dire need for upgrade anyways and this is a perfect opportunity to do with the the uh the playground and the inclusive play structures are wonderful a wonderful uh will be a wonderful addition to the community into the ward. I happen to see some of what is out there and available through the internet and those structures are just tremendous and it's a good opportunity for all children of all ages and developmental positions to utilize it. So thank you so much. You have my full support. One thing that there was a couple questions from public participation uh mentioning about the uh the ability to get here to the park and you might

▶ 1:10:26 John N. Tramontozzi: have others coming to the park and some crosswalks uh i think we should visit that and um and if the administration could uh call upon the department of public works director to see if we can possibly put in a crosswalk we do have one up on franklin and by a walton park but the one closer to Warren Street might be a nice addition, and also on Melrose Street. I am very familiar with the speed and traffic situation on Franklin Street, living on Franklin Street myself. And it was nice to see the speed radar out there. I want to commend the Chief Lyle and the police putting it right there on Franklin Street in front of my home, which is a good place for it. So, but anyways, I did want to give you my support. I'm glad that you got parent involvement in the review of the projects. I think that's excellent.

▶ 1:11:19 John N. Tramontozzi: I have heard from constituents and they want to have the opportunity to review and look into and provide suggestions, especially those who have children who would be utilizing the inclusive playground. So thank you for the forethought in putting that together as well. This is a wonderful opportunity and you have my full support and I want to thank you again. Thank you Councilor Tramontozzi. Councilor Garipay? Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you everyone for being here. I also fully support this order. I do have a quick question. I think Councilor Grigoraitis already asked it regarding the water chestnuts 27.5 that's going to be in the budget for the next three years. Did you say that there's going to be a line item going forward after the three years?

▶ 1:12:17 Mark Garipay: So conservation kind of has the lead on this and my understanding is that he is going to be asking for funding in his budget for the next two years. In addition to the 27, 5 that we'll look at or in addition to the 27, 5. Yes, okay. Yeah, it'll be 20. it won't be 27, 5, but it'll be. I imagine, say, 30,000 for the next 2 years. Whatever that may be, you know, I've had this conversation, but I think this is a perfect opportunity for for a stabilization fund in order to use. For the treatment in the upkeep of all of our ponds. So, you know, to, to make it broader, I'd like us to try to maybe revisit that over the next 12 months for the next budget year. But that's that's my suggestion. I think that would be a good opportunity to create a stabilization fund in order to keep these ponds and especially Elkhorn, the center of our community up because we, we know we have, I think it's been neglected over the last number of years.

▶ 1:13:23 Leila Migliorelli: Thank you. Thank you council. Did I was there any council really? Thank you, Mr. chairman and thank you as well for being here. I'm, I'm also supportive of this order. I just had 1 other follow up question. I don't know if I missed it with this Webex being glitchy, but the timeline for the pickleball court, inclusive playground and the softball field at Lebanon. Is that something that people can expect? I know it's hard to predict with construction things like that. But just like, maybe a range of time when you would see that would be ready for, for usage. Those, those things would be. I personally, I would like to see it 18 months to 2 years to have. To have them done, depending upon, you know, which way we go with the softball, we should be able to do the softball field. We're hoping to do the softball field in the fall.

▶ 1:14:18 So we have to get through fall ball and if winter doesn't catch up on us too quick, we should be able to to get that 1 done this year. I think the pickleball court and the all inclusive, I think the all inclusive will probably take a little bit longer for the planning. So that will be the 1. I think that would be out there at the furthest. Um, as far as the pickleball courts, um, I think that is something. Spring would probably be smarter. I would like to say fall, but I think we have to figure out the area. Uh, we're still kind of back and forth with with, um, you know, an area to put it that is accessible and, you know, not so much residential and all that fun stuff. But, um, I would say spring for that.

▶ 1:15:00 Robb Stewart: Great, thank you. Any other questions. I think if anybody wants to see a really good demonstration of an inclusive park is you can go online and look at. we wouldn't be going this big, but the Spaulding Rehab in Charlestown, the Tom Menino Park, and it has some really great features. Thank you, Ms. Bell. Councilor Stewart, I saw you had your hand raised. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ms. Bell, thanks for being here. I'm fully 100% supportive of all this. This is, I think, great news. And it's funny when you had, you just brought up the Spaulding, and that's exactly what I was thinking. I actually used to take my daughter down there because it was one of her favorite parks. And we saw the benefits of not only someone like my daughter

▶ 1:15:56 Robb Stewart: but some of the participants that would come from the hospital itself to come out and participate. And it was a wonderful thing to see both as a parent as well as for a child to witness that. So from that standpoint, the only, the one concern that I have is, you know, What if we, what if it isn't enough that you have here and, you know, what can we do to support that? That's really my only concern. But, you know, certainly we would, I support this completely and hope that we can make this a fantastic type of park that you envision. I've had conversations with two, in fact, one of the companies that did Spalding, and we can get a really good park, a volunteer park, with the money that we're asking for.

▶ 1:16:51 I think you're muted. I think you're muted. Someone kept auto-muting me. Ms. Bell, thanks. This is great. I look forward to supporting this. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Councilor Stewart. Any other councils for the first time? Seeing none, what is the will of the committee on 2021-133, an appropriation from free cash in the amount of $502,500 to various park capital project accounts? I just wanted to read that out loud because I don't think I read the entire thing before. I do see Councilor Garipay hand up. Councilor, Councilor Thomas was trying to raise his hand. I think he's got some butchers on his computer. Yeah, the, the WebEx cards are after us tonight, aren't they? Councilor Thomas. Motion to recommend passage.

▶ 1:17:50 Second. Motion to recommend passage by President Sinella, seconded by Councilor Thomas on discussion. Seeing none, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? chairman yes yes vice chair eccles yes council Tramontozzi yes yes councillor mcmaster yes councillor Garipay yes councillor Grigoraitis yes councillor Migliorelli yes councillor stewart Yes, yes. Councilor Thomas? Yes, yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes, yes. President Sinella? Yes. 11 yes. Motion passes. We will go back now to order 2021-127, the Mount Hood operating budget for fiscal 2022 in the amount of $1,561,141.36. Mr. Gardner, I believe you'll be taking the lead on this one. Ms. Bell, do you still have Bill on the phone? Try again, Bill.

▶ 1:19:25 I apologize. It's all on my end. I'm looking around. The internet is down in downtown Boston for some reason. It can't be good. It's okay. We can hear you. Basically, our budget is level funded from last year. We lost about $113,000 last year due to the pandemic. The management company has done a good job to try to recoup that. It looks like this year will be a pretty good year or at least getting us back to where we were before. As you all know, the Mount Hood Enterprise Fund funds more than just the Mount Hood operations, the golf course and stuff. It just helps with the bonds that have It's funded the ordinary fields that we have, the high school, the Morelli, the Britt Green. It's all good.

▶ 1:20:21 And it all looks like it's trending in the right direction. We're hoping that with our request for a level-funded budget that we'll do better than we have in the past year due to the constraints that we've had, but you folks have had citywide. There's no question about it. And I just think that we're optimistic that things will go great going forward. We've been able to do a lot of stuff for the kids and for the residents of Melrose during the pandemic that didn't – that helped keep people off the mind of everything that was going on. so uh we just request that our same budget be approved if we hope that things will get better as we go forward thank you i think it should also be noted that the enterprise fund is not

▶ 1:21:19 funded out of the city's general fund and the park commission makes a commitment of capital improvements out of their share of $50,000 a year thank you both do any cultures have any questions on this order seeing no hands raised what is the will of the committee motion to move the bottom line second you have a motion to move the bottom line of actually this isn't this is separate apart from what we did before yeah motion recommend to recommend make a motion to recommend sorry everyone that's okay that's okay motion to recommend for passage order 2021-127 made by council Garipay seconded by council Grigoraitis on discussion seeing none madam clerk will you please call the role chair mcnaught yes yes vice

▶ 1:22:24 Chair Eccles. Yes. Councilor Tramontozzi. Yes. Councilor McMaster. Yes. Councilor Garipay. Yeah. Yeah. Councilor Grigoraitis. Yes. Councilor Migliorelli. Yes. Yes. Councilor Stewart. Yes. Yes. Councilor Thomas. I think we lost him. Councilor Jamaleddine. Yes. President Cinella. Yes. 10 yes the motion passes and i believe we can finally release miss bell and mr gardner thank you um all right bill said thank you thank you bill um okay so now we're gonna go back to we can bring chief kalina back in we'll we'll uh we'll go through his orders and then we'll we'll work on holding the operating budget and work with the revolving fund table again so chief kalina thank you for your patience um as we work through our webex

▶ 1:23:47 filled night chief can you hear us we can hear you okay thank you chief for your patience it's been a glitchy night for us but we're getting through it Next up, we have Order 2021-124, Ambulance Enterprise Operating Budget for Fiscal 2022 in the amount of $945,353. Chief, if you want to speak to that, you can. If not, we can take questions from counselors. I think you're muted, Chief. Council McMaster? Yes, Mr. Chairman, we do have Mr. Bergendahl here from PRO-EMS who does our billing, so I think we could hear from him. Thank you, Council McMaster. Mr. Bergendahl, would you like to lead us off here? Sure, just as the pandemic has affected everything that we've heard about tonight, the ambulance service in Melrose is certainly no exception.

▶ 1:25:33 It's been pretty standard across the entire country That during the period of time for the pandemic. Emergency transports in particular were impacted. Some places more than others, but the average across the board has been about 10 and 10 to 15% lower. Over the last few months, we've seen that rebound. Myself also, you know, as I also operate. Pro in Cambridge, and I'm a paramedic also. We have seen that across the board, and we've also seen it across the entire country. There are actually a lot of EMS systems that are in distress, because many of the EMS services and agencies across the country depend upon the revenue from billing in order to sustain their operations. You're going to be hearing more about it.

▶ 1:26:30 There's been stories in New York Times about how decreased call volume and decreased revenue is impacting Services everywhere Melrose was hit. Uh, to some extent in during the pandemic year. And again, over the recent months, we've seen it rebound some. But what we did was we really looked at the. When we looked at the numbers to come up with the discussion on. the rates and there's a a very modest three percent increase that everybody talked about i don't think i i if i'm not mistaken i don't think there was any increase last year and what we did was in order to make the numbers where 2020 was an outlier related to the pandemic what we did was we looked at the numbers from from uh april of 19 to march of 20 a non-pandemic

▶ 1:27:32 time frame and looked at again the numbers from March of 20 or actually April of 20 until March of 21 to use as comparison and we could you know we certainly were able to see the the differences so in in coming up with the chart and the rates that you see tonight we we really went back and looked at the 2019 numbers where 2020 was more of an outlier and you can see from from last year revenue was down it was down a little bit and certainly that is related to you know less transports over the time frame um in the modeling i think we anticipate that the transports will return um my own personal commentary with no real thing other than the little crystal ball in my head is that people have short memories and we will have the return to the call volume and and

▶ 1:28:28 And we'll have, you know, a return to emergency service. It will be more gradual. But I think that, you know, within a few months, everyone will be back up to normal, especially in terms of EMS operations. so the chart you have in front of you and the race that they're based on are based on what we've seen as historic numbers across many years now of billing for uh melrose and using the pair mixes that we've seen historically we one thing we do have is a lot of great historical data to base this on and again like i said considering last year a bit of an outlier uh that's the chart and the like i said modest three percent rate increase you see in here today uh some of it is to try to make up a little bit for lost revenue from

▶ 1:29:20 last year but again always uh like we do every year and uh the the rates are are established tied to the cost of providing the service and so we try to set the rates and do a model um in in to make sure that the ambulance service in melrose is sustainable and i think we've been able to do that across these many years and uh i think the um the model that we have here also maintains that um at the same time it also maintains the most humane billing practices and policies we could have um in terms of financial hardships uh bill forgiveness uh waiving co-pays for city residents and uh that continues on as it has since day one so i'm sorry i've rambled on a bit but uh there you guys go we appreciate the overview uh mr bergendahl so

▶ 1:30:30 um thank you for that do i have any uh counselors who have questions on this order seeing none what's the will of the committee motion to recommend we have a motion to recommend made by council mcmaster seconded by vice chair eccles madam clerk will you please call the role chair mcnaught yes yes vice chair eccles yes councillor traymond tozy yes councillor mcmaster yes councillor garrick yeah counselor Grigoraitis yes council of Migliorelli yes counselor stewart yes yes counselor thomas counselor thomas council of Jamaleddine yeah president sanella yes one last try council counselor thomas and yes the motion passes Next, we have Order 2021-123, amend Melrose Revised Ordinances, Chapter 24, Article 2,

▶ 1:32:03 Fire Department Section 24-32, Section E, Emergency Rescue Vehicle to set fees for FY22. This is the ambulance rate. Counselors, questions or what is the will of the committee? Motion to recommend. Second. We have a motion to recommend made by Councilor McMaster, seconded by Councilor Jamaleddine on discussion. Seeing no hands raised, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Councilor McNaught? Yes. Councilor Eccles? Yes. Councilor Tramontozzi? Yes. Councilor McMaster? Yes. Councilor Garipay? Yes. counselor Grigoraitis yes yes counselor Migliorelli yes counselor stewart yes yeah counselor thomas yes counselor Jamaleddine yes president sanella yes 11 yes the order passes next we have order 2021-119 acceptance of the fy21 firefighter safety equipment grant

▶ 1:33:30 Jeff McNaught: awarded to the Melrose Fire Department by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Fire Services in the amount of $14,941. Seeing no hands raised, what is the will of the committee? Motion to recommend for passage. Second. Motion to recommend for passage made by Councilor Jamaleddine, seconded by Councilor Garipay. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Chair McNaught? Yes. Vice Chair Eccles? Yes, I'm so trim and Josie. Yes. Counselor McMaster. Yes. Counselor. Yes. Yes. Counselor Grigoraitis. Yes. Counselor, yes. Counselor Stuart. Yes. Counselor Thomas. Yes. Yes. Counselor. Yes, President. Yes. 11 yes motion passes next we have order 2021-130 an appropriation from free cash account 01324001 in the amount of 265 000 to fire capital outlay account 019313-551081

▶ 1:34:58 to purchase an ambulance any questions from counselors if none what is the will of the committee council Garipay yeah just two quick questions uh chief what are we looking at for delivery on the uh the ambulance is it backed up on uh like like everything else is in the automotive and transportation industry can you hand me now okay great uh you're 100 correct Everything is backed up word on the street from some of the vendors about 8 months. It was put in today, but there's a problem with the chassis. I think you're aware of, and now I'm being told there's a computer chip shortages, which drive all the mechanics of vehicles. So, if this order were to pass, I mean, you'd be looking at something that would be late.

▶ 1:36:00 Late in the fiscal year, possibly even longer. And we'll, uh, we'll house the condition of this, but we, um, do we have a backup or what do we do if this goes down? 1 ambulance that we have 2, but we run 1 and this would. This order passes, this would replace the original ambulance, which is a 2010. For that at 450, it's had some mechanical issues, but they've been fixed and. But it's, it's taken a lot of calls. It's time, I think, I believe, for a new ambulance, because I don't know the exact date. It was a month and a half ago. It was gone on full call. It just died in the middle of Main Street. It's a quick fix, but this is what happens when you have vehicles that are getting 11, 12 years old.

▶ 1:36:58 Thank you, Mr. Chair. If there's no other questions, I'll make a motion for passage. Councilor McMaster, we have a motion for passage made by Councilor Garipay, seconded by Councilor Stewart, but on discussion, we have Councilor McMaster first. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chief, this is just, as I understand it, another ambulance. This doesn't affect our contract with Cataldo for ALS. Is that fair to say? No, it does not. With the ALS provider for the city and Cataldo as our backup, We have a great partnership with Catawba Ambulance. They're in Malden, they're in Wakefield, and I've heard that they just were awarded the contract for the town of Stornham. They're on all three sides of us anyway,

▶ 1:37:54 Shawn M. MacMaster: so we have a great response from Catawba, and we back them up too sometimes. It's a great partnership. Thank you. I'd be remiss, Mr. Chairman, if I didn't thank Mr. Mergendahl for staying with us tonight. I know it's been a long night. You've had a busy day. Always nice to see you in the chamber or always nice to see you at least this time virtually. We'd like to have you in Melrose, but I'm sure this made it easier for you and more convenient. As you know, you're always welcome here and we look forward to seeing you again next year. Thank you for all that you've done in your team at Pro EMS throughout the pandemic. Always happy to be here. Thank you, Councillor McMaster. Any other councillors in queue on discussion?

▶ 1:38:46 Seeing none, we have the motion for passage on the table. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Chair McNaught? Yes. Vice Chair Eccles? Yes. Councillor Tramontozzi? Yes. Councillor McMaster? Yes. Councillor Garipay? yes councillor Grigoraitis yes councillor Migliorelli yes yes councillor Stewart yes yeah councillor Thomas yes councillor Jamaleddine yes president Sinella yes yeah 11 yes the motion passes thank you mr. Mergendahl thank you chief we can let you go appreciate your patience again everybody you as well okay so just two uh things to um matters to clean up one is we do again need to hold the city's operating budget in committee that is order 2021-122 so i'll entertain a motion

▶ 1:39:52 to hold that in committee vice chair eccles can i make a motion to hold order 2021-122 and 2021-128 in committee we're actually going to be moving to uh i assume recommend to pass 128 tonight because we're done with the revolving accounts but i do appreciate the enthusiasm i like it demand it to 122 then okay do we have a second second so we have a motion to hold 2021-122 in committee made by Vice Chair Eccles, seconded by President Cinella. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll. Chair McNaught. Yes. Vice Chair Eccles. Yes. Councilor Tramontozzi. Yes. Councilor McMaster. Yes. Councilor Garipay. Yes. Councilor Grigoraitis. Yes. Councilor Migliorelli. Yes. Councilor Stewart. Yes. Councilor Thomas. Yes. Yes. Councilor Jamala Dean.

▶ 1:41:00 Jeff McNaught: Yeah. President Zanella. Yes. Yeah. 11 yes. The motion passes the city's operating budget is held in committee until we meet on it again, which will be. Monday night, Monday night, there is no appropriations meeting on this Thursday night, but the last order of business we have is order 2021. Dash 128 reauthorization of the city of Melrose revolving. Fund table as 1st, adopted. By city ordinance, June, 18th, 2018 and annually thereafter revolving funds are further authorized under Massachusetts general law chapter 44 section. 53 and a half, um. We have voted on all of the revolving accounts through all of the departments. We've passed them all. At this time, I would just ask, what's the will of the committee, Councilor Stewart?

▶ 1:42:04 Mr. Chair, I would like to recommend the passage to the full council order 2021-128. Second. Thank you, Councilors. We have a motion for passage made by Councilor Stewart, seconded by vice chair eccles on discussion adam clerk will you please call the roll chair mcnaught yes yes vice chair eccles yes counselor tramantosi yes counselor mcmaster yes counselor Garipay yeah counselor Grigoraitis yes yes counselor Migliorelli yes counselor stewart yes counselor thomas yes Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. President Cinella? Yes. 11 yes. The motion passes, and that concludes our business for the evening. Mr. Chair, I'd like to make a motion to adjourn. Second. Second. Motion to adjourn, made by Councilor Stewart, seconded by President Cinella.

▶ 1:43:13 Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Chair McNaught? Yes. Vice Chair Eccles? Yes, yes. Councillor Tramontozzi? Yes. Councillor McMaster? Yes. Councillor Garipay? Yes. Councillor Grigoraitis? Yes. Councillor Migliorelli? Yes. Councillor Stewart? Yes. Councillor Thomas? Yes. Councillor Jamaleddine and company? Yes. President Sinella? Yes. 11 yes. We are adjourned. Go Bruins. Nobody tell Councillor Stewart what the score is. See everybody on Monday night.

Appropriations & Oversight Committee — 2021-06-09

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