Health, Education & Welfare Committee — 2023-09-28
Attendance
Jen Grigoraitis ; Maya Jamaleddine ; Manjula Karamcheti ; John Obremski ; Robb Stewart ; Ryan Williams
Agenda
- Call to Order
- Public Comment
- Appointments/Reappointments
- APPT-2024-5 : Appointment of Erica Brown as Council of Aging (COA) Director effective August 31, 2023
- APPT-2024-6 : Appointment of Rebecca Blumenthal, 50 Stillman Road, to the Historical Commission for a term to expire on the last day of February 2025
- APPT-2024-7 : Appointment of Darren Brown, 43 School Street, to the Historical Commission for a term to expire on the last day of February 2026
- Information Items
- INFO-2024-1 : That this City Council Order the Director of Health and Human Services to appear before us pursuant to Section 2-7 (b) of the Melrose City Charter to provide information relative to public health inspections.
- Adjournment
Minutes
CITY OF MELROSE HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE COMMITTEE CALENDAR● SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 Council Chamber, First Floor, Melrose City Hall Committee Meeting 7:15 PM 562 Main Street, Melrose, MA 02176 The public should take notice that the Melrose City Council may, on certain occasions, have a quorum in attendance due to standing committees of the City Council consisting of both voting and non-voting members. Members attending this duly posted meeting are participating and deliberating only in conjunction with the business of the standing committee. Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Manjula Karamcheti Chair Present John Obremski Vice Chair Absent Maya Jamaleddine Late Robb Stewart Present Ryan Williams Late 7:27 PM Jen Grigoraitis President, Ex Oficio Present Non voting members present include Councilor Cinella
APPT-2024-5 Appointment Appointment of Erica Brown as Council of Aging (COA) Director effective August 31, 2023 Ought to Pass City Council
APPT-2024-6 Appointment Appointment of Rebecca Blumenthal, 50 Stillman Road, to the Historical Commission for a term to expire on the last day of February 2025 Ought to Pass City Council
APPT-2024-7 Appointment Appointment of Darren Brown, 43 School Street, to the Historical Commission for a term to expire on the last day of February 2026 Ought to Pass City Council
INFO-2024-1 Informational City of Melrose Page 1 10/24/2023 1:08 PM Minutes Health, Education & Welfare Committee September 28, 2023 That this City Council Order the Director of Health and Human Services to appear before us pursuant to Section 2-7 (b) of the Melrose City Charter to provide information relative to public health inspections. Hold City Council City of Melrose Page 2 10/24/2023 1:08 PM
Transcript
▶ 0:02 Manjula Karamcheti: Good evening, everyone. It's so exciting to see a crowd. Uh, it's September 28th, 2023. This is the meeting of the Health Education and Welfare Committee. I am Counselor Carm Chaney, the chair. Joining me tonight, our counselor, Stewart and President Gregor Exofficio and non-voting member Christella. Councilor Sunnel. Excuse me. Thank you. This takes place of an attendance roll call. This also provides notice of a quorum for the record in accordance with open meeting law. This meeting is being recorded and broadcast on our local cable access channel, M M T V, as well as live three live streamed through mmt v.org. This meeting will be available for future viewing through the City of Melrose website meeting portal As well,
▶ 0:53 Manjula Karamcheti: we are moving on to the public comment portion of the meeting. This is a time where any member of the public may speak to any items on our agenda. The committee does not engage in a back and forth, but we will listen to what each individual has to say. A motion by unanimous consent to open public comment. Seeing no objection, public comment is now open. Is there anyone here to participate in public comment? Uh, do we have anyone online? Uh, there are no participants online at this time. Okay. At this time, I'll motion by unanimous consent to close public comment. Seeing no objections, public comment is now closed. All right. Well, we have three order. We have three orders tonight, um, which include three appointments. Um,
▶ 1:50 Manjula Karamcheti: I think the first one is the one some people are pretty excited about. Um, this is appointment. We got horns and bells. Um, this is appointment 2024 dash five, the appointment of Erica Brown as Council of Aging Director, effective back in time on August 31st, 2023. Uh, mayor Broder is here to present his candidate. So at this time, I will motion by unanimous consent to suspend the rules. Seeing no objections, the rules are suspended. Mayor Broder, the floor is yours. Thank you, Madam Chair. It's not just a crowd, it's a crowd without pitchforks, which is particularly, particularly delightful, um, at a public hearing. I just want to acknowledge these folks, if you wouldn't mind by a show of hands,
▶ 2:43 Paul Brodeur: uh, rather than speaking individually, how many of y'all are here to support this nomination? Woo hoo. I'm gonna go with a round number that's about 20 and, um, and kinda leave it at that. I do want to, um, take a second to talk a little bit about why this is important, because the, the Council and Aging and the Senior Center aren't here often, and you've heard me talk about this a little bit, but what the heck time's running short and I get to speak. Um, so the US Census for population estimates that here in Melrose, 18.6% of our populations is 2020. Census data is 65 or older. That is 20% higher than the rate in the, in the kind of the metro Boston, Cambridge Newton area, which is a weird census track.
▶ 3:36 Paul Brodeur: And it's 10% higher than the overall Massachusetts data. Median income for a senior in Melrose is a little under $55,000. Uh, needless to say that the, um, the median income for the rest of our kind of income producing our wage earning population is about three times that. Uh, I only, if you wanna break it down a little bit further, 70 plus our population, that's 12.8% of our population, and in their sixties, which is another way that folks qualify for some, um, programs for older persons in Massachusetts, is 11.5% for a total of 24.3%. So, a quarter of our population, uh, that is, and pardon me if I'm preaching to the choir, this is why this appointment and the services provided by the Council
▶ 4:33 Paul Brodeur: in Aging and the senior center is so important and why all these folks are here in support, not just America, but of the programs and services that are delivered. Uh, so more formally, it's my pleasure to submit to the Honorable Council you all the appointment of Erica Brown to serve as the executive Director of the Melrose Council on Aging. Again, effective August 31st, 2023. You know, as you may be aware, um, Ms. Brown has served as the, um, Melano Center manager since July of 2021. And just to be very clear about that date, that was in Covid. And that makes all the difference in the world in terms of, um, figuring out on the fly how to be nimble with service delivery, where to move it, um,
▶ 5:28 Paul Brodeur: particularly when we take away your center and then say you stop to deliver, um, all the services. But she's literally, um, done it all in terms of daily operations, um, management, scheduling of programs, volunteers, interns, and the like. Um, she has been instrumental and active in developing and executing sale activities, workshops, classes, to meet the diverse and evolving needs of melrose's older adults. Uh, Ms. Brown has also been an invaluable partner to our former director. Stacy Ello, as you know, has gone to the private sector, and we are mostly happy, but a little bit resentful that that took place. Um, but not so much because we have this excellent candidate, um, here, here before us.
▶ 6:15 Paul Brodeur: And beyond the educational and recreational and social offerings, uh, Ms. Brown has really embraced, um, what certainly social workers and some social service policy makers understand this. No wrong door, meaning if you come and present yourself at the Milano Center, you don't get, you know, if someone presents, let's say 59, oh, you know, we'll see you next year, or we'll see you five years from now, they will plug you in to the social worker there, or we'll walk you over to veterans or send you over to City Hall where we have other robust social services. Again, assuming, assuming that is the need, um, in terms of qualifications, you know, about her experience, if you had a chance to, uh, visit the senior centers, I think many of you have.
▶ 7:06 Paul Brodeur: Um, she has a dual bachelor's degrees and psychology and gen, gender and, uh, sexuality studies from Stonehill. We've had very good luck with Stonehill folks, I would say, and a master's in Management and Aging services, uh, from UMass Boston, which really is a premier, um, location for elders services, the Gerontology Institute, and things of that nature. She worked on the private side as the re, uh, director of Residence Life at Brigham House assisted living in Watertown. And as the interim Senior Center director and program coordinator at the Lynn Council in Aging. Uh, we are extremely fortunate to have Ms. Brown ready, willing, and able to step into this role. And it's important to note that one thing that I'm exceptionally proud of, of,
▶ 7:55 Paul Brodeur: uh, the c o A and the Milano Center, is from day one, they have been very, very thoughtful about succession planning. So when Erica arrived on the scene, Stacey and the c o a were very deliberate in, um, I don't wanna insult you, I say training you up, but familiarizing, uh, Erica with everything about the center. And that, um, that also includes some of the more mundane or perhaps less interesting things like, you know, paying the bills, working with Munis, the things that, um, probably, you know, no one outside this room, um, understands, again, the c O A is services are fastest growing population. I am a thousand percent confident that Ms. Brown is exceptionally well prepared to continue the success and
▶ 8:54 Paul Brodeur: grow the success, uh, of that center. I do want to just note that, um, in your packet, there should be a letter, essentially, of endorsement, if you will, from the Council on Aging, um, speaking very, very enthusiastically about the potential for her appointment and the prospect of her stepping into this role. With that, I thank you for listening to me, and I'll turn it over to Erica. Thank You, Mr. Mayor. You bet, Uh, counselors, it's, it's an honor to be here, uh, before you tonight. Uh, Mr. Mayor, uh, my colleagues here, um, thank you everybody for, for taking time to be here. Uh, I really appreciate it. Um, so, you know, af over the last two years, um, I've been very grateful to be a part of,
▶ 9:44 of the c o a, um, as a very welcoming, uh, and knowledgeable, um, resource for older adults in our community. Um, we support them in, in, uh, you know, different aspects of life, whether it be, uh, socialization and recreation or, uh, educational opportunities, um, resources, um, referrals. You know, we, we kind of, um, very multifaceted. Um, so I've been grateful to be a part of that. Um, and to work alongside, uh, you know, the previous director, um, who, like the mayor said, uh, you know, created a very welcoming, uh, no wrong door policy. You know, if, if somebody walks through the door, we wanna make sure that they leave with a sense of, um, you know, uh, the staff being helpful and, and, and meeting their needs,
▶ 10:34 whatever it might have been when they came in the door. Um, as director, I would be, uh, very happy to continue the great work, um, that the c o a has been doing over the last, um, few years, and to introduce, you know, new and exciting programs for older adults in our community, um, as well as continue to, um, you know, be a hub for, uh, resources for, uh, any, any issue that they might be facing and, and be advocates in their corner. So, thank you for the opportunity. I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Any questions from our counselors? Councillor Stewart? Uh, thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, thank you Ms. Brown for being here. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for this, uh, that very nice introduction. I don't really have very many questions. I just want to, uh, compliment you on,
▶ 11:25 Robb Stewart: on your background. I think it's a great fit as representative of both Fuller and Levi Gould. Um, I have a number of, um, constituents that I think take advantage of the, of the senior center. It, it's a great, obviously a great location for them, uh, but I know it's a, a well run facility. It's embraced and appreciated. And, uh, given your background, the history and, and the work that you've done to date, I will fully support this and look forward to, uh, seeing you. You, uh, take, take over. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, president Greg. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Ms. Brown for being here tonight. I'm thrilled to see you before us. I wanna thank the Council on Aging Board for their endorsement and also for
▶ 12:08 Jen Grigoraitis: their work in succession planning. It's something that we do too little of in government at every level. So I'm really thrilled to see you all taking the time to make that happen. Um, I've had the opportunity to spend some time at the Milano Center over the past couple months, and I've seen firsthand not just your dedication to, um, our residents, but your passion for delivering services that meet the needs of everyone. Um, and also how well received you are by the community you're looking to serve. So, I'm thrilled about this. Um, I know sometimes thinking in a different direction is the right way to go, but I think right now, at this moment, particularly as we continue to come out of C O V I D, um,
▶ 12:45 Manjula Karamcheti: having you and your insight and knowledge and expertise of what our Melrose older residents need is a real asset for us. So I am thrilled to support this. I am happy to make a motion to recommend for passage unless second Madam Chair, you wanted to. Oh. Um, first, for the record, I'd like to say that Councillor Williams is now here. Um, we have a motion, uh, for approval by President Gita, seconded by Councillor Stewart. Um, on discussion, I will just say that I am also delighted, um, that this is happening right now. And just the Milano Center of the Council on Aging is so important to the fabric of our community and the work that you do, um, the serious work and the fun work really matters. And so, just,
▶ 13:33 Manjula Karamcheti: just grateful and very much appreciate the support. Um, and with that, all in favor, Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. Well, we will give the people what they want. Congratulations. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Thank you for being here tonight in this motion. We'll move to full council. Y'all don't need to appear next time, but you're welcome to come back. Um, okay. Well, now we are going to move on to our second appointment. This is Appointment 2024 dash six, appointment of Rebecca Blumenthal, 50 Stillman Road to the Historical Commission for a term to expire on the last day of February, 2025. We are still under the suspension of the rule. So, mayor Broder, please go ahead and introduce the candidate.
▶ 14:34 Paul Brodeur: Thank you again, Madam Chair. I wanna note that these 20 plus folks are also here in passionate support of her reco Blumenthal, so she can take, uh, take a position on the, uh, historic commission. Uh, as you all know, I mean, you're all, I think, think familiar with the work of the commission and the real opportunities that, that it provides for us to learn, uh, about our culture, about, uh, and I mean, and in, you know, in in broad brush and in very specific instances, the opportunity to grow for it, to grow and change as folks have different interests, uh, is, is critical right to the, to its success, um, is Blumenthal has an exceptional, uh, an exceptional resume. And, and I, I, I know you don't always have a lot of time to, to,
▶ 15:31 Paul Brodeur: uh, to check this out, but in addition to some, um, international experience that I find that I find fascinating, um, she has been involved with, um, with Historic New England, um, her, her, uh, educational background, deans at Salem State. Uh, she, she is an educator with a concentration, um, in history. Um, she also attended, uh, excuse that was a master's, also attended, um, brown University. One of the many places I could not get in if there was an opportunity to, um, to do that. But, um, I, I really couldn't be more excited because as we, uh, and I'll say this of our next candidate up as well, the education piece, that skillset, that ability to, um, you know, formulate concepts, communicate them well, um,
▶ 16:28 Paul Brodeur: really allows the commission to be more than what I think some people think of it as maybe a, a boutique set of interests. So, you know, if, if you don't have a Victorian home, then what the heck do these people do? That is not at all the case. And I know that Rebecca is going to bring, uh, exceptional energy and leadership to an already very strong group. Great. Thank you for considering me this evening. Um, I first became, um, aware of the Melrose Historical Commission, um, as, uh, probably a lot of people do, uh, through the Victorian Fair. Um, the outreach that they do there, participating in their scavenger hunts and, um, the walking tours, um, all pre covid. And I think like, uh, a lot of Melrose was moved by their social outreach that they did on, um,
▶ 17:13 social media, um, during 2020 and 2021 with their, um, write-ups, um, relating the, just the history of the homes with the PE people that live there. Um, and so when they posted this back in February, I, um, leap at the opportunity to become involved with the committee. Um, my own background has been, uh, generally, um, in education one way or another. Most, uh, recently, um, as a high school history teacher, uh, although I have had a long hiatus, uh, raising my daughter, um, since then, that counts. Yeah, That's an educational Of a kind, right? But, um, I also was able to, um, indulge my own, uh, interest in New England history and AR architecture and, um, my own personal interest in genealogy with, um, uh, a stint with, uh,
▶ 17:59 new England, um, historic New England as well, interpreting, um, homes, historic homes up in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. But, um, through all that, I, uh, think I could bring, um, you know, my particular skillset, um, as you know, in education and historical interpretation, um, hopefully can be an asset, uh, to the committee. And, um, I hope that, um, I think with the time and the bandwidth they have to com to commit to it, that could be an asset as well. So thank you. Thank you so much. Any questions from our counselors? Councillor Williams. Thank you. Um, I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about what your expectation is for what you'll be doing on the historic commission if you're approved.
▶ 18:45 Well, that's interesting 'cause I, I've only had the one conversation with Kimberly back, um, in May, I believe, about what the commission does. Um, so I did go back and read the last year's worth of minutes of, um, what they, what they have been up to, up to. Um, she's referring To the chair of the commission. Yeah, Sorry. Yes. Oh, that's, sorry. Um, and, um, I, you know, I know I'm aware of their sort of annual, um, things that they like to do with the genealogy of the homes, you know, researching the homes and, um, the other Victorian Fear Outreach, they, I think they tried to do again this year, but didn't quite did that yet. Yeah. Didn't make, not maybe next year. Um, but I hope to, you know,
▶ 19:23 contribute to those things. But I also, um, um, you know, it seems like some of the committee members have bring their own personal passion into individual niche projects as well, within the committee. And, um, I'm not really sure where I would fit into that, but I do have some, you know, general ideas of like, maybe oral histories and things like that, that I might be able to, um, you know, contribute to. That's great. Just in time for the library. Very good. Any other? Thank you. Oh, Any other questions? Councillor Stewart? Thank You, Madam Chair. Mad chair. Uh, given her, um, qualifications or desire and willingness to, uh, volunteer, I will make a recommendation, uh, for the, uh, full counsel.
▶ 20:05 Manjula Karamcheti: Second. So we have a recommendation from Councilor Stewart, seconded by Councilor Williams. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. This recommendation carries appreciate, thank you for being here with us tonight. Thank you. This appointment will be moved to full council. I love it. You guys gotta come to every meeting. This is pretty, I should come every night. This is awesome. Yeah, I know. I, this is the best. Um, okay, friends, we have one more appointment you can go. This is appointment 2024 dash seven, the appointment of Darren Brown, 43 School Street, also to the historical commission for a term to expire on the last day of February, 2026. And we are still, still under the suspension of the rules. So, mayor Broder, when you are ready,
▶ 21:04 Paul Brodeur: please go ahead and introduce this candidate. I am ready. And this is not a reflection on a lack of support for Darren, it's just, uh, it's the way it is. I think the, the c o a van might be leaving and no, no one, we don't leave anyone, uh, behind. So, um, Mr. Brown, Darren Brown comes to you again, if you had an opportunity to, uh, review his resume with a real, um, cornucopia of very direct experience in the type of work that the historic commission does. None of it in Melrose, which is okay. But this is also a, a, a man who's, uh, a community member who's been active in, um, sports and other community activities. So he certainly, certainly knows the, uh, the community, but, um, I don't really, and Darren,
▶ 21:59 Paul Brodeur: I'm gonna rely on you a little bit to, to talk about this, because I honestly don't know what I would pick out to highlight for you all because the, again, the extensive nature of, of what he's done in terms of, um, activities, particularly, particularly in Beverly, um, but really an extensive array of community-based commun, you know, municipal level experience around, um, historic and cultural, um, education and presentation. So, um, without much further ado, I think let's hear from the expert instead of from me. Alright, well, thank you very much. And, uh, thank you everyone for, uh, the opportunity to, uh, come tonight and speak. I've spent the past quarter century, uh, working in the historical field. I have, uh,
▶ 22:59 spent both time, both in the, um, in the city government section, um, having previously served for a decade on the historical commission in SGAs. And I did that, um, up until up up until I had kids. And then we wound up moving to, uh, Melrose. So I've been, um, you know, aware of the Melrose Historical Commission and what they do. Um, pretty much for the past 13 years, I've also, um, spent, um, a great amount of time working in the museum field as a historian, as well as a museum curator. Um, the place I spent the longest time was in Beverly, but I've also worked for, um, other non-profits as well as for the National Park Service. I'm very passionate about, um, public history, getting out there,
▶ 23:49 hitting the street, um, informing people about what their neighborhood is about, tell them a history of what's in their backyard. And it just doesn't have to be something that took place 250 years ago. It could be something that took place last week. It's all history. And that's the thing, is getting people to be proud of where they live, be proud of what happened, where they live, be proud of who was here before them, and feel the same way about the history that they're making every single day. So that's just why I wanna get involved. I think I have a lot to offer. And thank you for, uh, listening to Questions. Go ahead, councilor Williams. Thank You. Um, I was looking over your, your interests. Yeah. Which were great.
▶ 24:36 Ryan Williams: Substantial. And one thing really jumped out at me. You had some experience doing walking tours of historic mm-hmm. Or creating the framework for walking tours of historical locations. It's just, I think this is tremendous. And, um, I would ask that you stick around a little bit after your vote here. We're gonna adjourn, and I want to catch up with you a little bit more about some of the ways that I think different groups of the city can collaborate together. Mm-hmm. On that. I think that doing that would be a tremendous thing for the city to do. And, and we could do it pretty easily too. We have the resources and then the volunteers available in different parts of the town. So, that's all I wanted to say. Thank you very much. And
▶ 25:15 Ryan Williams: Catch up with me later. Yep. No, I, I was gonna say, and actually I've, um, I mean, like, if, you know, created and implemented, uh, walking tours, running tours, which are pretty interesting because, you know, you have to be able to, you know, talk while on the go mm-hmm. As well as, uh, yeah, I'm out on that. No, I was gonna say, they are fun. They are fun. And, um, but also, uh, like bike tours and, uh, something like, that's good because especially like when you think of, uh, a place like Melrose and like the, just like the geographic size of it, if you wanna be talking about like, all these different neighborhoods and all these different places, I mean, sometimes, I mean, the only way you can actually do it in a,
▶ 25:55 like a decent amount of time is by, by car. But if everyone's willing to, you know, hop on a bike, you can just as easily hit all these different neighborhoods, tell all these stories, and, um, yeah, that's something I'd definitely be interested in talking about, so. Awesome. Thank you. Yeah, No problem. Any other questions, counselors? Councillor Stewart? Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, and once again, given the clear qualifications of Mr. Brown, I'll make a, a motion to recommend to the full council. Okay. We have a motion to recommend for passage. Second, uh, recommended by Councillor Stewart, seconded by Councillor Williams. Any discussion? Okay. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. Well, this motion carries.
▶ 26:44 Manjula Karamcheti: Thank you so much for being here tonight, Mr. Brown. And this appointment will be moved to full council. Great. Thank you. Alright, the last thing on our agenda, uh, we have an information item. This is info 2024 dash one that this city council order, the Director of Health and Human Services to appear before us, pursuant to Section 2.7 B of the Melrose City Charter, to provide information relative to public health inspections. This was sponsored by Councillor McMaster. Unfortunately, the Director of Health and Human Services will not able to join us tonight, but is more than willing to come another evening when h e w is meeting. So, I will entertain a motion, uh, to hold this in. Committee then
▶ 27:31 Manjula Karamcheti: Shall make a motion to hold this in committee. Motion to hold in committee by Councillor Stewart. Second. Seconded by Councilor Jamal Ledine, any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. This most motion will be held in H E w, and we'll be put it back on our next meeting Agenda. At this time, I will entertain a motion to adjourn. Madam Chairman, make a motion to adjourn. We have a motion to adjourn made by Councilor Stewart. Second. Seconded by President Geras. All in favor? Aye. A. Aye. Any opposed? All right. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you very much everybody. Good evening. The time is 7:48 PM on Thursday, September 28th. This is a meeting of the Appropriations and Oversight Committee.