Boards & Commissions Committee — 2025-09-02
Attendance
Cal Finocchiaro ; Maya Jamaleddine ; Manjula Karamcheti ; Leila Migliorelli ; Robb Stewart ; Kimberly Vandiver
Agenda
- Call to Order
- Minutes Approval
- Public Comment
- Appointments/Reappointments
- Appointment of Cole Lepler, 34 Frances Street, to the Conservation Commission
- Reappointment of Charles Harak, 14 Country Club Road, to the Melrose Housing Authority for a three-year term; said term to end on the first Monday of March 2028.
- Adjournment
Minutes
CITY OF MELROSE BOARDS & COMMISSION CALENDAR● SEPTEMBER 2, 2025 Council Chamber, First Floor, Melrose City Hall Regular 6:57 PM 562 Main Street, Melrose, MA 02176 Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Manjula Karamcheti Vice Chair Present Cal Finocchiaro Present Maya Jamaleddine Present Robb Stewart Present Leila Migliorelli Ex Officio Member Present Kimberly Vandiver Chair Present Non-voting Councilor Hamilton was present.
(ID # 12883) Appointment/Reappointment Appointment of Cole Lepler, 34 Frances Street, to the Conservation Commission Recommend City Council
(ID # 12899) Appointment/Reappointment Reappointment of Charles Harak, 14 Country Club Road, to the Melrose Housing Authority for a three-year term; said term to end on the first Monday of March 2028. Recommend City Council City of Melrose Page 1 9/9/2025 2:17 PM
Transcript
▶ 8:52 Paul Brodeur: in accordance with the open Meeting law. This meeting is being recorded and broadcast on MMTV. I will now motion by unanimous consent to open the floor for public comment. We are now open for public comment. Is there anyone here who wishes to speak on either of our agenda items? Uh, thank you. Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the committee. This is no, I, uh, honestly, why, why I am here tonight. Another issue interests me, um, but I was delighted to see the name of Cole LOLer on the, uh, on the agenda for this evening. Cole graduated with my son. Uh, that is not an important fact for the, for the nefarious appointment. Um, but I knew, I do know of Cole's, uh, tremendous undergraduate success.
▶ 9:40 Paul Brodeur: Um, and we actually communicated a little bit, I think, I think when Cole was a reman about, um, public policy and things of that nature and how to, how to best, you know, make, make his voice effective. And, uh, now he's in a grad program closer to home, and he is, uh, stepping up into an important role in the community. And, um, I couldn't be more delighted. It, it's, it's always great to see anyone step up, but someone this young and this qualified, uh, really be, uh, you know, a great addition to the Workload Conservation Commission, and I hope you'll consider his nomination favorably. Thanks. Thank you for your comments. Uh, is anybody else here to speak in public comment? Uh, and does anyone online? There's no one online. Okay.
▶ 10:29 Kimberly Vandiver: So, um, I'll now motion by unanimous consent to close public comment. Um, and do we have me minutes to approve? Yes. Uh, at this time, I'll motion by unanimous consent to approve the meetings of our prior meeting, uh, August 18th. Um, seeing no objection, that's approved. Um, so tonight we have, uh, one appointment and one reappointment before us. The first, uh, item is the appointment of Cole LOLer. Um, ID number 1 2 8 8 3, the appointment of Cole LOLer, 34 Frances Street to the Conservation Commission. Uh, so if Mr. LOLer would like to come up, as well as the current mayor. Thank you. I was full of mayors tonight. Good evening, Madam Chair and counselors. Thank you for having us tonight. Um, as you heard in public comment from former Mayor Broder,
▶ 11:22 Jen Grigoraitis: I'm pleased to present Cole LOLer for your consideration to be appointed as an associate member of the Conservation Commission. Mr. LOLer is a lifelong resident of Melrose, a graduate of Melrose High School. He's currently pursuing a master's degree in environmental policy and planning, and has substantial research sustainability and conflict resolution experience, which all three of those can be relevant when on the Con com. Um, and he's voluntarily attended con com meetings to get an understanding of the work of the commission, and I'm really thrilled at his willingness to serve Melrose and to also hopefully advance his own professional skills and expertise in the process. Thank you. Um, and would the nominee like
▶ 12:03 to say a few words as well, or if not, it'll open up for questions. Well, I'd like to thank both of you guys'. Recommendations is very nice. Um, um, yeah, I've been here all my life and, uh, I've had a, um, a long road to, to really get, um, a type of experience that I'd like to give back to Melrose, and I feel like it would be best suited in this position, um, to start for of course. And, um, yeah, I'm just, I'm just, I'm just happy to, to get the, get the No speak before you guys. Thank you. Uh, any members of the committee of Vice Chair Carrum Shady? Uh, thank you so much for offering your experience and wisdom to the commission. Um, just curious, just are there particular areas that you're most passionate about when it comes to the work
▶ 12:56 of the Conservation Commission? Um, There's no right answer, just definitely curious. So, I, I actually had the opportunity to, to, um, have experience on both sides of the Wetlands Protection Act. I got to intern for, um, Mia McDonald, uh, who is the, uh, the, um, um, she's, she's the head honcho in charge of, uh, um, training and outreach at Mass DEP. So I got to see how, uh, the Wetlands Protection Act is, is enforced and kind of how she helps, uh, conservation commissions, uh, commissioners or, um, members of the public kind of deal with, um, different issues that arise when, when you're filling out an NOI or, or you're going through any of those processes. And I've also, um, more recently got
▶ 13:47 to submit an NOI myself. So I, I I, I've seen both, both sides of, of, of, of what it takes to, to, uh, file a permit and get, and get work done in a, um, in a, a positive direction. And, um, one of my favorite lessons that I learned from Mia at DEP was that their, um, goal is, is to say yes and all that they want to, to, to make sure is that the environment has a seat at the table, the decision making table. So that's, that's what I was really drawn to in the Conservation Commission, being able to be that voice for, um, wetlands, waterways, and the environment as a whole in my, uh, in my hometown. Wonderful. Thank you. I really appreciate that. Thoughtful answer. All set. Thank you. Uh, are there any other, uh,
▶ 14:37 Kimberly Vandiver: committee members who'd like to, uh, ask a question? Uh, councilor Stewart. Thank you, Madam Chairman, chair, I don't have any questions. I just, uh, would like to, um, thank the mayor for bringing this candidate forward to us. Uh, I look forward to supporting, and I think it's great to have, uh, a different, uh, perspective on the commission. So I think it's great. Thank you. Mad chair. Um, I'll make a motion to recommend Second. Great. So we have a motion to recommend, uh, from Counselor Carm Shady and a second counselor Pinocchio, um, anyone on discussion, and I'll just say myself, I, I'm also really excited to see your resume, what you, you offer, um, that you're joining and contributing so young,
▶ 15:18 Kimberly Vandiver: and that you are very close to my house, actually. You're a Ward Five resident, and I'm thrilled to see that as well. Um, so, uh, all in favor? Aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? So that will go back to the full council with a recommendation for passage. Uh, you don't need to attend the full council meeting, although you're welcome to. And thank you again for coming and, uh, your willingness to serve Melrose. Thank you all. Thank you. Uh, the second item on our agenda is IAD number 1, 2 8 8 8 9 9, the reappointment of Charles Ek 14 Country Club Road to the Melrose Housing Authority for a three year term, said term to end on the first Monday of March, 2028. Um, and this is a reappointment. Uh, and we do have, uh, attached
▶ 16:05 Kimberly Vandiver: to the agenda item a statement, including some, um, some thoughts on accomplishments, um, which I'm pleased to see that was a change we made this year. So, um, with that in mind, is there anything that, uh, any discussion, questions, or motions from the committee? I'd like to make a motion to recommend Second, uh, motion to recommend by Councillor Fia and a second, uh, by President MRE Exofficio, um, on discussion. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? So, that will also go back to the full council with a motion to recommend, um, add that this time we've concluded our business. I'll take a motion to adjourn. Madam Chair, I'll make a motion to adjourn. Second. Okay. Motion to adjourn. Uh, councilor Stewart and second Vice chair Carrum Shady.