Appropriations & Oversight Committee — 2026-02-26
Attendance
Jason Chen ; Cal Finocchiaro ; Maya Jamaleddine ; Kimberly Vandiver
Agenda
- CALL TO ORDER
- Attendees
- MINUTES APPROVAL
- PUBLIC COMMENT
- ORDERS
- Authorizing a Bond under the Water Enterprise System through MWRA Local Water System Assistance Program bonds in the amount of Eight Hundred Forty Eight Thousand Six Hundred dollars ($848,600)
- REQUESTS
- Appropriation in the amount of $340,000 from Capital Stabilization for DPW Refuse/Yard Waste Truck
- ADJOURNMENT
Minutes
Appropriations & Oversight Committee Thursday, February 26, 2026, 7:15 PM City Council Chamber, 1st Floor 562 Main Street, Melrose, MA 02176 MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER Kimberly Vandiver Vice Chair Jason Chen Cal Finocchiaro Maya Jamaleddine Manjula Karamcheti Elizabeth Kowal John Obremski Christopher Park Ryan Williams William Bradley Freeman President, Ex Officio Devin Romanul Chair Meeting was called to order by Chair Romanul at 7:16 PM. Councilor Jamaleddine attended remotely via Zoom. Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Kim Vandiver Vice Chair Present Jason Chen At-Large Present Cal Finocchiaro Ward 6 Present Maya Jamaleddine At-Large Present Remotely Manjula Karamcheti Ward 1 Present Elizabeth Kowal At-Large Present John Obremski Ward 2 Present Christopher Park Ward 3 Present Ryan Williams At-Large Present William Bradley Freeman President, Ex Officio Present Member Devin Romanul Chair Present II. MINUTES APPROVAL 1 Motion to Approve the minutes made by Councilor Vandiver Seconded by Councilor Williams All were in favor and minutes were approved RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Jason Chen, Cal Finocchiaro, Bradley Freeman, Maya Jamaleddine, Manjula Karamcheti, Elizabeth Kowal, John Obremski, Christopher Park, Devin Romanul, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams III. PUBLIC COMMENT When: Feb 26, 2026 07:15 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: Appropriations & Oversight Committee Meeting Join from PC, Mac, iPad, or Android: https://cityofmelrose- org.zoom.us/j/97822197550?pwd=Ex2aPaodVhKtCwP0v4aFNHCarsI9JE.1 Passcode:354991 Webinar ID: 978 2219 7550 Motion to Open public comment made by Councilor Williams at 7:17 PM Seconded by Councilor Vandiver All were in favor and motion passed. RESULT: PASSED [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Jason Chen, Cal Finocchiaro, Bradley Freeman, Maya Jamaleddine, Manjula Karamcheti, Elizabeth Kowal, John Obremski, Christopher Park, Devin Romanul, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams NAYS: None There were no comments on the floor or via Zoom. Motion to Close public comment made by President Freeman Seconded by Councilor Karamcheti All were in favor and public comment was closed at 7:18 PM RESULT: PASSED [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Jason Chen, Cal Finocchiaro, Bradley Freeman, Maya Jamaleddine, Manjula Karamcheti, Elizabeth Kowal, John Obremski, Christopher Park, Devin Romanul, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams NAYS: None IV. ORDERS
A. (ID # 2026-305): Authorizing a Bond under the Water Enterprise System through MWRA Local Water System Assistance Program bonds in the amount of Eight Hundred Forty Eight Thousand Six Hundred dollars ($848,600) 2 Motion to Approve made by Councilor Williams Seconded by Councilor Finocchiaro All were in favor and motion passed RESULTS: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] TO: City Council AYES: Jason Chen, Cal Finocchiaro, Bradley Freeman, Maya Jamaleddine, Manjula Karamcheti, Elizabeth Kowal, John Obremski, Christopher Park, Devin Romanul, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams NAYS: None Comments on Discussion: -Councilor Finocchiaro asked if these bonds are typically at 0% and yes they are most of the time. She asked how many loans we currently have on the water side. Right now it's $991,600 worth and they are structured so as not to impact the water and sewer rates. -Councilor Williams asked if this includes payment for pavement of the road. It pays for pavement restoration of the trenches and Melrose will pay for final restoration of the roads. He asked how much roadway is being touched in this project and it is 1450 linear feet.He asked if this will correct the current problem in the Grove Street paving at this location and yes it will when repavement is complete. -Councilor Finocchiaro commented on the road condition and pot holes on Grove Street from Lebanon to Main street. This section of road is not part of the water main work and would have to be repaved under the city general road repavement schedule. She stated that it's good to include the paving in these projects. V. REQUESTS
A. (ID # 2026-307): Appropriation in the amount of $340,000 from Capital Stabilization for DPW Refuse/Yard Waste Truck Motion to Approve made by Councilor Chen Seconded by Councilor Finocchiaro All were in favor and motion passed RESULTS: PASSED [UNANIMOUS] TO: City Council AYES: Jason Chen, Cal Finocchiaro, Bradley Freeman, Maya Jamaleddine, Manjula Karamcheti, Elizabeth Kowal, John Obremski, Christopher Park, Devin Romanul, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams NAYS: None Comments on Discussion: -President Freeman asked if the city can increase the amount of yard waste pick ups throughout the year as a result of obtaining this new truck, and they will look into that possibility. 3 -Councilor Finocchiaro supports the new truck and asked why the funds are coming from the Enterprise Fund and not the Capital Stabilization Fund. They replied that the Casella Contract was assigned to the Enterprise Fund to keep the accounting of it clear and clean. It is used to collect the trash fee with the correct amount to pay Casella and is structured to balance over the 5 year contract term. There is consideration over the long term to add more of the DPW budget/payments into the Enterprise Fund but it will require more funding to allow for that. -Councilor Park asked if the truck is brand new. It is a demo truck from 2025 with minimal mileage and was not used to collect trash. He asked how long they expect this truck to last. They hope to get 10-15 years of use out of it, not 20+ years as with the current one, but longer than the average 6- 7 years. -Councilor Kowal asked about the price of the truck and if there is a deadline to purchase this truck if it is not currently approved. The price range is $300,000-$360,000. The current leadtime is about 3 months so if we do not get this truck, we will struggle with yard waste pick up which starts in April. That would require renting a truck or fixing the existing one. -Councilor Karamcheti asked what are the long-term plans and maintenance to avoid emergency situations such as this requiring the purchase of expensive equipment. For years these trucks have been on the long term plan with requests for capital funds from free cash but there had not been sufficient funding. Their hope going forward is to be on a replacement schedule and not emergency reaction. In regard to preventative maintenance, they hope to transition to a fleet module software system to better manage that. -Councilor Chen confirmed that this is an accurate cost for comparable trucks and the preventative maintenance is a cost-saving strategy for cities. VI. ADJOURNMENT Motion to Adjourn made by Councilor Williams at 7:38 PM Seconded by Councilor Karamcheti All were in favor and meeting was adjourned RESULT: PASSED [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Jason Chen, Cal Finocchiaro, Bradley Freeman, Maya Jamaleddine, Manjula Karamcheti, Elizabeth Kowal, John Obremski, Christopher Park, Devin Romanul, Kim Vandiver, Ryan Williams NAYS: None 4 HAS Comments 01/26/2026 CITY OF MELROSE Office of Treasurer-Collector City Hall, 562 Main Street Kathryn J Armata Melrose, Massachusetts 02176 Treasurer-Collector Treasurer - (781) 979-4162 Collector - (781) 979-4120 MEMORANDUM To: Melrose City Council Mayor Grigoraitis From: Kathryn Armata Date: January 23, 2026 Re: Loan Order –MWRA 0% loan – Grove Street water main improvements ORDERED: That the City appropriates $848,600, to pay costs of water main improvements, including designing, engineering and constructing water main improvements that will address the removal of lead water service connections throughout the City's water system, including but not limited to cement-lined ductile iron water mains on Grove Street from Lebanon Street to Argyle Street, and including the payment of all costs incidental and related thereto; that to meet this appropriation, the Treasurer, with the approval of the Mayor, is authorized to borrow said amount pursuant to Chapter 44, Section 8(5) of the General Laws, or pursuant to any other enabling authority, and to issue bonds or notes of the City therefor; that the Treasurer, with the approval of the Mayor, is authorized to borrow all or a portion of such amount from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (the “MWRA”) and, in connection therewith, to enter into a loan agreement and/or financial assistance agreement with the MWRA and otherwise to contract with the MWRA with respect to such loan; and that the Mayor is authorized to take any other action necessary to carry out this project. Pursuant to Section 56-14 of the City Ordinances, attached is a projection of the principal and interest costs on the bonds proposed to be authorized by the following loan order under consideration by the City Council. The payment schedule attached assumes a 10-year borrowing term, an interest rate assumption of 0% over the life of the borrowing, and a level debt service payment schedule. The debt service on these bonds will be paid from the Water Enterprise Fund. The borrowing will be entirely offset by maturing loans and will not impact future rates. 70348225 v1 HAS Comments 01/26/2026 Financial Impact MWRA Water Main Bonds Local Water System Assistance Program 0% interest $ 848,600.00 Debt Schedule Principal Interest 4/15/2026 $ 84,860.00 0.00 4/15/2027 $ 84,860.00 0.00 4/14/2028 $ 84,860.00 0.00 4/14/2029 $ 84,860.00 0.00 4/15/2030 $ 84,860.00 0.00 4/15/2031 $ 84,860.00 0.00 4/14/2032 $ 84,860.00 0.00 4/14/2033 $ 84,860.00 0.00 4/15/2034 $ 84,860.00 0.00 4/15/2035 $ 84,860.00 0.00 $ 848,600.00 $ - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Administration–Engineering–Water–Sewer–Facilities Parks–Forestry–Highway–Sanitation–Cemetery–Fleet CITY OF MELROSE Jay Coy, P.E., PMP City Hall, 562 Main Street Acting City Engineer Melrose, Massachusetts 02176 Telephone – (781) 979-4172 E-mail: jcoy@cityofmelrose.org January 20, 2026 To: Melrose City Council Mayor Jennifer Grigoraitis From: Elena Proakis Ellis, DPW Director Jay Coy, Acting City Engineer cc: Kerriann Golden, CFO/Auditor Kathryn Armata, Treasurer Collector Shannon Philips, City Solicitor James Troup, Assistant DPW Director – Administration & Finance Re: Authorization to borrow LWSAP funds for CY2026 Water Main Improvements The Melrose DPW is proposing a project for the MWRA Local Water System Assistance Program (LWSAP) to fund the CY2026 Annual Water Main Improvements. The estimated cost of the program is $848,600 and includes, but may not be limited to, the following work: • Grove Street (1450 LF) – This street ranked “poorest” in the City’s roadway condition assessment. The project includes new 8-inch and 12-inch diameter cement-lined ductile iron water mains from Lebanon Street to Argyle Street, to be installed prior to final paving presently scheduled for 2027. Final pavement restoration will be funded by other sources and completed by the City’s paving contractor. This neighborhood was ranked as a Phase II improvement in the 2017 water system CEP. The rate model shows that there is older debt rolling off in FY26 such that there should be no rate impact from the proposed borrowing. The funds borrowed pursuant to this Order will be deposited into a designated fund as determined by the Finance Department, similar to our other MWRA water and sewer loans. For this purpose, The Department of Public Works respectfully requests the City Council to review and consider the attached Treasurer’s bond order. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Administration–Engineering–Water–Sewer–Facilities Parks–Forestry–Highway–Sanitation–Cemetery–Fleet CITY OF MELROSE City Yard, 72 Tremont Street Elena Proakis Ellis, P.E., BCEE Director of Public Works Melrose, Massachusetts 02176 Telephone – (781) 665-0142 E-mail: eproakis@cityofmelrose.org January 28, 2026 To: City Council Jennifer Grigoraitis, Mayor Lauren Grymek, Chief of Staff Kerri Golden, CFO/Auditor From: Elena Proakis Ellis, DPW Director CC: James Troup, DPW Deputy Director Administration and Finance Matt Spinale, Operations Manager RE: Capital Stabilization Request for Replacement of Truck #26 – Refuse Truck The Department of Public Works respectfully requests an appropriation from Capital Stabilization in the amount of $340,000 to replace Truck #26, the City’s Class 8 refuse truck. The DPW is proposing to replace this truck with a new diesel refuse truck of similar, but slightly smaller size. Truck #26 is used predominately for curbside yard waste pickup by the City’s in-house forces. The existing truck that will be replaced is in need of a repair in the range of $10,000 to $15,000, and Truck #26 has been identified as in need of replacement for the last four years. The City has routinely spent between $10,000 and $30,000 on repairs for this truck over the last decade. Rather than sinking more funds into repairs, we recommend replacing this aging vehicle. The recommended useful life for a refuse truck is on the order of 7 to 10 years, while Truck #26 is now 21 years old, with about 120,000 miles. In addition to being used for yard waste collection, the new truck will also be able to tip school dumpsters, providing redundancy with the DPW’s smaller refuse truck, Truck #18. While we were able to purchase an electric vehicle to replace Truck #18, which is used for municipal barrels, the collection of yard waste is much more energy intensive, with constant operation of the hopper throughout the day. We do not believe an electric vehicle is feasible to accomplish this task at this time. Thus, we are proposing to purchase a 25-yard rear loading refuse truck from a state contract vendor under State Contract VEH111 for heavy duty vehicles. We formally request an appropriation from Capital Stabilization in the amount of $340,000 for the purpose of funding the immediate purchase of a new refuse vehicle. The Department of Public Works will be the custodian of these funds in an account set up by the Auditor and will be the responsible Project Manager. Thank you for your support and consideration. We would be happy to call or meet with anyone who wishes to ask any questions in advance of the City Council meeting. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Administration–Engineering–Water–Sewer–Facilities Parks–Forestry–Highway–Sanitation–Cemetery–Fleet CITY OF MELROSE City Yard, 72 Tremont Street Elena Proakis Ellis, P.E., BCEE DirectorMay 6, 2022of Public Works Melrose, Massachusetts 02176 Telephone – (781) 665-0142 E-mail: eproakis@cityofmelrose.org To: Jennifer Grigoraitis, Mayor Kerri Golden, CFO/Auditor Date: February 6, 2026 From: Elena Proakis Ellis, Director of Public Works CC: Jim Troup, Deputy Director Administration and Finance Matt Spinale, Operations Manager Derek Lanphere, Operations General Foreman RE: Vehicle Condition and Replacement Request The Department of Public Works has updated our vehicle replacement program to reflect vehicles that have been replaced in the last several years and our current needs. We are at a critical point with trucks that are failing and are in dire need of replacement. By the end of our recent large snowstorm, eighteen vehicles used for snow and ice response were out of service. One week later, we still have eleven of those vehicles down. The following trucks are recommended for replacement as soon as possible and have been programmed into a three-year replacement plan. Trash Packer Truck 26 - 2004 International Packer - 120,000 Miles - Sanitation Division (yard waste/municipal waste) 1 Condition: Rotted body, hydraulic lines in need of replacement, rotted hopper, currently out of service Replacement Cost: $340,000 Additional Notes: This vehicle is critical to the department’s day-to-day operations. It is used for curbside yard waste pickup and occasionally for municipal barrel collection. Replacement of this vehicle has been determined to be more cost-effective over its life cycle than outsourcing yard waste pickup or continuing to repair this unreliable and old vehicle. The DPW has identified a suitable replacement vehicle that is immediately available from a state-contract vendor. A winch will be included on the new vehicle to provide redundancy for municipal and school building dumpster collection. Heavy Duty Trucks Truck 21 - 1999 International Dump – 78,000 Miles - Highway Division (out of service) Condition: Cracked frame, rotted floor, failed inspection. Replacement Cost: $350,000 - Ford F650 or F700 (non CDL) Additional Information: This truck is proposed to be replaced with a hook lift truck with a brine tank instead, to expand the City’s capacity to use liquid brine. Other attachments could include a dump body and a salter. We would also like to purchase a catch basin cleaning clamshell for this truck, which would cost approximately an additional $100,000 and could be added in a later year. This proposed replacement will allow the City more versatility and year-round usage of this truck. The existing truck has traditionally been used predominantly for winter operations, with minimal utility in other seasons. Truck 29 - 1997 International – 35,000 Miles - Highway Division (snow operations) Condition: Rotted floor, failing frame, difficulty passing annual inspection Replacement Cost: $230,000 2 Light Dump Trucks Truck 33 - 2012 Chevy 3500 Dump w/Liftgate – 70,000 Miles - Parks & Forestry Division (also used for snow operations) Condition: Rotted holes in floor, difficulty passing inspection Replacement Cost: $110,000 Additional Information: This is the primary vehicle used for pulling the landscape trailer and for parks maintenance. Truck 35 - 2011 Chevy 3500 Dump – 53,000 Miles - Parks & Forestry Division (also used for snow operations) Condition: Rotted floor, difficulty passing inspection Replacement Cost: $110,000 Truck 38 - 2012 Chevy 3500 Dump – 70,000 Miles - Parks & Forestry Division (also snow operations) Condition: Rotted floor, difficulty passing inspection. Replacement Cost: $110,000 3 Truck 47 - 2011 Chevy 3500 - 52,000 Miles – Cemetery Division (also snow operations) Condition: Rotted bed. Replacement Cost: $110,000 Truck 48 - 2009 Chevy 3500 - 58,000 Miles – Cemetery Division (also snow operations) Condition: Rotted body and bed, difficulty passing inspections. Replacement Cost: $110,000 Truck 56 – 2006 Ford F350 SD – 75,000 Miles – Facilities Division Utility Body (snow operations) Condition: Normal wear – 20 years old, rusted components Replacement Cost: $80,000 to $110,000 4 Truck 58 – 2008 Ford F350 SD – 33,000 Miles – Facilities Division (also snow operations) Conditions: Rusting floor, normal wear of 18 year old vehicle Replacement Cost: $80,000 to $110,000 Pickup Trucks Truck 59 – 2007 Chevy Colorado – 48,000 miles – Facilities Building Systems Supervisor Conditions: Rusted body, normal wear of 19 year old vehicle Replacement Cost: $65,000 Additional Information: Could be considered for replacement with an electric vehicle, though it is normally stored at Melrose High School where charging capability presently does not exist Specialty Equipment Truck 50 - 1997 Case Backhoe – Cemetery Division (also snow operations) Condition: Rotted floors, primary vehicle for all cemetery operations. Replacement Cost: $210,000 5 Truck 77 - 1997 Volvo L90 C Loader - Highway Division (snow operations) Conditions: Rotted body and in need of tires. Engine overhaul needed. Replacement Cost: $250,000 Truck 64 – 1997 Ford F350 Utility-Boom Bucket Truck – 46,000 miles – Highway Division Conditions: Rusted frame, normal wear for 29 year old truck Replacement Cost: $150,000 Vehicle 1 – 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV – 102,800 miles – Engineering Division Condition: Rotted body and needed engine overhaul that was cost-prohibitive. Retired vehicle and disposed of as surplus. No photos are available. Replacement Cost: $50,000 Additional Information: Can be replaced with an electric vehicle, since charging is available at City Hall and this vehicle does not perform snow or other 24/7 operations. The Engineering Division is presently operating with no City vehicles. Vehicle 40 – 2004 Chevrolet 1500 Cargo Van – 150,000 miles – Facilities Van Condition: Vehicle was inoperable so was taken out of service and disposed of as surplus. No photos are available. Replacement Cost: $70,000 Additional Information: Could be replaced with a Transit-type van or similar. 6 HB-2 – 2012 Falcon Asphalt Hotbox – Highway Division Conditions: Inoperable Replacement Cost: $40,000 Vehicle 62 – 2008 Prinoth (Bombardier) SW 4S Sidewalk Plow – Snow Operations Conditions: Intermittently out-of-service during last several storms Replacement Cost: $190,000 Additional Information: Proposed to be replaced with a trackless machine with various attachments that will make it a useable vehicle year-round, rather than dedicated only to snow and ice response. Vehicle 23 – 2016 Freightliner 114SD Vactor – 19,000 miles – Sewer Division Conditions: Several components of suction and tank mechanisms have experienced failure in the last few years, sometimes costing upwards of $25,000 to $30,000 for individual repairs. Replacement Cost: $650,000 Additional Information: The DPW uses the Vactor for both clearing sewer blockages and for vacuum excavation. Excavation can be harder on the equipment but minimizes the risk of damage to surrounding 7 utilities when digging in tight locations. The DPW is proposing to consider replacing this truck with a model that has a slightly smaller chassis but an equivalent tank size. Summary As shown above, the conditions of the vehicles compromise the safety of our staff and jeopardize the levels of services that our residents have come to expect from the DPW. We have exceeded the expected life of these vehicles on both miles and age. Some vehicles present safety concerns with large holes in the floors, potentially allowing exhaust to enter the cabs of those vehicles. Our personnel have welded floors back in and made temporary repairs, but continuing to repair these severely deteriorated vehicles is not practical or cost effective. Snow operations have become increasingly challenging due to a lack of functioning vehicles; in the recent large storm, we had four employees who were unable to perform their jobs by the end of the storm event due to a lack of operational vehicles for them to drive. As noted above, of 18 vehicles that were rendered inoperable during the storm event, eleven continue to be out- of-service, awaiting repairs by our mechanics. Recommended replacement intervals for fleet vehicles were taken from the report by Matrix Consulting Group specifically evaluating Melrose’s fleet, as well as Fleet Counselor Services, a nationally recognized consulting firm. Vehicle Type Recommended Useful Life Age of City Vehicles* Estimated (Fleet Counselor Services Data) Replacement Cost Packer – Yard Waste 12 years or 9,000 hours #26 – 21 years $340,000 Heavy Dump Trucks 12 years or 120,000 miles #21 – 27 years/OOS $300,000 #29 – 29 years** $290,000 Light Dump Trucks 12 years or 120,000 miles #33 – 14 years $110,000 #35 – 15 years** #38 – 17 years** #47 – 15 years #48 – 17 years #56 – 20 years** #58 – 18 years** Pickup Trucks 10 years or 120,000 miles #59 – 19 years $65,000 Backhoe - Cemetery 15 years or 9,000 hours #50 – 29 years** $210,000 Loader 15 years or 10,000 hours #77 – 29 years** $250,000 Bucket Truck – Highway 12 years or 120,000 miles #64 – 29 years $150,000 DPW Engineering 10 years #1 – 18 years/OOS $50,000 DPW Facilities Van 10 years #40 – 22 years/OOS $70,000 Hotbox 15 years HB-2 – 14 years/OOS $40,000 Sidewalk Bombardier 15 years #62 – 18 years** $190,000 Vactor 12 years #23 – 10 years $650,000 TOTAL 3-year cost $3,315,000 Average annual cost $1,105,000/year Average annual cost (excluding sewer vehicle) $888,333/year *OOS = Out of Service **Experienced failure during January 25, 2026 storm 8 The Melrose DPW fleet vehicles shown above represent approximately $3.315M in short-term needs. Please note that this list does not include non-DPW fleet needs, such as the Fire Department, Police Department, Council on Aging, Inspectional Services, etc., who also operate vehicles within the City’s fleet. The proposed expenditure of $1,105,000 per year shown in the table above is very closely in line with Matrix Consulting Group’s estimated replacement need of $1,134,222 annually for Melrose’s fleet. When eliminating the cost of the Vactor truck, which would be paid using the Sewer Enterprise Fund, the total annual need is approximately $888,000. The three-year needs have been broken down into the following proposed plan: IMMEDIATE: The following request is being made concurrent with this memorandum: • A replacement for yard waste/refuse truck #26 has been submitted, for which Capital Stabilization funds are being requested in February 2026. The estimated cost of replacement is $340,000. YEAR 1: For this year’s free cash request, DPW recommends replacing the following Public Works vehicles: • Heavy Dump Truck (#21, already out of service) – proposed to be replaced with a hook lift truck with a brine tank, dump body, and catch basin cleaning clamshell assembly. The estimated cost, including the various style body attachments, is $300,000. • Light Dump Trucks (#33, #35, #38, #47 and #48) – we propose replacing these with four one-ton pickup trucks and two smaller pickup trucks. Electric or hybrid vehicles will be considered for the two pickup trucks, depending on whether they will be used for snow operations. The estimated cost for these vehicles is $110,000 each for the four one-ton trucks and $70,000 for the two pickup trucks, for a total of $580,000. This results in a total free cash request of $880,000 from the general fund. Sustainable options will be explored for one pickup truck if it is determined it will not be used for snow plowing, consistent with the City’s EV-first policy. In addition, the DPW is pursuing replacement of the Sewer Division’s Vactor truck. This specialized equipment has an estimated cost of $650,000. A budgetary line item has been carried in the Sewer Enterprise Fund of $80,000 per year, intended to be used toward a lease-to-own Vactor truck. There is enough free cash in the Sewer Enterprise Fund to pay for a $200,000 downpayment, with annual payments of roughly $89,000/year over five years. Free cash for the downpayment will be requested in spring 2026 from the Sewer Enterprise Fund’s retained earnings balance. 9 YEAR 2: We recommend replacement of the following vehicles in Year 2: • Heavy Dump Truck #29, with an estimated replacement cost of $230,000 • The Wyoming Cemetery backhoe (#50), estimated to cost $210,000 • The 2008 Bombadier sidewalk plow. We recommend replacement with a trackless machine that can also be used with attachments for summer operations, with an estimated cost of $190,000. • Engineering Division vehicle – this can be replaced with an electric vehicle, given the availability of a charging station at the City Hall parking lot. This replacement is estimated at $50,000. • Catch basin clamshell attachment for the new Truck #21 (hook lift) - $100,000 This amounts to a total of $780,000 for Year 2 replacement vehicles. YEAR 3: We recommend replacement of the following vehicles in Year 3: • Highway Division bucket truck - $150,000 • Light trucks (utility bodies for facilities with one salter) - #56 and #58 ($80,000 to $110,000 each, depending on what is specified) • DPW Facilities van #40 - $70,000 • Pickup truck #59 - $65,000 • Loader #77 - $250,000 • Hotbox HB-2 - $40,000 The resulting request for Year 3 is $795,000. The DPW is anxious to get our fleet up to a serviceable level, to allow us to provide both efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the services we provide. We appreciate your consideration of this capital plan for our vehicles over the next three years. 10
Transcript
▶ 0:01 Devin Romanul: Ooh! Good evening. The time is 7:16 on Thursday, February 26, 2026. This is a meeting of the Appropriations and Oversight Committee. My name is Devin Romano, I'm the chair. Also joining me tonight are, uh, Vice Chair Vandiver, Counselors Chen, Finocchiaro, uh, Counselor Jamaluddin via Zoom. Thank you so much for joining, Counselor Jamaluddin. Um, Counselors Karemchedy, uh, Cowell, Obremski, Park, Williams, and President Ex Oficio Freeman. This serves as a notice of quorum for the record. In accordance with the open meeting law, this meeting is being recorded and broadcast live on MMTV. Uh, I will now entertain a motion... Um, and just as a note for our viewing audience, as well as the counselors this evening, since Counselor Jamaluddin, uh,
▶ 0:50 Devin Romanul: is joining us via Zoom, we'll be doing roll call votes for all of our, uh, motions. So at this time, I will entertain a motion to open the floor for public comment. So moved. Second. Uh, Counselor, uh, uh- Williams ... motion to open the floor for public comment made by Counselor Williams, seconded by Counselor Vandiver. Um, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? I, I'll do it. Um, Vice Chair Vandiver? Yes. Counselor Chen? Yes. Counselor Finocchiaro? Yes. Counselor Jamaluddin? Yes. Counselor Karemchedy? Yes. Counselor Cowell? Yes. Counselor Obremski? Yes. Counselor Park? Present. Counsel- President... Sorry, Counselor Williams? Yeah. Yes. President Freeman? Yes. And Chair Romanul. Yes. Okay. Makes for quorum.
▶ 1:37 Devin Romanul: All right, the- That passes. We are now open for public comment. Are there any members of the public who care to comment on items on our agenda this evening? Seeing none in the audience, do we have anyone online who cares to- No one online. All right, all right. You all are missing out! Good stuff. Um, I'll now entertain a motion to, uh... I fail to see the humor in this. I will now entertain a motion to close public comment. So moved. Uh, second. Motion made by President Freeman, seconded by Counselor Karemchedy. Um, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Vice Chair Vandiver? Yes. Counselor Chen? Yes. Counselor Finocchiaro? Yes. Counselor Jamaluddin? Yes. Counselor Karemchedy? Yes. Counselor Cowell?
▶ 2:21 Devin Romanul: Yes. Counselor Obremski? Yes. Counselor Park? Yes. Counselor Williams? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. Chair Romanul? Yes. That passes. All right. Public comment is now closed. Um, at this time, I will entertain a motion to approve the minutes from our last meeting on January 20th, 2026, at 7:15. Motion, so moved. Second. Motion made by Counselor Vandiver, seconded by Counselor Williams. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Vice Chair Vandiver? Yes. Counselor Chen? Yes. Counselor Finocchiaro? Yes. Counselor Jamaluddin? Counselor Jamaluddin? Yes. Counselor Karemchedy? Yes. Counselor Cowell? Yes. Counselor Obremski? Yes. Counselor Park? Yes. Counselor Williams? Yes. President Freeman? Yes.
▶ 3:19 Devin Romanul: Chair Romanul? Yes. That motion passes. All right. Minutes are now approved. Uh, first item on today's agenda, order number ID-2026-305, authorizing a bond under the Water Enterprise System throughout MWRA Local Water System Assistance Program bonds in the amount of $848,600. Joining us this evening, uh, from the administration is Catherine Armata and Elena Progor-Sells. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, Counselors. Uh, this order is seeking authorization for a loan of $848,600 through the MWRA Local Water System Sys- Local Water System Assistance Program. The loans are part of a regular, uh, process that we do every year or so. They have a ten-year term, a 0% coupon on this
▶ 4:20 structure, and the repayments would be made out of the Water Enterprise Fund, not impacting the general fund. Mm. And Elena is here beside me, if you want to ask questions about the underlying project. Uh, I have a question from Counselor Williams. We're gonna take... I was leaning in front of her, but- Oh! Um, well- Sorry. Thank you. Ob- obstructionist tas- tactics, but in, in lieu of that- Thank you ... I'll say, uh, Counselor Finocchiaro. Clever. Thank you. Um, so two questions: Is it typically 0% on these loans? S- uh, sometimes... Yes, most of the time it is 0%. There are other loans that have grants involved with them, where they might be 25% grant, 75% loan- Okay ... but it's still 0%.
▶ 5:03 And my second question was, how many loans do we have with the MWRA right now? Or, you know- Um- ... and if you don't have that information- W- we have, on the water side right now- Yeah, just curious ... about 991,600. We have them rolling off- Mm-hmm ... so we stagger them with maturities. We add new ones on, so it really doesn't impact. Mm-hmm. It... We try to really structure it so it doesn't- Yeah ... have an impact on the water sewer rates. Makes sense. All right, thank you. You're welcome. Counselor Williams. Thank you. Um, I have two questions. Uh, I don't... This probably does not pay for any paving, right? It pays for the pavement restoration- Okay ... of the trenches. Okay. But then we come back and pay separately for the, the final restoration of the
▶ 5:41 Ryan Williams: roads. Okay. Approximately how many miles of road are we touching with this? We're touching 1,450 linear feet. Okay, all right, not bad. Um, and I see that it's on... Where do I see it? Grove Street, which is a street that has this sort of weird half-paving square. Is there any chance... Sorry to, it's a Ward 7 and 6 question. Apologize if I'm stepping out here, but- Mm-hmm. Um, is there any chance that this is gonna correct that, make that street smoother? Yes. So we, we phase our water main. We- ... We call these projects all part of our multi-year roadway and utility program. So the water main work, and in fact, gas work as well, is all phased to occur so that paving can then occur in the following year.
▶ 6:31 Cal Finocchiaro: Great. Thank you. Okay. Anyone else first time around? Councilor Finocchiaro. Sorry, thank you so much. Um, one other question, because I know the issue with Grove Street heading down to Main Street, uh, we- I've, I've received a, a lot of complaints about that area with the potholes. That is not gonna be up for any replacement of pipes or gas pipes, do we know, or? So I would have to look up about gas pipes. Okay. It's not part of the water main project, but that's because our water main capital plan doesn't identify that portion of the water main as needing replacement. Okay. So it doesn't preclude that part of the road from being paved when we pave the rest of the road. So that would just be, you know, ensuring we have the funds
▶ 7:11 Cal Finocchiaro: to, to pave beyond Lebanon Street. Um, but we're, we're also aware of that not being in great condition. Yeah, I know that street, the whole street is, I think, a red on that map, I think, for the road map. Yeah. Yeah. I'd have to look, but- Okay. Yeah. Anyways, okay. Thank you. And we did just repave... The section we used to get the most complaints about was at Grove and Linwood, and we just repaved that last year. So that- Yep ... portion is at least repaired. Um, but yeah, down closer to Main Street, we get some complaints, too. Okay, great. It's nice that these projects actually, you know, get the, the, the repaving going and that it's all put together, so happy about that. Thank you. You're welcome.
▶ 7:48 Devin Romanul: Any other councilors? What is the will of the committee? Uh, motion to approve. Second. Motion approved by Councilor Williams, seconded by Councilor Finocchiaro. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Motion to approve. Vice Chair Vandiver? Yes. Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Williams? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. Chair Romanul? Yes. That motion passes. Motion passes, and that order will be brought to the next full council meeting, uh, with a recommendation for passage. Thank you so much. Thank you. And our, uh, second and final, uh, order, uh, request this
▶ 8:34 Devin Romanul: evening is ID number 2026-307, appropriation in the amount of $340,000 from the capital stabilization for DPW refuse yard waste truck. And still joining us this evening, uh, Director Proia-Casella, thank you so much. Thank you. Um, so replacement of this truck has been on our capital plan for a number of years. Um, it is aging equipment, it's rusting, and it has a, a critical failure right now, that when this failed, we thought now is the time to no longer keep pouring money into fixing this truck. Um, the repair was gonna be about $15,000, and we just said, "You know, let's just stop the bleeding and, um, look into replacing the truck." So this truck is used predominantly for our curbside yard waste pickup. Um, I did run some numbers.
▶ 9:21 We had-- When we negotiated our contract with Casella for our, our curbside, um, trash and recycling contract, we did ask them for a price for yard waste pickup, and it was on average, over the, the next three years, it would be on average about $150,000 a year. So that cost, um, even if you factor in our labor and benefits for that labor and all that, for the amount of time it takes for our ten weeks, approximately, of curbside yard waste pickup that we do each year, um, it is still less expensive, more economical for the city to own our own truck. So, um, this is the most critical piece of equipment right now that requires replacement because we don't wanna sink that money in. There's a truck available on the
▶ 10:06 lot at Allegiance Motors that they are ready to, to sell us. Um, it just needs a winch attached to the front. We also use this as a backup for tipping dumpsters at the schools and city buildings. So, um, it just needs the winch affixed to it and some lettering on the side to say Melrose Public Works- Mm-hmm ... and then we could own that truck. So that is our hope, that if this gets approved, we can proceed directly to having a truck probably within a few weeks. Terrific. Um, first, I have, uh, President Freeman. Uh, thank you very much. Um, well, I wanna thank you both for the, you know, memo you provided for this, but also the long-range plan of replacing the DPW trucks. I think it's, it's, it's very much needed.
▶ 10:46 Bradley Freeman: Um, so I appreciate you getting that in front of us. One question I have, and it's more of a request, um, if, you know, this request truck is approved, I would love to see and have a discussion about: can we increase the amount of yard waste pickups in the city? Um, I know it's not just, just the truck, it's obviously there's a lot of labor costs and, and, you know, employee time that goes into it as well. But I'd love to see, you know, an additional week in December. I, I think, you know, looking at the schedule, that it cuts off fairly early in December, and leaves do tend to fall after that, so would just love to use- utilize this truck as much as possible, recognize that you're gonna have a
▶ 11:18 Cal Finocchiaro: truck that's not needing constant repair, and maybe we can look to, to spread that out a little bit more. Okay, we can look at that. Thank you. Councilor Finocchiaro. Thank you. Um, so I'm totally supportive of getting a new truck, and I think it's needed. I just have a question about, and I don't know if this is a question for you, but I believe in 2024, the council approved, um, a solid waste enterprise fund? Yes. So I'm just curious why the, why the funds are coming from the capital stabilization fund and not the- Yeah, so that's a, uh, that's actually a great question. So the enterprise fund was created, and there was a lot of discussion at that time between finance department and DPW about what to include in the
▶ 11:58 enterprise fund from the outset. Um, the decision was made that the enterprise fund was set up in order to keep it very simplistic for the public to understand, because we were moving to the new contract with Casella, and we had the cart, the new carts, and, you know, a lot of changes. So the decision was made to only include the Casella contract in the-... calculation for the enterprise fund. So basically, the enterprise fund was set up to collect the trash fee, and the amount of the trash fee was set to pay Casella- Okay. - and Waste Management, where we dispose of that, of the solid waste. So solid waste and recycling curbside pickup, that was set to, um, basically match up. We have had discussion
▶ 12:43 about there are a lot of things we could potentially add into the enterprise funds to have it function more similarly to the water and sewer funds, where it self-sustains the whole program. Um, so right now, anything that happens at the yard, anything that involves staff, none of our staff are paid out of the enterprise. Um, so if we were to move, like, our entire sanitation operation and recycling at the yard and, and everything into the enterprise fund, we would need to have more revenue sources for the ev- enterprise fund to cover that. And, um, charging for stickers at the yard would be the natural place to get that additional revenue. So that's kind of a down the road discussion, if we wanna convert the
▶ 13:24 Cal Finocchiaro: solid waste and recycling fund to be a more holistic fund that covers the whole program the way water and sewer do. But right now, it is just set up, the money comes in, it goes out to Casella and Waste Management, and it's- it is structured to, to balance over the five-year term of our contract. Mm-hmm. So we did collect a little bit extra in year one, but by year five, if we don't change the trash fee, we will be breaking even. Okay. Yeah, I think, uh, personally, I think that it would be great to, you know, pull funds for solid waste out of solid waste, you know, enterprise fund, and leave the capital stabilization fund for other things. But, uh, that makes sense, the way it's set up, so, um...
▶ 14:02 or your explanation, so I appreciate that. Yeah, and personally, I do think that's a great long-term goal- Yeah ... for the city. Okay. Thank you. Perfect. Next up, I have Councillor Park. Thank you. Um, you answered part of my question, Elena, uh, about the truck, uh, um, in terms of we-- it seems that we already have a truck waiting and, and ready for the ability to, to continue the, the process of picking up yard waste. Is that, is that truck, uh, brand new, in the sense that it is a, I don't know, two thousand and twenty-six model, or is it slightly used, or... And there's a lead-up question f- after that, so. Uh, I believe it's a twenty twenty-five. Mm-hmm. And it was used on the lot as a demo by the, by Allegiance Motors.
▶ 14:46 So it has some very minimal mileage on it from showing it to potential customers, um, but it has not been used to collect, uh, any trash. Okay, thank you. And I noticed that it said in the document description that the recommended use of a truck is seven to ten years. This truck, uh, truck-- the current truck, twenty-six, is at twenty-one, which is double the, the allotted time. Where do you see realistically, uh, do you think this truck will last? Do you, do you adhere to the guidelines or want to, or do you think you can squeeze out ten to fifteen? I would love to squeeze out ten to fifteen. I think I don't wanna get to twenty-one again. Mm-hmm. But, um, and obviously, it all depends on the quality of our mechanics that
▶ 15:29 we have. Right now, we have a mechanic foreman who can fix basically anything. So I think, you know, that's part of why truck twenty-six, the existing truck, has been able to limp along for twenty-one years, because we've been able to fix it in-house many, many times. Um, historically, we have not replaced any of our vehicles on the replacement cycle that's, like, the industry standard recommendation, so I would love to see at least twelve years out of this truck. Very good. Thank you. Okay. That's great. Up next, I have Councillor Kowal. Um, thank you. Um, I'm just, I'm curious about the price of the truck. Is that... I mean, is there a time associated with, like, if we, um, say no tonight, is there a deadline to get this truck at this
▶ 16:12 price? Um, and if- Yes ... not, sort of, what, what in the price range are you, are you looking at? Yeah, so there are, there are various trucks of various quality, and, and some of them, um, have a lead time of about three months to get the ones that would have to be built for us. Okay. Um, the range is, I would say, three hundred to maybe three hundred and sixty thousand. Okay. This truck right now, I've put in three hundred and forty thousand, but the, just the truck itself, without the winch and without any, you know, anything else that we'd have to modify, um, is about three hundred and twenty-five thousand. So I've left fifteen thousand for any retrofits and lettering- Great ... and that kind of thing. Um, if we don't get this truck that's
▶ 16:55 on the lot right now, we will be well into yard waste season, and we'll have to rent a truck- Okay ... or spend, spend fifteen thousand to fix our existing truck to get through the first couple of months. We start yard waste pickup in April. Okay. So any truck other than this one that's on the lot is, um, is gonna take us three months to get. And then secondly, this truck that's on the lot, if this doesn't get approved tonight, and then, um, through the full council, they're not holding this truck for us. Okay. They know that we are about to buy it, but they've said, "You know, if another customer, if another town comes in tomorrow and wants it, they're not gonna hold it." Thank you. Okay. All right, next up, I have Councillor Karamcheti.
▶ 17:34 Manjula Karamcheti: Thank you. Um, it's great to see you. You, too. Um, kind of stemming off of, uh, one of the questions another councillor asked, you know, we've managed to keep our trucks, um, a variety of, um, different, different ones for different reasons toward, towards that critical state of now it's an emergency, and we have to purchase a truck. Just wondering if you could speak to, like, the ma- regular maintenance and sort of how we're, like, taking care of our trucks and sort of the long-term plan. I think I sometimes worry about getting into, like, a crisis situation where we have to buy the thing tomorrow, or we're gonna lose it. So could you just speak to that a little bit? Yeah. So I can speak to kind of... There's two ends of that.
▶ 18:18 One is that with the financial situation that the city was in for the last several years-... we've had a lot of these same trucks on this same capital plan for several years, and they haven't been funded. So we've, you know, put this in as a request to the mayor's office to be included for free cash each year, and there just wasn't enough free cash to buy these vehicles. So our hope is that we're gonna get into a pattern of annual spending on vehicles. We've submitted a three-year plan. Um, it's roughly $900,000 a year. This is on top of the trash truck pur- purchase. After that's purchased, there's about 900,000 a year that we're requesting. Um, and that will come in as a free cra- cash request. Um, from my angle, it comes from me to the mayor's office and the finance
▶ 19:03 department, and then it's their purview whether to bring it to the council. Um, so our hope is that we're on a replacement schedule, not a emergency reaction, um, kind of situation. And then with regard to preventative maintenance, so one thing that I've been really trying hard to, to get to is a place where we can implement a true, um, fleet work order management system that everybody is using and that provides preventative maintenance, um, uh, triggers for our mechanic staff. And we're actually meeting with a software company. We- we've been very happy with our facilities' work order management system, and they have a fleet module that I've reviewed before. Um, and we're meeting with them next week to, uh, take a look at that software.
▶ 19:50 Since we already own the package, it's just a small add-on to get the fleet software. So that's my hope, is that we're gonna have every one of our trucks entered into the system, and the system's gonna spit out, you know, it's time for an oil change, it's time for lubrication, it's time for, you know, filters, whatever else is preventative maintenance, and that we will stay on those schedules if we're prompted to do so. I, I really appreciate the- your hope on that, and hope we... And I hope we can turn it into a strategy. I think that makes a lot of sense. Thank you. Thank you. Next up, I have Councillor Chen. I spent some time in the past couple weeks shopping for Class A garbage trucks, and
▶ 20:26 Jason Chen: I confirmed this is what they cost. And the director and I also looked at some government surplus for trucks. Most of them were over seven to eight years. They were cheaper, but they are close to that useful life of 11- Yeah ... 11 years. Um, also, what you say about preventative maintenance, this comes up in a lot of city cost savings as one of the top ways to save money, is preventative maintenance on city vehicles and heavy equipment, so I think it's well worth the software. So I move to approve for recommendation. We have a motion- Second ... from, uh, Councillor Chen for, uh, approval. Second. Second, uh, for Councillor Finocchiaro. Uh, on discussion, I believe I have... Oh, no. Councillor Williams.
▶ 21:05 Nope. Anyone on discussion? I just, yeah, I was- Councilor Finocchiaro? I just wanted to say, this is off topic, but the ci- uh, the DPW has done a great job with the snow removal. Yeah. Um, so I just wanted to put that out there. Thank you. More to come tonight. We're removing overnight tonight. Great. Oh, I was like, "More snow? No!" No, no, no. Sorry. Sure is. Bite your tongue. No. Anyways, we appreciate it. You guys have done a great job, so... Thank you. All right, thank you. Anyone else on discussion? Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Vice Chair Vandiver? Yes. Councillor Chen? Yes. Councillor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councillor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councillor Karamcheti? Yes. Councillor Kowal?
▶ 21:48 Devin Romanul: Yes. Councillor Obremski? Yes. Councillor Park? Yes. Councillor Williams? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. Chair Romanul? Yes. That motion passes. All right, terrific. That order will be brought to the next full council meeting with a recommendation for passage. Thank you very much. Uh, with that, that concludes our meeting. Thank you. I will now entertain a motion for adjournment. So moved. Second. Motion made by Councillor Williams, uh, seconded by Councillor Karamcheti. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Vice Chair Vandiver? Yes. Councillor Chen? Yes. Councillor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councillor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councillor Karamcheti? Yes. Councillor Kowal? Yes. Councillor Obremski? Yes.