City Council — 2026-09-08
Agenda
- CALL TO ORDER
- Attendees
- MINUTES APPROVAL
- City Council Regular Meeting August 17, 2026 7:45 PM
- PUBLIC COMMENT
- COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE HONORABLE MAYOR & OTHER CITY OFFICIALS
- NEW BUSINESS
- Filings by the Honorable Mayor
- Appointments/Reappointments
- Appointment of Liz Ryan, 17 East Highland Street, to the Zoning Board of Appeals as an Associate Member, for a two-year term set to expire on the last day of February 2028.
- Appointment of Lauren Maguire, 32 Albert Street, to the Historic District Commission, for a term of three years, said term to expire last day of February 2029.
- Grants
- Acceptance of a State Earmark in the amount of $100,000 for the maintenance and repair of benches and bus shelters at MBTA bus stops in the City of Melrose.
- Acceptance of a State Earmark in the amount of $100,000 for public safety and emergency medical equipment.
- Petitions
- No# 31198560 Vine Street - National Grid to install 1 JO pole on Vine Street beginning at a point approximately 0 feet of the centerline of the intersection of Vine St and Essex Street and continuing approximately 35 feet in a south-east direction.
- PUBLIC HEARING-NATIONAL GRID PETITIONS
- Petitions
- Lake Ave - WR 31359974 National Grid to Install underground utilities on Lake Ave.
- 18 Tremont Street - Install 1 JO Pole on Tremont Street with a riser to provide electric service for a new customer at 18 Tremont Street in Melrose.
- UNFINISHED BUSINESS
- Appointments/Reappointments
- Appointment of Daniel Gelormini, 20 Pilgrim Road, as a Full Member of the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for a five-year term set to expire on the last day of February 2028. Mr. Gelormini’s appointment replaces the membership of Benjamin Rosenberg who recently resigned from the ZBA.
- Appointment of Megan Britt, 79 Burrell Street, to the Liquor Licensing Commission for a six-year term, said term to expire the first Monday of June 2032.
- Grants
- Acceptance of 2026 Green Communities Grant in the amount of $122,081.
- Acceptance of a Massachusetts Gaming Commission Community Mitigation Fund Grant in the amount of $51,300.
- Informational Order
- Informational Order - Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Public Review Draft
- Licenses
- New Common Victualler License for Slurp Noodle Restaurant
- Orders
- Acceptance of Donated Parcel for Conservation Purposes
- Renewal of the Intermunicipal Agreement for Shared Health Department services among the City of Melrose, the Town of Wakefield and the Town Of Stoneham for three years.
- REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES
- EXPIRIES
- RULE 36 REPORTS
- ADJOURNMENT
Transcript
▶ 10:29 viewing in its entirety on MMTV and through the city website. Pursuant to current allowances under the Open Meeting Law enacted under Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2025, signed into law by Governor Healy on March 28th, 2025, City Councilor Jamaleddine is participating in this meeting tonight remotely via the city's Zoom platform. As such, all votes tonight will be taken by roll call. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Councilor Chen? Here. Councilor Finocchiaro? Here. Councilor Jamaleddine? Here. Councilor Karamcheti? Here. Councilor Carwell? Here. Councilor Obremski? Here. Councilor Park? Here. Councilor Romanul? Here. Councilor Vanderberg? Here. Councilor Williams? President Freeman? Here.
▶ 11:15 That makes for a quorum. Thank you. At this time, please rise if you're able to join the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. At this time, I will entertain a motion to approve the minutes from the August 17th meeting. So moved. Second. Motion made to approve the minutes without reading by Councilor Karamcheti, seconded by Councilor Romanul. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park?
▶ 12:07 Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. Thank you. I will now entertain a motion to open the floor for public comment. So moved. Second. Motion to open the floor for public comment made by Councilor Vanderberg, seconded by Councilor Finocchiaro. Madam Clerk? Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. Thank you. The floor is now open for public comment per rule 33A of the Melrose City Council rules. This is the portion of the meeting when the public may speak on
▶ 12:54 any item on tonight's agenda. Is there anyone here to offer public comment tonight? Seeing none, Madam Clerk, is there anyone online? No one online. Thank you. I'll now entertain a motion to close the floor for public comment. So moved. Second. Second. Motion made by Councilor Karamcheti, seconded by Councilor Finocchiaro. Madam Clerk? Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. Thank you. We are now closed to public comment. Moving on through the agenda. There are no communications from the honorable mayor, new business, filings by the
▶ 13:38 honorable mayor, appointments, and reappointments. ID number 2026-1666, appointment of Liz Ryan, 17 East Highland Street, to the Zoning Board of Appeals as an associate member for a two-year term, set to expire on the last day of February 2028. This is the board of commissions? ID number 2026-1667, appointment of Lauren McGuire, 32 Albert Street, to the Historic District Commission for a term of three years, and said term to expire last day of February 2029. This is the board of commissions? Grants? ID number 2026-1710, acceptance of a state earmark in the amount of 100,000 for the maintenance and repair of benches and bus shelters at MBTA bus stops in the city of Melrose. This is what, appropriations oversight?
▶ 14:28 ID number 2026-1729, acceptance of a state earmark in the amount of 100,000 for public safety and emergency medical equipment. This is what, appropriations oversight? Petitions? ID number 2026-1668, number 31198560, Vine Street National Grid to install one JO pole on Vine Street beginning at a point approximately zero feet of the center line of the intersection of Vine Street and Essex Street, and continuing approximately 35 feet in a southeast direction. Mr. President, I'd like to seek immediate consideration for this order. There is a motion on the floor for immediate consideration made by Councilor Vanderberg, seconded by Councilor Finocchiaro. Madam Clerk? Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro?
▶ 15:16 Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. I'd like to motion to set a public hearing on September 28th at 8:00 PM. Second. Motion made by Councilor Vanderberg to set a public hearing for ID 2026-1668 on September 28th at 8:00 PM, seconded by Councilor Finocchiaro. On discussion? Madam Clerk? Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes.
▶ 16:05 Thank you. We have public hearings at 8:00 PM, so we're going to skip down the agenda and move down to unfinished business, appointments, and reappointments. ID number 2026-1629, appointment of Daniel Gallarmini, 20 Pilgrim Road, as a full member of the Zoning Board of Appeals for a five-year term set to expire on the last day of February 2028. Mr. Gallarmini's appointment replaces the membership of Benjamin Rosenberg, who recently resigned from the ZBA. This comes to us from boards and commissions with a positive recommendation. At this time, I motion for approval. Second. Motion for approval made by Councilor Vanderberg, seconded by Councilor Finocchiaro. On discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk.
▶ 16:52 Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. ID number 2026-1633, appointment of Megan Britt, 79 Burrell Street, to the Liquor Licensing Commission for a six-year term, said term to expire the first Monday of June 2032. Mr. President, this item was held in boards and commission until the next meeting. Thank you. So at this time, it's not... Yeah. Thank you. Moving on to grants. ID number 2026-1618, acceptance of 2026 Green Communities Grant in the amount of $122,081. Mr. President, this comes to us from the Appropriations and Oversight Committee
▶ 17:52 with a recommendation for passage, and at this time I'll make a motion for passage. Second. Motion of passage made by Councilor Romanul, seconded by Councilor Karamcheti. On discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk. Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. Okay, ID number 2026-1619. Acceptance of a Massachusetts Gaming Commission Community Mitigation Fund grant in the amount of $51,300. Mr. President, this comes to us from the Appropriations and Oversight Committee with a recommendation for passage, and at this time I'll make a motion for passage.
▶ 18:44 Second. Motion for passage made by Councilor Romanul, seconded by Councilor Karen Chey. On discussion. Seeing none, Madam Clerk. Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karen Chey? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. Thank you. Moving on to informational order. Sorry. Informational order 2026-1631. Informational order. Natural hazard mitigation plan, public review draft. Mr. President, this comes to us from the Public Works Committee with a recommendation to place on file, and at this time I motion to place on file. Second.
▶ 19:36 Motion to place on file made by Councilor Vanderberg, seconded by Councilor Karen Chey. On discussion. Seeing none, Madam Clerk. Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karen Chey? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. Thank you. Licenses? ID number 2026-1632, new common vic license for Slurp Noodle Restaurant. Mr. President, this comes from Protection License Committee with a recommendation for passage, and at this time I make a recommendation for passage. Second. Recommendation for passage made by Councilor Finocchiaro, seconded by Councilor
▶ 20:29 Karen Chey. On discussion. Seeing none, Madam Clerk. Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karen Chey? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. Thank you very much. Moving on to orders. ID number 2026-1620. Acceptance of donated parcel for conservation purposes. Mr. President, this comes to us from the Appropriations and Oversight Committee with a recommendation for passage, and at this time I'll make a motion for passage. Second. Motion of passage made by Councilor Romanul, seconded by Councilor Karen Chey. On discussion. Seeing none, Madam Clerk.
▶ 21:25 Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karen Chey? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Excuse me, I have a sneeze and I think I scared myself out of a sneeze. Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. ID number 2026-1630, renewal of the intermunicipal agreement for shared health department services among the City of Melrose, the Town of Wakefields, and the Town of Stoneham for three years. Mr. President, this comes to us from the Legal and Legislative Committee with a positive recommendation, and as such, I now move to recommend this for passage. Second. Motion for passage made by Councilor Kowal, seconded by Councilor Karen Chey.
▶ 22:25 On discussion. Seeing none, Madam Clerk. Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karen Chey? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. Thank you. Are there any reports from committees? Seeing none. There are no expiries. Are there any Rule 36 reports? Seeing none. As the time is 7:59, we will move into our public hearing scheduled for 8:00 PM. At this time, I will seek a motion to open the public hearing. Motion to open the public hearing. Second. Motion to open the public hearing made by Councilor Finocchiaro, seconded by
▶ 23:22 Councilor Kowal. Madam Clerk. Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karen Chey? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. Thank you. So now we're now in public hearing to discuss two petitions by National Grid. What we'll do is we'll have DPW and National Grid come up and present on the first petition. If there's anyone here to comment on that, they'll be given an opportunity, the council will vote on that, and then we'll do the same for the second petition. So at this time, I'd like to invite DPW National Grid up to talk
▶ 24:04 about ID number 2026-1656 Lake Ave. Good evening, Council. Good evening. My name is Zane. I'm with National Grid. And this petition is, which petition is this one? We're doing Lake Ave. Which one? Lake Ave. Lake Ave. So the petition to install one three-inch conduit approximately 10 feet off the sidewalk to an existing pole. So we're installing conduit from the pole on the same side of the street to serve the customer at 7476 Lake Ave. Is there any questions on that? Do any councilors have any questions before we see if there's anyone in the public who'd like to comment? Councilor Finocchiaro. Yeah. I guess, what is the purpose of doing it underground versus above ground? It's a customer request.
▶ 25:06 Request. Okay, thanks. Yeah, no problem. Also to add a clarification, they're building a new ADU, which is in the rear of the property. Mm-hmm. And it's for the ADU. So they couldn't go overhead all the way. It's too far. Yeah. So they have to put it in the back. Councilor Vanderberg. Is there any other comments from DPW's perspective that you'd like to share? Nope, just a typical sidewalk restoration. Make sure it's restored, the new concrete sidewalk, once that's ripped up, and that's really about it. That's all that should be disturbed in this. Councilor Chen. And to clarify, the customer's paying for the sidewalk repair? Yes. Okay. Are there any other questions for National Grid or DPW at this time?
▶ 25:51 Seeing none, is there anyone from the public who'd like to speak to this petition? Yes, sir. Do you want to come forward and state your name and address? Yes. My name is David Goodhue. I live across the street from the project. And I just want to support what these gentlemen are doing. I would support them, and plus, I'd ask the city to consider in the future, anytime the city streets are torn up for any purpose, pipes, et cetera, to look at putting these utilities underground. If you look at just right around Melrose and you look at this old-fashioned junk pile hanging on the poles, a lot of them are a bit decrepit. They're going to fall down from time to time in storms, and people lose power.
▶ 26:52 The future is putting all this stuff underground. And I think that as city does work on the streets, we should mandate that those poles, or the wires that feed the poles, go underground. And they don't have to do the whole city at one time. They can just, as the work is being done on a street, just mandate that the wires go underneath. Then you put a junction on each end. You come up to the poles that are already there. But eventually you'll have all these poles gone and you won't need them. So it's much more efficient, and it would look a lot better and make the city look much, much better. Property values will go up Everybody would be happy. That's all I have to say. Thank you very much, sir.
▶ 27:45 Thank you. Does anyone else like to offer public comment? At this time, I'll entertain a motion for-- I think we'll have council action on this particular petition. I'd like to make a motion to place on file with the recommendation of DPW as contained in the packet. Second. Motion to place on file with the contained recommendations of DPW made by Councilor Vanderberg, second by Councilor Finocchiaro, on discussion. Seeing none, Madam Clerk. Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Sorry, I'm muted. Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman?
▶ 28:38 Yes. That motion passes. Thank you. At this time, we'll invite DPW National Grid to speak to ID2026-1560, Tremont Street. So this petition is to install a joint on pole 437-50 with a siphon extending from the pole to provide power to the customer as well. But this one will be attached to a sole new pole. Thank you. If there's any questions on that. Sure. Do you have anything to offer from DPW's perspective? Yeah, this is for that new apartment building that's going on at 18 Tremont, the large apartment building. So there's a new transformer that's going in. In order to serve that transformer, a new pole needs to be installed. Thank you. Any questions from the council? Councilor Chen. A broader question from the public, what's our DPW's position on putting poles
▶ 29:36 underground or asking National Grid to put things underground when we can do work? Certainly, we would always prefer underground conduit. In a lot of cases, it's just not practicable, especially if you're crossing roads and things like that. In this case, there is nowhere to take from underground, because they are installing underground conduit to the transformer. But they need to get the power to a new pole, as I understand it. Correct. So they wouldn't be able to go underground in the public otherwise. There's no underground infrastructure in the area. Yeah. It's just the poles, and we have to bring power from the poles underground. There's no other option in the area. Yeah, to speak to the previous comment,
▶ 30:27 I have no idea. I don't even know if as a city we'd be able to mandate as we pave roads to have National Grid put everything underground. It would be great, but that's something that is well above my purview to even really speak on, because it would be a lot of work. And for National Grid, have you seen other cities successfully do this in pieces, if you have? Doing underground work when other customers request underground work? More just if the city is repaving a sidewalk and you're informed of it, do you say, "Oh, yes. National Grid wants to spend the extra money to put underground for a variety of reasons." Not that I've personally dealt with. I don't have a comment on that. Okay. I haven't dealt with that.
▶ 31:17 Yeah, I'm just curious. We do see cities that a lot of these are underground, and they all started above ground at some point, and I'm just curious how they-- They clearly didn't go all underground in one big budget cycle. So how do we start the process to gradually do that? And maybe we need to find or just talk to some of these cities that have done it in the past 20 years and figure out how do they find the right incentives to do that piecemeal, because people have done it, right? It's a question for all of us. It's not directed at just you. Yeah. If you just think about the paving life cycle of roads in Melrose, we're in the 30 to 40 year mark, give or take. So, at minimum, it's a 30 to 40
▶ 32:07 year project to get everything underground without ripping up roads that aren't being repaved. Mm-hmm. And then obviously National Grid would get a brunt of that expense if the city didn't want to pay for any of it. So, convincing them to do it, if it was to their benefit as well, it would be- Sure ... definitely something to start the discussion. Reviewing the natural hazards mitigation plan, which I'm sure you- Mm-hmm ... took a look at. And with all the severe weather, it seems like underground is the way to go for branches and losing power and- Mm-hmm ... which is frequent. So there's just a whole bunch of long-term benefits and maybe some less maintenance costs. And even with underground work, it's just not cost effective for customers.
▶ 32:53 Mm. It's going to be 10 to 20 times. If a customer wants to do a normal upgrade, like 200 to 300 amp, 400 amp, overhead would be a lot cheaper. We're talking 10, 20 times cheaper than doing underground. Yeah. I'm mainly thinking for a- And Councilor Chen, I just want to remind you that we're talking about the petition at hand tonight. Yeah, we're talking about power poles. Talking about the petition at hand at Tremont Street. And power infrastructure. Just want to keep us focused on the petition at hand. Yeah. You were saying? Just saying it's not cost effective for customers overall. Okay. Thank you. Yeah, no problem. I have Councilor Kowal, followed by Finocchiaro, then Vanderberg. What side of the street is this pole going on?
▶ 33:38 That product in particular- It's the same side ... same side of the building? Okay. Thank you. Yep. Councilor Finocchiaro. I just had a question about what a riser was, but I'm kind of looking up online. It's just an additional piece of the pole piece? It's more of a siphon, but it's just, yeah, it's like a pipe on the pole that will bring our primary wires underground. Okay. I know we have another question, but I was just going to make a recommendation to place on file. I second. There's a recommendation placed on file made by Councilor Finocchiaro, seconded by Councilor Karamcheti. Councilor Vanderberg. Thank you. Thank you for asking the question about the riser. I was going to ask that one.
▶ 34:17 Through the chair, my understanding as well, I believe Director Coray-Cazalas has mentioned this trade-off to us before, and it's something she's somewhat familiar with. But my understanding is one of the other difficulties is that besides power, these poles also carry internet and other things like that. And so, it's the coordination of trying to get everything underground and not need to open it back up another time is one of the other challenges, as well as other things that are already buried. Just for context, that was shared in a different meeting. That's all. Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Vanderberg. Any other comments from councilors? Seeing none, Madam Clerk. Councilor Chen? Yes.
▶ 34:56 Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. Thank you. At this time, I'll entertain a motion to close the public hearing. Motion to close public hearing. Second. Motion to close made by Councilor Karamcheti, seconded by Councilor Romanul. Madam Clerk? Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman?
▶ 35:36 Thank you. That motion passes. Public hearing is now closed. At this time, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn until our next meeting on September 28th. Motion to adjourn. Second. Motion to adjourn made by Councilor Karamcheti, seconded by Councilor Kowal. Madam Clerk. Councilor Chen? Yes. Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Jamaleddine? Yes. Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Kowal? Yes. Councilor Obremski? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Vanderberg? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. Thank you. We are adjourned.