2026-09-15 - City Council

0:08Okay.

0:13>> Uh, good evening everyone. Welcome to

0:15the list city council meeting. You can,

0:16if you can, please stand for the pledge

0:18of allegiance and the stars spangle.

0:36Say [singing]

0:38you see

0:40by the dawn.

0:46What so proudly [singing] we held

0:50at the twilight

0:53lasting

0:55who brought stripes and bright stars

1:00through the perilous [singing and music]

1:03fight.

1:05For the

1:07birds [singing] we watch

1:10were so gallently

1:13streaming

1:15and [singing] the rockets

1:17red.

1:19The [singing] bombs were

1:22in

1:24gave proof through the [singing]

1:27night

1:29that our flag was [singing] still there.

1:34Oh, say does that [music] star spangled

1:40then

1:42[singing]

1:42way [music]

1:47for [singing] the land [music]

1:49of the free

1:54and the [singing] home

1:56of the [music]

1:59brave.

2:13Roll call.

2:14>> Councelor Bergman

2:15>> here.

2:16>> Councelor Bada

2:19>> here.

2:20>> Councelor Economo

2:21>> here.

2:21>> Councelor Bzolo

2:22>> here.

2:22>> Councelor King

2:23>> here.

2:24>> Mitra

2:25>> here. Oh

2:26>> here.

2:26>> Councelor Rivera

2:27>> here.

2:28>> Councelor Rosen

2:29>> here. Councelor Tumi

2:30>> here. Mayor Petty

2:32>> here. Uh before we get started, we have

2:34a proclamation. Whereas September 17th,

2:372026 marks 239th

2:40anniversary of the draft of the

2:41Constitution of the United States by the

2:43Constitutional Convention. Whereas it is

2:46fitting and proper to court official

2:48recognition to this magnificent

2:49document, the memorial anniversary, and

2:52to and to the celebrations which

2:54commemorate the occasion. Whereas public

2:56law 915 guarantees the the issuing of a

2:59proclamation each year by the president

3:01of the United States of America

3:02designates September 17th to the 23rd as

3:05constitution week. Now therefore, I,

3:07Mayor Joseph M. Pay, to hereby proclaim

3:09September 17th to 23rd as Constitution

3:12Week and ask all our citizens to

3:13reaffirm the ideals of the the framers

3:16of the contribution had in 1787

3:19by protecting the freedoms guaranteed to

3:21us under the guardian of our liberties,

3:23remembering the lost rights may never be

3:25regained. Um, we have a present Deborah

3:28and Mo Council Bergman, you want to give

3:29that ter

3:43Well, thank you.

3:58>> Is this your name and Deborah? Thank

4:00you, Mayor Penny, and all of the members

4:02of the Worcester City Council for

4:04issuing this proclamation for

4:06Constitution Week. My name is Deborah

4:08Nurse, and I serve as the state chair of

4:10commemorative events for the

4:11Massachusetts Daughters of the American

4:14Revolution. I also am a past regent of

4:16the Colonel Timothy Bigalow Chapter of

4:19the D, which serves as stewards of our

4:21beloved 1774 chapter house, the Oaks, on

4:25Lincoln Street in Worcester. It is the

4:27Daughters of the American Revolution

4:29that initiated the petition to establish

4:32an annual nationwide period of

4:34reflection and education to safeguard

4:36our constitutional heritage. It is an

4:39honor to receive this tonight in this

4:41city representing its rich revolutionary

4:44heritage rooted in the early pursuit of

4:47American liberty and the rule of law.

4:50This heritage will be on display this

4:52very Thursday night, Constitution Day,

4:55when this proclamation will be read and

4:58none other than John Hancock will throw

5:01the first pitch at the Worcester Red Sox

5:03game. Thank you very much.

5:06>> Thank you.

5:11>> Okay. Motion to adopt that the city

5:12council see whistle hereby approves the

5:14minutes of city council meeting of

5:16August 18th, 2026. Roll call. Councelor

5:19Bergman.

5:20>> Yes.

5:20>> Councelor Bada.

5:21>> Yes.

5:22>> Councor Cono.

5:23>> Yes.

5:23>> Councelor Bzolo.

5:24>> Yes.

5:25>> Councelor King.

5:26>> Uh just point order, Mr. Chairman. This

5:28is just to approve the minutes, right?

5:30>> Yes.

5:30>> Yes.

5:31>> Council Mitra,

5:32>> yes.

5:33>> Council,

5:34>> yes.

5:34>> Council,

5:35>> yes.

5:36>> Councelor Rosen,

5:36>> yes.

5:37>> Tumi,

5:38>> yes.

5:39>> Mayor Petty,

5:40>> yes. Okay. We have two items that going

5:42to be held under privilege. One by

5:43Council Lada. We uh number 7Z.

5:47That's uh Tom Marino's uh petition

5:51and also 18.19A.

5:54Council King is holding on to privilege

5:56the public camping ordinance for the

5:58homeless. Um so if people I know people

6:01come down to speak, so you're more than

6:03welcome to speak. The council will take

6:05it up next week, but if you speak this

6:07week under the rules, you can't speak

6:08next week, but since you're here, they

6:10want to make it do two trips. But

6:13>> point order, Mr. Chairman.

6:14>> Yeah.

6:15>> Yeah.

6:16>> Yes. Um my understanding is that there

6:18is an opportunity to speak a second time

6:21if the council chooses to amend the

6:23rules. Is that right?

6:24>> If we can we can um

6:26>> Oh, we can do anything with the rules.

6:28That's correct.

6:29>> Just wanted to be clear,

6:30>> council. So,

6:33go ahead, Mr. Cook.

6:35>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Rule 39 items

6:37of public interest at every meeting of

6:39the city council under public

6:40participation portion of the agenda. The

6:42chair shall recognize any person seeking

6:44such recognition for the purpose of

6:46addressing the council on any eligible

6:48item on the agenda for the meeting both

6:50in person and remotely. Any person who

6:53wishes to speak more than one agenda

6:54item shall combine the testimony on all

6:56items to one appearance at the

6:58microphone. The time for speaking shall

7:00not exceed two minutes for anyone

7:01speaker, 30 minutes for all speakers. Uh

7:04rule 40 petitions. On the first

7:06occasion, petition appears on the city

7:07council agenda. The prime petition may

7:09address the city council for no more

7:11than three minutes on the subject of

7:12their petition.

7:13>> Thank you. Okay. So, this your name,

7:15city residence, and item number.

7:18>> Nicole Apostil, city of Worcester. I

7:21would like to congratulate the city

7:22council on your receipt of the new

7:24camping ordinance item 8/19A,

7:27which could qu possibly be the most

7:30revenue generating ordinance this city

7:32has ever seen. This ordinance states,

7:34"Unless expressly authorized by the city

7:37or applicable law, it shall be unlawful

7:39to sit, sleep, lie, or camp on any

7:43public street, road, bike path,

7:46sidewalk, or public property. Let's

7:48review what this can mean for the city.

7:51Before, a parent could take a couple of

7:53kids to the playground with no

7:55additional cost. Now, that baby in the

7:58stroller who falls asleep on public

8:01property will cost them $25.

8:04But the toddler doesn't want to be left

8:06out. The minute that kid has a tantrum

8:08and decides to lie down on the ground

8:10for that tantrum, that'll be another

8:12$25. Have you ever wanted to take your

8:15significant other for a fancy meal? What

8:18about the most expensive picnic this

8:19city has to offer? Lay down that quilt

8:22and open the picnic basket and your

8:24wallet. That'll be $25 a person. Sitting

8:28on your cooler while fishing, $25.

8:31Laying down on your towel at Coast Pond

8:33Beach, that'll be $25, please. Even the

8:37simple act of sitting down on the curb

8:39to wait for your bus. The bus might be

8:42free, but you're breaking the rules by

8:44sitting on the sidewalk will cost you

8:47$25.

8:48In these tough times, it's difficult to

8:50find new revenue streams. I congratulate

8:53the city administration for thinking

8:55outside the box and making the simple

8:57act of living in this city a finable

9:00offense. Thank you.

9:01>> Thank you.

9:03[cheering]

9:07[applause]

9:10>> Next speaker please. Does your name

9:13isn't item number?

9:14>> Idola has it. City of Worcester. And

9:17amen to that. This city will be

9:22so expensive. Who wants to go to the

9:25oldest park in the country, Elm Park,

9:29and enjoy your family and spend the day

9:33and relax?

9:42Time out.

9:46I want to thank

9:49councelor Ojada

9:52for 11B.

9:56How the hell

9:59can more people be arrested in the past

10:03five years when we have been told that

10:06the crime rate has gone down in the past

10:10five years?

10:12There's something wrong in Denmark.

10:16That was the old saying in World War II.

10:20That was the secret code. There's

10:22something wrong in Denmark.

10:25It doesn't make sense. That has been

10:28printed in the telegram and gazette over

10:31and over, quoted by the Worester Police

10:34Department. In the past five years, the

10:38crime rate has gone down.

10:42Now, on a better note, I would like to

10:46thank my counselor, Robert Bado, for

10:50cleaning up the streets in my

10:52neighborhood. I can walk my dog without

10:54having to go out in the street around

10:56the garbage.

10:58Thank you, Council Battle.

11:07>> [applause]

11:10>> Is your name so your residence item

11:11number?

11:12>> Yes. Mayor, members, this is council. My

11:14name is Dante Comperto of Worcester and

11:16I'm speaking against item 8.19A.

11:20I'm back tonight because this proposed

11:22ordinance is not leadership. It is bad

11:24public policy masquerading as a

11:26solution. I stand here with lived

11:29experience. I was homeless. Today I

11:32teach housing policy here in Worcester

11:34and I brought some of my students

11:36tonight to watch how bad municipal

11:37policy gets made. Make no mistake, mass

11:41homelessness is not a personal failure.

11:43Is a direct result of systematically

11:45dismantled federal safety net and

11:48decades of state and local housing

11:51failure. Look at the reality of our

11:53city. Our rental vacancy rate is at an

11:56impossible 1.7%.

11:59Nearly 60% of Worester residents rent.

12:02Half of those renters are costbururden

12:04and severely costburdened, paying a huge

12:07chunk of their income just to keep a

12:08roof over their heads. In Worcester

12:11today, one medical bill, one missed

12:14paycheck, one rent hike is all it takes

12:16to go from working class to unhoused.

12:19That was me. And looking around this

12:21room, it could be any of us.

12:24You cannot find away poverty with $25 a

12:27day penalties. You cannot sweep people

12:30into non-existent affordable housing.

12:32And you cannot use the police and city

12:34agencies to clean up structural market

12:37crisis. Encampment bans don't eliminate

12:40homelessness. They simply scatter

12:42vulnerable human beings and disrupt

12:44care. It is ineffective and it is a

12:47moral failure. If the administration

12:49wants real solutions, start by listening

12:52to the community. Ask why the city

12:54manager has left qualif qu qu qu qu qu

12:56qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu

12:56qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu

12:56qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qu qualified

12:56community members waiting for

12:58appointments to the commission of

12:59homelessness instead of mobilizing the

13:02expertise right in front of him. Real

13:04leadership requires building permanent

13:06supportive housing, expanding tenant

13:09protections, and investing in low

13:11barrier resources, not passing cosmetic

13:14bans that criminalize survival. Vote no

13:17on this ordinance. Thank you.

13:18>> Thank you.

13:21>> [cheering]

13:26[cheering]

13:26[applause]

13:31>> I'm Sean Johnson. I live in Worcester.

13:34All of you have a choice that you can

13:37make

13:40to either spend the resources that we

13:42have to put people in homes or to pass

13:45[snorts] this ordinance and bring abuse

13:47to the most neglected and forgotten

13:49people in our city. And that's just how

13:51I feel. Um,

13:57[cheering and applause]

14:02>> what's your name, see residence, and

14:04item number?

14:04>> Gary Hunter, District 5.

14:108/19A.

14:11To start out with, I'm looking around

14:14the UK counselors and um I've been

14:17involved for a little while and I've

14:18talked to every one of you individually

14:21and

14:23I think it should be fair and honest

14:25with your constituents. This proposal

14:28was only approved by the Supreme Court

14:30because Donald Trump sent it to the

14:33Supreme Court. when you support or

14:36support his

14:38this action, you're leaning and

14:42supporting Donald Trump. Now, I think

14:44you should admit maybe you're not

14:46Democrats anymore. A lot of you have

14:48been voting right-wing Republican and or

14:52maybe Dr. a Democrat, Republican.

14:56To actually find people that are

14:59homeless,

15:01$25 a day when they have nothing is the

15:05worst thing I've seen in a long time. If

15:07you can hold your heads up and say, "I

15:10voted for this." Go ahead. But you're

15:12going to find out at election time that

15:14not a lot of people agree with you.

15:18The last thing I'd like to talk to and

15:20again you should be ashamed of yourself

15:2311D.

15:25Now a lot of you have come up and needed

15:27extra time

15:30to make your point and most of the time

15:33it just gets passed. How the hell can

15:36you turn down Mr. King because you say

15:39he's divisive only because he doesn't

15:41agree with you?

15:43This is

15:46again we have the names of the people

15:48that voted no on that and you'll be

15:51hearing from us because the election

15:53time is coming soon once only a year

15:57away.

15:59Thank you.

16:02[applause]

16:13Abby Moralero was the resident

16:17and 8.19A.

16:21I think it is appalling that you're

16:25going to criminalize being homeless.

16:28You're going to make it a crime to be

16:31homeless. You know what that's called?

16:33That's fascism.

16:36>> Yeah. What side of history are you on?

16:40Are you on the side of the fascists or

16:43are you on the side of humanity?

16:47Okay.

16:509H.

16:52It is important to have services you

16:55know for the homeless you know and reach

16:57out to you know other cities

17:01and you know

17:03have services you know Seattle Portland

17:06Sacramento you know they're all adopting

17:09similar plans and you know

17:13let's have you know help for the

17:16homeless not criminalization

17:19for the homeless

17:21nine 9 M. I love those wubins. Yep.

17:25Definitely love the wubins.

17:28All right. 10 A. Sorry.

17:3310A rent control because let's

17:37not forget h how people end up being

17:40homeless when when you can't pay rent.

17:43And so having rent control is important,

17:48you know, preventative so people don't

17:50become homeless in the first place. So

17:53yeah, rent control. And

17:57[applause]

17:59yeah,

18:01next year there's going to be an

18:02election and guess who was going to be

18:05running?

18:06And I might actually win too. Yeah.

18:18Nikolai Adams, Worcester.

18:22Instead of punishing the most vulnerable

18:24part of our population and with the

18:26downstream offense, punishing the entire

18:28city and its residents, I ask instead

18:31that you all put your time and effort

18:33into bolstering the systems that keep

18:34people out of this and help them when

18:38they are in it. Thank you for your time.

18:40Thank you.

18:44[applause]

18:46>> 8/19A. My name is Isa. I live in

18:49District 5 and I'm a commercial property

18:50and business owner in District 2, right

18:52next to St. John's. I have a front row

18:54seat every day to the issues that are

18:55concerning most Worcester residents.

18:57Rampant drug use and its consequences.

19:00Lack of housing and our drug problem are

19:02two separate issues, and you need to

19:03start treating them as such. This

19:05proposal is targeting vulnerable people

19:06and systemic problems that you

19:08acknowledge cannot be fixed at a city

19:10level. Why are you choosing to

19:12criminalize poverty, which is both

19:13idiotic and unnecessarily cruel, rather

19:15than implement real solutions that could

19:17make all of our lives better? The trash,

19:20human waste, needles, and crime

19:21associated with our drug problem, could

19:23be addressed if the city chose to. The

19:25solution to trash on the street is not

19:27new. The first city organized sanitation

19:29initiatives were implemented by the

19:30Romans in 200 AD. Before cities provided

19:33sanitation services, everyone from the

19:35richest to the poorest of citizens just

19:36threw their trash in the street. Put

19:38some of our budget into better

19:40sanitation programs take into account

19:42our current situation. The trash created

19:45by the housed and unhoused who are

19:47unable to afford yellow bags and dirty

19:49needles are very real problems in our

19:51street. So, choose to spend the money to

19:54pick them up.

19:56Everybody poops. If you don't believe

19:58me, there's a book about it. The

20:00solution to people pooping in the street

20:02already exists. Put some of our city

20:05budget into contracts with portaotty

20:07companies so people don't poop in the

20:08streets. You admit you have no new

20:10solutions for our nationwide drug

20:12problem or homelessness crisis, but you

20:14sure as could make it so we have

20:16less literal in our streets.

20:18>> We have a shortage of police officers in

20:20this city, which is about to get worse

20:21because of upcoming retirement

20:23eligibility. This proposal only puts

20:25more of a burden on the police

20:26department. Spend the money on the

20:28Department of Public Works and let the

20:29police focus on actual crimes, not just

20:31harassing poor people for being poor.

20:34Lastly, for those of you who say, "These

20:36people aren't from here. They came here

20:38because they can get services here." I'm

20:40not from here. I moved to Worcester

20:42because this city offered me benefits

20:43that Boston didn't, such as the ability

20:45to purchase a home. You may not like it,

20:47but these people live here now, just

20:49like I live here now. And it is the

20:50city's responsibility to spend its

20:52budget improving the lives and living of

20:54all of its residents. It's why I pay the

20:56highest commercial property.

20:59You should find people for drunk driving

21:01in hitting parked car parks.

21:07[screaming]

21:12>> Uh I'm Keith Lenire's uh one Germaine

21:14Street District 1. Uh let's be honest

21:16about what item 819A really is. It's

21:19municipal theater designed to give the

21:21illusion of action without doing the

21:23hard work of building housing or opening

21:25safe shelter beds. Packaging

21:27criminalization as a framework lets you

21:29pretend enforcement is an act of care.

21:32In reality, finding an unhoused person

21:34$25 a day for pitching a tent or

21:37sleeping in a car doesn't create a

21:39single shelter bed. It doesn't build a

21:41single affordable home. It just sweeps

21:44the human misery that you all perpetuate

21:47out of sight and out of mind. There are

21:493,000 unhoused people in Worcester in

21:52less than 200 beds. The city manager's

21:54own memo admits Worcester faces a

21:57devastating shortage of shelters,

21:59supportive housing, and single room

22:01occupancies while vaguely promising to

22:04seek funding. Yet, we have money to

22:06subsidize a baseball stadium. We have

22:09money to give tax breaks to developers.

22:11We have money to fund excessive police

22:13overtime and high-tech surveillance

22:15gear. We have the money to settle

22:17millions of dollars in police misconduct

22:20lawsuits. To Gary Rosen, [applause]

22:24>> to Gary Rosen and Mo Bergman, you two

22:26need to stop this lie that all these

22:29people are busting from out of town.

22:32You're perpetuating disinformation and

22:34lies.

22:35Most of the people that are on the

22:37streets are Worcester residents who

22:39can't afford to live here anymore

22:41because this body continually rolls over

22:44for luxury housing that working families

22:47can't afford.

22:49>> While I'm here, uh I want to voice

22:51support for my friend Keith Booer here

22:52who's here for item 7A because there's

22:54something rotten with our zoning around

22:56here, too. And Keith's been doing a hell

22:58of a job keeping up with some uh split

23:00zoning that's going on right next door

23:02to him. And while I'm here, I also want

23:03to make sure that you know that this

23:05bubbler is broken out here and you need

23:06to fix it because you got 100 people in

23:08this room who can't get a drink of

23:09goddamn water.

23:10>> Thank you. Appreciate it.

23:21>> Good evening, council. My name is

23:22Jillian Joseph. I'm here to express

23:24concerns about agenda item 8.19A.

23:27I'm a Worester resident in district 5

23:30and I work as a physician associate and

23:31the director for the road to care mobile

23:33clinic where our team provides medical

23:36and behavioral health care directly to

23:38people experiencing homelessness here in

23:39the city. Many of them living in the

23:41encampments this ordinance targets. I'm

23:44not speaking about this population in

23:46the abstract. I'm speaking about the

23:48people we see every week, the people I

23:50know and that continue to come back for

23:52our services. There are three major

23:54issues with the ordinance as written. I

23:56want to start with the city's own

23:58numbers because they undercut the

23:59ordinance's central premise. The

24:01proposal assumes that when outreach

24:03offers shelter, shelter exists to offer.

24:06But the city's own framework document

24:08says that Worcester has 197 permanent

24:10shelter beds for a 226 count of over

24:141,000 unhoused people, 211 of them being

24:17chronically homeless. That same document

24:20says that even with the winter overflow

24:21shelters, another 136 beds, when they

24:25ran at full capacity, there was still

24:26insufficient shelter for our population.

24:29So when this ordinance requires open

24:31quote, reasonable efforts to offer

24:33shelter and quote before a 72-hour clock

24:35starts, in practice, there's very often

24:38nowhere to send someone. Reasonable

24:40efforts to offer is not the same as an

24:42available bed. Second, this isn't a

24:45onetime $25 fine under section F. It's a

24:48$25 per day fine. That violation

24:51continues for someone with no income.

24:54That is not a deterrent. It is an

24:56unpayable debt. And despite the

24:58manager's letter clearly stating that

25:00being unhoused is not a crime and will

25:02not be treated as such, section E3

25:05explicitly leaves criminal process on

25:07the table as an enforcement option. I'm

25:09running out of time. So, I will say that

25:12I'm not asking you to ignore the real

25:14problems in the ordinance. The

25:16sanitation issues, fire risks, etc. are

25:18serious and need to be addressed. But

25:20please do not pass this ordinance. Pause

25:23adoption until shelter capacity is

25:25actually sufficient to make the offer of

25:27shelter real. Thank you. [applause]

25:35>> [applause]

25:39>> Good evening. Britney Chapman. I'm also

25:41a member of the Road to Care Mobile

25:42Addiction Service. The city manager and

25:45commissioner have emphasized the

25:47importance of collaboration and synergy

25:50and noted that the proposal is rooted in

25:52quote compassion, equity, and

25:54traumainformed principles. I too would

25:57like to see this framework uphold these

25:59standards. It is precisely why it does

26:02not make sense to implement fines or an

26:04ordinance before first addressing the

26:07significant access and capacity

26:09challenges that currently exist. As part

26:12of road to care, a program that

26:13interfaces with this population on a

26:15daily basis, I would like to think of

26:17our team as a key stakeholder in this

26:19process and an important partner for

26:21collaboration.

26:23We have firsthand experience with the

26:24barriers this population encounters and

26:26could help inform an approach that is

26:28both practical and consistent with the

26:31stated goals of the proposal.

26:33Ultimately, passing the ordin ordinance

26:36as written tonight does not seem aligned

26:39with the city manager's uh clear

26:41statement that quote being unhoused is

26:44not a crime and not will not be treated

26:46as such. If the goal is truly to

26:48approach this issue through a framework

26:50of compassion, equity, traumainformed

26:53care, collaboration, and synergy, then

26:55addressing access and capacity should

26:58come before imposing p uh fines or

27:01penalties. Thank you.

27:02>> Thank you. [applause]

27:09>> Did your name res?

27:11>> Uh hello, my name is X Todd. I live

27:13right here in downtown Worcester. Uh, I

27:15would like to comment on item 8/19A, the

27:18antihomeless camping ordinance,

27:19misguidedly framed as support and how

27:22inhumane such an ordinance is. All these

27:24ordinances do is kill and imprison our

27:26most vulnerable population all for the

27:28crime of existing. Ask yourselves first

27:30if you've done everything in your power

27:32to make sure these people have places to

27:34go. And I don't just mean shelters for

27:36them to sleep and food kitchens for them

27:37to eat, though Worcester certainly

27:39doesn't have enough of either. What

27:40paths are there in Worcester for someone

27:42on the street to try and get work, get

27:44medical treatment, or even medication?

27:46Have you addressed the housing

27:47affordability crisis? Have you addressed

27:49the rampant slumlord problem in this

27:50city? The city has the money and

27:52resources to make life even just a

27:54little bit easier for people on the

27:55streets or to keep people off the

27:57streets. But instead, our rapacious

27:59police department continues to receive

28:01bumps in funding while the city refuses

28:03to even consider things like like

28:04building shelters in old abandoned

28:06buildings like the old RMV because a

28:09developer might want to build there and

28:10make more money. And we know those

28:12developers will be granted leniency to

28:14break violate labor contracts and their

28:17contracts with the city. Still, a

28:18council motivated by profit would find

28:20bringing in developers and shipping

28:22unhoused people to for-profit prisons

28:23more appealing. But please remember, our

28:25city is not a business. It's where we

28:27live and everyone who lives here should

28:29be taken care of. That is how our city

28:31council should be making decisions, not

28:32based on what choices can rake in the

28:34most money. Thank you.

28:35>> Thank you.

28:40[applause]

28:43>> My name is Alicia. I've lived in

28:45Worcester for the past seven years. I'm

28:47here like many people today standing in

28:49support of our houses community and

28:50against the 8.19A policy that proposes

28:53fines for setting up tents in public

28:55areas. I want to urge the city council

28:57to not just ask themselves what's the

28:59best way to clean up the city to make it

29:01look presentable to visitors and

29:02developers, but instead ask how they

29:04could make it an affordable quality

29:06place to live for people to live for

29:07years to come. No one wants to be on the

29:10streets. No one wants to freeze to

29:12death. No one wants to be stuck in a

29:13cycle that keeps them impoverished and

29:15immobilized for months or years of their

29:17lives. Most of us working-class people

29:19here are a few paychecks away from

29:20homelessness. We are all much closer to

29:23needing to pitch a tent on the sidewalk

29:24for a night than we are to buying a

29:26million-dollar vacation home. In

29:28Worcester, there's currently a shortage

29:29of over 8,500 rental units that should

29:31be affordable to low-income households.

29:34The rental vacancy rate in Worcester is

29:35hovering just over 2% compared to the

29:38estimated 5 to 8% that's needed to

29:39provide sufficient housing options to

29:41all tenants and now costs upwards to

29:44$1,000 to rent a room with paid

29:45utilities in a shared apartment. So,

29:47please tell me, what physical space does

29:49the city of Worcester have to provide

29:51the homeless as an alternative to living

29:52in tents or on the sidewalks?

29:54Homelessness is not a personal failure,

29:56but a policy failure. And we've seen

29:58policies like this fail in many other

30:00cities. A 2024 study published by Policy

30:03Studies Journal revealed that cities who

30:05produced who introduced ordinances to

30:07criminalize behaviors associated with

30:09homelessness saw an immediate decrease

30:11in setting up tents the day after, but

30:13they immediately saw the jumps back to

30:15the same or higher rates just days

30:16later. Contrary to popular belief, just

30:19because we can't see signs of

30:20homelessness doesn't mean it's no longer

30:22there. It's right there in your backyard

30:24until you do something about it. The

30:26city should instead invest in policies

30:28that would introduce more affordable

30:29housing in Worcester and limit how much

30:31rents can increase. I'm here today

30:33because I believe regardless of the

30:34circumstances of a person's life,

30:36housing is a human right. I don't want

30:38homeless people to disappear into

30:39incarceration or worse. I want to see

30:41people get back on their feet. This

30:43policy will make it extremely hard for

30:44homeless folks on a daily basis.

30:46>> Thank you.

30:49[applause]

30:54>> Good evening. My name is Angelina Koko.

30:57I am a nurse practitioner um that works

31:00with people experiencing homelessness um

31:03both in clinic based and outreach. And I

31:05am also a u proud Worcester resident.

31:08I'm deeply concerned about item 819A. I

31:13understand that encampments are not

31:14safe, stable, or dignified places to

31:17live. But the people that I care for are

31:20not sleeping outside because they have

31:22were offered safe, appropriate

31:24alternatives and chose not to accept

31:26them. Often these alternatives are

31:28unavailable, full or inaccessible. So I

31:31ask you, where are we asking people to

31:33go? Telling someone to move does not

31:36resolve their homelessness. It moves

31:38them further and farther from safety,

31:41stability, and support.

31:43Telling someone to move. Oh, sorry. I

31:46already read that part. Sorry about

31:48that. All right. Um, I have seen the

31:51consequences of that displacement.

31:53People can lose their belongings,

31:55medications, identification,

31:57relationships with outreach workers, and

32:00the fragile stability that they have

32:01worked so hard to build. Someone who has

32:04begun begun engaging in health care or

32:07recovery may become completely

32:09disconnected from care altogether.

32:11And for someone who may not have $25 to

32:14spare, this fi is not a fine. It's not a

32:17deterrent. It's an additional burden for

32:19someone who has nowhere else to go. I

32:21recognize that encampments raise real

32:23concerns about safety, sanitation,

32:26accessibility, and the impact on

32:27surrounding neighborhoods. These

32:29concerns deserve thoughtful attention,

32:31but we cannot address them simply by

32:33moving people out of sight. If we want

32:36people to leave encampments, we must

32:38first ensure them safe, appropriate

32:41alternatives are available. The people

32:44that I care for deserve more than 72

32:46hours to move from one unsafe place to

32:49another. We meet people where they are

32:52and help them take on the next step

32:55towards stability. I hope that our city

32:57will do the same. We can't enforce our

32:59way out of homelessness. We have to

33:01build our way out. Thank you.

33:05[applause]

33:12>> Hello, my name is Maria. I live in

33:15district 5. I've lived in Worcester for

33:17seven years now. I'm speaking against

33:20ordinance 819A,

33:23the public camping ban ordinance.

33:25Criminalizing homelessness is not and

33:28will never be the way to help people.

33:30According to the city of Worcester

33:32website,

33:34221 permanent beds are available in

33:36shelters across the city. But as of a

33:39study in 2025, there are over 1,000

33:43homeless individuals in the city with

33:45the numbers increasing every year. Not

33:47to mention the current cost of living

33:49and housing crisis, which will only

33:52serve to further increase those numbers.

33:55What happens to all the homeless people

33:56who can't get into shelters? They're

33:58punished because we don't have the

34:00resources. And even if a person does get

34:03a spot in a shelter, they are

34:05overcrowded and dangerous. Women and

34:07gender minorities are frequently

34:09sexually assaulted in shelters. And this

34:11city council, based on the

34:12recommendation of the city manager, who

34:14is also pushing this ordinance, voted

34:17against a civilian review board, which

34:19was called for due to the DOJ's finding

34:21that Worcester police coers victims into

34:24sex under threat of arrest and violence.

34:28Naturally,

34:32Naturally, this ordinance would give

34:34police the go-ahad to harass homeless

34:36people and further assault them. Now

34:39homeless people will have a homeless

34:40woman will have to choose between being

34:42raped in shelters and being raped by

34:44WPD.

34:47We also we also don't have nearly enough

34:50resources to get people into homes or

34:52treatment services. Advocates have been

34:55begging the city council and city

34:57government to provide more resources for

34:59homeless supportive services. You keep

35:01denying them. So these homeless people

35:03don't have anywhere to go. And even if a

35:06homeless person gets into a treatment

35:08source service, they're just returned

35:10back on the street after it's over.

35:12According to the Journal of Psychiatric

35:14SE services Services, about 70% of

35:16homeless adults in treatment go back to

35:18the street.

35:24[applause]

35:27>> Hi, I'm Brady from Worcester District 5.

35:30I'm speaking against ordinance 819A.

35:34Firstly, great statements from all

35:36before me told to an audience

35:38historically without the empathy or

35:40intelligence to listen and really

35:42understand. I know that both of these

35:45are traditionally taught in kindergarten

35:47which had to be 80 years ago for the

35:48LIA. But I do not hold forgiveness like

35:52your teachers must have to let you get

35:53this far without it. I am a quality

35:56engineer. My work and my understanding

35:59of good systems is two things. All

36:02systems live and die by their

36:04inspection, and the purpose of a system

36:06is what it does. Based on those

36:09principles, the WPD is a failing

36:11operation that serves the purpose of

36:13violence and rape. By criminalizing

36:16homeless people, you are giving WPD the

36:18thumbs up to harass and molest people on

36:21the street even more than they already

36:23do.

36:26The ordinance is part of a pattern

36:29that this administration

36:32This ordinance is part of a pattern of

36:34this administration to try and cause as

36:35much harm to the people of Worcester.

36:38Real people. This is probably also

36:41something you missed when you were

36:42dozing off in kindergarten. But homeless

36:45people are real people. That's your job,

36:48which I'm sure you've forgotten out of

36:50the sight of all your cartoon money

36:52bags, which is to care about the real

36:54people of Worcester. [gasps] Oh, please.

37:08>> Um,

37:11>> ah, thank you.

37:14>> Damn. Uh, hello. My name is Thea. I'm

37:16from district 5 of Worcester. Um, and I

37:19have a little quibble with the wording

37:21of um, 8.19A.

37:24Um, if I'm not incorrect, um, the

37:28wording is specifically, and I quote,

37:31that um, homeless people or someone in

37:34an encampment would have up to 72 hours

37:40um, before they must be removed. that is

37:43like they would be asked up to 72 hours

37:46before they must leave to leave. Um,

37:51with this wording to this letter of the

37:53law, they you could ask a homeless

37:55person if you were a police officer,

37:57hello, you have one minute to leave.

37:59Pack up your entire tent and all of your

38:01food and your dog and get out of here.

38:03Um,

38:05now again, I could be incorrect. Um or

38:09you may have meant at least 72 hours,

38:13but as it stands,

38:15this is not enforcable.

38:19Thanks.

38:20>> Thank you.

38:23[applause]

38:29>> Do I have to do anything with this?

38:32>> Your name is your residence.

38:33>> Hi, my name is Gabriella. I'm a Worester

38:36resident here to speak out in opposition

38:37of item 8/19A.

38:39This so-called camping ban is really a

38:41ban on unhoused people surviving in

38:43public and it is cruel and inhumane.

38:45[snorts] Disappearing unhoused people

38:47from public view does not solve

38:49homelessness. Affordable housing and

38:51rent control are what solve

38:53homelessness. According to the research

38:55bureau in Worcester, fair market rent

38:57for a two-bedroom apartment is $2,387.

39:01To afford [snorts] this without being

39:03costbururdened, a household needs to

39:05earn $95,000.

39:07The median household income in Worcester

39:09is $67,000.

39:11So many people in the city are

39:13struggling and at risk of becoming

39:14unhoused. And for those who are already

39:17unhoused, they also need affordable,

39:19stable, permanent housing.

39:22The 2026 point in time count identified

39:25over 1,000 [snorts] unhoused people in

39:27Worcester County, although I suspect

39:28that number is higher.

39:31Um,

39:33there are only 197 beds in the homeless

39:35shelters in Worcester. When people are

39:37banned from sleeping in their cars or in

39:39tents, where do they go? Although I do

39:41think it would be beneficial for the

39:42city to work on increasing homeless

39:44shelter capacity, homeless shelters also

39:46do not solve the problem of

39:47homelessness. Once again, the solution

39:49to homelessness is affordable housing.

39:52Our unhoused neighbors are human beings

39:54deserving of respect, dignity, autonomy,

39:57and choice. There are many reasons why

39:59people may not be able to or want to

40:01stay in shelters, including but not

40:04excuse me, [snorts] including but not

40:06limited to if you have a pet, you can't

40:08take your pet in the shelter with you.

40:10Now you're forcing somebody to abandon

40:13their beloved pet. Um, also as as

40:17mentioned, uh, feeling unsafe in

40:19shelters, being at risk of harassment

40:21and assault, uh, encampment sweeps

40:24create trauma, worsen people's mental

40:26health, destroy people's belongings, and

40:28create anger, fear, and distrust in the

40:30government. And sweeps are costly.

40:32Cities spend millions of dollars on

40:33encampment suites when you could just

40:35spend that money on affordable housing.

40:36>> Thank you.

40:39[applause]

40:45Hi, my name is Dylan Young. I'm live up

40:47on Grafton Hill. Um, here to speak about

40:51Proposition 819A. Um, and I just wanted

40:55to say that, well, I have a few things

40:58to say, but frankly, most people have

41:00said many of it already. But um

41:03specifically I want to talk about foster

41:05kids and how um in Massachusetts around

41:0836% of homeless people report history of

41:12foster care. Um and

41:17yeah around 34% of in a study in

41:21Massachusetts 21 year olds

41:24um who were in foster care were homeless

41:27almost immediately since aging out. Um,

41:30and we're pretty much failing citizens

41:33of Massachusetts from the cradle to the

41:35grave.

41:37Um, I was this past February working or

41:41volunteering at the uh temporary shelter

41:43that was opened up by the Catholic

41:44Church after the RMV

41:48temporary shelter was not

41:51um continued this past winter. And I I

41:54have to say that this winter

41:58people out there, it'll be cold. They

42:00will die. And it's the best you can come

42:02up with just finding them about it.

42:05>> So that's it.

42:06>> Thank you.

42:08[applause]

42:14>> Hi.

42:15Hello. My name is Julia. I'm a me a

42:19citizen of Worcester in District 5. I'm

42:21here to speak towards item 8/19A and

42:26just what an atrocity it would be for

42:28this city to try and pass an ordinance

42:30like that in a city that already does so

42:33much to disenfranchise homeless

42:35individuals. It would be even worse to

42:38then find them for trying to exist, for

42:41trying to live, for trying to find a way

42:43through what they are currently

42:45struggling with instead of providing

42:47them care for these types of issues, for

42:49mental health issues, for physical

42:50health issues that all contribute to

42:52them being homeless. These are things

42:55that I've seen people struggle with when

42:57they are trying to seek housing. They're

42:59trying to do everything by the book.

43:00They're trying to do the right thing

43:02that's being asked of them, and they are

43:04still being punished. I have witnessed

43:06people who have struggled with

43:07homelessness be attacked verbally by WPD

43:11for these struggles, for struggling with

43:13mental health, for not being able to

43:14regulate themselves in that moment,

43:16which is understandable because they're

43:19not dealing with a regulated central

43:21nervous system. And then you are

43:22retraumatizing them by going in and

43:24doing these encampment suites. You are

43:27punishing people for struggling who were

43:29already struggling. Yeah.

43:32>> And instead, I've seen this city time

43:35and time again try to reward the already

43:38rich trying to come into the city, buy

43:40different lots by giving them tax breaks

43:43and things like that that do not serve

43:45the actual people of Worcester. This

43:47serves some rich guy somewhere else. Who

43:50cares? Who cares about him? Frankly,

43:53this is not bringing in money to the

43:55citizens of Worcester. This is padding

43:57other I don't I've seen the money pushed

44:00over to other organizations and agencies

44:03that do not end up actually helping the

44:06Worcester citizens

44:09and it is a travesty to then want to on

44:12top of everything else that people are

44:13struggling with find them for trying to

44:15exist without giving them sufficient

44:18supports otherwise long-term supports.

44:21Thank you.

44:24Before

44:28we have our next speaker with this

44:29motion suspend the rules to allow people

44:31to speak

44:33for an hour.

44:35Roll call.

44:37>> Mr. Chairman,

44:39um I just like to amend that um that we

44:42have a motion to suspend the rules until

44:44the public participation is completed.

44:46>> Well, we can do that at the end of the

44:47hour. I'll vote yes or against. But

44:49>> that's my amendment.

44:50>> Okay, we'll do mine first and see who

44:52passes. Go.

44:55>> Councelor Bergman.

44:56>> Yes.

44:57>> Councelor Bada.

44:58>> Yes.

44:59>> Council Cono.

45:00>> Yes.

45:00>> Councelor Brazo.

45:01>> Yes.

45:02>> Council King.

45:03>> Yes.

45:03>> Council Mitra.

45:05>> Yes.

45:05>> Councilor Hayda.

45:06>> Yes.

45:06>> Councelor Rivera.

45:07>> Yes.

45:08>> Councilor Rosen.

45:09>> Yes.

45:09>> Councilor Tumi.

45:10>> Yes.

45:11>> And Mayor Peg.

45:12>> Yes.

45:14Mr.

45:14>> Chairman, I made a motion.

45:17>> This fails because we just passed this.

45:19>> I one doesn't preempt the other.

45:22Okay. Yeah. Is that true?

45:28>> You have a section.

45:29>> Chair, my motion was that we suspend the

45:30rules until the public participation is

45:32complete.

45:33>> Okay. Roll call.

45:39>> Should probably be less than an hour. I

45:40would guess.

45:41>> Councelor Bergman.

45:42>> No.

45:43>> Council.

45:44>> Yes.

45:45>> Councelor Economo.

45:45>> No.

45:46>> Councelor Vzolo.

45:48>> Yes.

45:49>> Councilor King.

45:50>> Yes. Council Mitra.

45:52>> Council Aa.

45:53>> Yes.

45:53>> Councilor Rivera.

45:54>> No.

45:55>> Councelor Rosen.

45:56>> Yes.

45:56>> Councilor Tumi.

45:58>> No.

45:59>> And Mayor Petty.

46:00>> Yes.

46:02>> So, Mr. Mayor, that also passes 65.

46:05>> Okay. Go ahead.

46:10>> Hi, my name is Minnie from district 1

46:12and I'm talking about agenda 89A.

46:18Um, I know that the unsheltered public

46:21population crisis is scary

46:22[clears throat] to face on, but there

46:23are there are programs and models out

46:26there that can guide can that can be our

46:28guideline to start helping people

46:29properly.

46:32Unshelter programs with impactful

46:34success rate number one, the way home

46:37from Texas, Houston, Texas. They started

46:40in 2012. They align local agency with

46:43federal funding into a single

46:45coordinated entry system.

46:47Unshelter reduction rate since 2012 is

46:5163% [clears throat] decline in decline.

46:55Metro Denver homeless initiative

46:57initiatives started in 1996 and they you

47:01utilize real time by name data to match

47:04individual with spec specific housing

47:06and health resources reduction rate 25

47:11to 26 8%.

47:14street to home encampment response and

47:16the right care program from Dallas,

47:18Texas. They started in 2008 and these

47:21program shifts away from criminalization

47:24towards multidisciplinary response team.

47:27Most multi-is disciplinary response team

47:31combines housing locators, behavioral

47:34health specialists, peer outreach and

47:36city services.

47:39Um they offer immediate identification,

47:42recovery, medical and behavioral health

47:44care and dis and direct pathway to

47:47permanent supportive housing rather than

47:49simple displacement.

47:54Uh and as a result of their program 60%

47:57decrease there there's a 60% decrease in

47:59arrest. Only two to four% of calls end

48:02up arrest end up in arrest or jail. 96%

48:06of issues are usually resolved without

48:08in incarceration.

48:1020 to 23% reduction in emergency room

48:14visits.

48:16>> Um there's a few other programs like

48:17that, but we do have a guideline to look

48:20after if you really cared.

48:22>> Thank you.

48:24[applause]

48:31>> Hello, my name is Philip Donald Gerard

48:33II. I'm a District 5 Worcester resident.

48:35I'd like to express my disapproval for

48:36item 8.19A,

48:38which is overt class warfare on one of

48:40Worcester's most vulnerable populations.

48:44Banning, fining, antagonizing,

48:45criminalizing, disappearing people who

48:47are so obviously in need of our help

48:49will not solve homelessness. It will

48:52worsen its effects on those individuals

48:53and our community as a whole. Deciding

48:56to criminalize a person's very existence

48:58leaves them with nothing to lose, which

49:00endangers themselves and everyone else

49:02around them. This is such a shameful

49:04idea to even suggest, let alone be in

49:06favor of. It's indicative of how out of

49:09touch and unfit some of Worcester's

49:11elected leadership is to lead this city.

49:13How unconcerned with meeting the

49:15material needs of human beings on an

49:17individual basis some of y'all are. It

49:19is evident that our current methods for

49:21housing unhoused people are ineffective.

49:23We need leadership who respects and

49:25values humanity unconditionally.

49:28There is no other way to effectively

49:30lead a population.

49:32Where has our empathy gone? Can we not

49:34imagine how we might behave if we were

49:35in an unhoused person's shoes? Can we

49:37not imagine the trauma these folks have

49:39already endured to be where they're at?

49:41Are you too uncomfortable at the very

49:43sight of an unhoused person asking for

49:45your help at a red light to acknowledge

49:47your own humanity that wants to act with

49:49empathy? You should be uncomfortable.

49:52That's what drives effective action. You

49:54should want unhoused people housed with

49:56your tax dollars, not criminalized. You

49:58want effective anti-homeless

50:00legislation, start at housing is a human

50:02right and actually house people first.

50:05You'll be amazed at how quickly many of

50:08our social problems begin to disappear.

50:10But the root of this problem is much

50:12deeper, isn't it? We have a system that

50:13prioritizes monetary profit over human

50:16need. A capitalist doesn't see value in

50:19guaranteeing housing to people because

50:20there is no immediate profit for them.

50:22Guaranteeing food, electricity,

50:24education, healthcare, no immediate

50:26monetary profit exclusively to

50:28capitalists. They are socially

50:30profitable and valuable to everyone. But

50:33that is not good enough for the

50:34capitalists enjoying the current status

50:36quo. Capitalism won't allow us to do

50:38right by our community. Even though it's

50:40been proven that society's more

50:43productive, less costly, and happier

50:45when everyone is guaranteed access to

50:47these things.

50:48>> And next speaker, please.

50:52>> Good evening. My name is Nali Medina.

50:55I'm from district 5 and I want to speak

50:57on um A19A,

51:01I think it is, and JL, a petition. So I

51:05urge the city council to act quickly to

51:07paint the crosswalk at Level Street and

51:09Lakeside A. Previous requests from

51:12children advocating for safe passage to

51:14and from school have been ignored and

51:16unrecognized and this council is

51:18demonstrating to the youngest among us,

51:20the next generation of leaders that they

51:22do not matter. My son and I have

51:24discussed the crosswalk with dozens of

51:25children and the lack of safety bothers

51:27them. They may not have the language

51:30yet, but they understand that oversight

51:32is at play. Imagine with so much going

51:34on in the young people's lives, the

51:36folks in charge of the city could not

51:38care less about their experiences

51:40crossing the street every day on their

51:41way to and from school, which is

51:43mandatory. Give our children anything at

51:45all. But a win-win for everyone is to

51:48repaint the crosswalk on Levelvel Street

51:49in Lakeside A, where children from five

51:52different schools take buses across the

51:54street and cross the street from 7 a.m.

51:56to 9:00 a.m. Monday through Friday. This

51:58shows someone is listening to their

52:00concerns, sees them, cares about their

52:02safety, and for some of them it will

52:04have a positive impact. For all of them,

52:06it will mean safety. And so the next

52:08item, homeless and homeless. Um,

52:12so Wister has adopted the Heritage

52:14Program's 2025 manifesto's homelessness

52:18policy to the letter, which emphasizes

52:20individual responsibility and proposes

52:23scaling back housing solution solutions,

52:26suggesting that federal programs may

52:27discourage work and economic mobility.

52:30This approach encourages limiting access

52:32to affordable housing and reduces

52:34protections for vulnerable populations,

52:36including the unsheltered individuals

52:38who are targeted. Worister has

52:40prioritized market rate housing over

52:42affordable housing and the wealthy city

52:44leadership shamelessly proposes making

52:47seeking shelter outside in tumultuous

52:50weather a crime. Shame on you. I urge

52:53the city council to listen to the people

52:54who work with closely with the unhoused

52:56populations for solutions. They have

52:58ideas and solutions. Those who are not

53:00descendants of the pilgrims sitting

53:02before us indignantly make decisions to

53:04preserve your positions. Remember these

53:06words. Then they came for the

53:08unsheltered and then

53:09>> I appreciate it.

53:10>> Thank you. [cheering]

53:13[applause]

53:21>> James Powell, District 1. Uh I'd like to

53:24speak on uh item 819A also. And I'd like

53:28to ask that before we consider finding

53:32people who may not have the money to pay

53:35the fine, uh we consider uh other ways

53:40to address homelessness. And I'd like to

53:44suggest that uh we look at the cost of

53:48multi-family

53:50unit rentals

53:52uh and um that we look at imposing

53:56strict caps on those uh maybe looking at

54:001% of the assessed value of the property

54:04per year divided among the number of

54:06units in that property. Um, and if we

54:10could also further limit the costs to uh

54:14get someone into for someone to enter

54:17into a rental agreement in those units,

54:19that would also help people who are

54:21currently unhoused uh seek housing on

54:24their own. Many people who are unhoused

54:26of course have uh have employment but

54:29may not be sufficiently employed uh to

54:33um

54:36uh to uh afford housing under the the

54:39current conditions.

54:43>> Thank you.

54:44>> Thank you

54:48[applause]

54:50Adam Worcester. Just minutes ago, we

54:54recited the pledge of allegiance. You

54:55might remember the last line with

54:57liberty and justice for all. Item 8/19A

55:00is making it clear that Worcester does

55:02not have justice for all. This proposal

55:04builds a two-tier justice system. If

55:07you're unfortunate enough to have

55:08nowhere to sleep indoors, you get fined

55:10$25. A fine you probably can't pay, so

55:13it grows. You miss a court date and now

55:15can be jailed just for being homeless.

55:18Compare that to someone who goes out on

55:20a Tuesday night, has a c has a few

55:22celebratory drinks with friends, drives

55:24home, and crashes into a parked car.

55:27What happens? The police tell her to

55:29find her own ride home. No field

55:32sobriety test, no potential deleg.

55:36>> That's not on the agenda tonight. Stick

55:37with the homeless issue.

55:39>> This city needs accountability. You are

55:42showing everybody how corrupt you are.

55:43You couldn't even go one week. Kate, I

55:46hope you can hear me on Zoom. Direct

55:48your comments to me, please.

55:50>> Mayor Penny, I hope you can hear me,

55:51too.

55:52>> Call the chief more like vote her out.

55:58[applause and cheering]

56:07>> Your name to your residents. My name is

56:09D'Angelo Ponte and I'm a homeless

56:11resident of Western Mass and I'm here to

56:13speak on item I believe 89 8198A or 819A

56:20whatever it is. I just want to say three

56:22quick points and I'mma leave. I'm not

56:24going to waste your time. Number one,

56:26this item I believe in my heart and know

56:29my father served as a veteran in Iraq.

56:31He was a combat engineer. And this is

56:33not only a slap in the face to every

56:35citizen in Worcester, but across America

56:37globally

56:38>> because how are we the richest country

56:39in the world? And we're going to make

56:41homelessness a crime. We're not directly

56:44saying that it is, but let's ask

56:46questions here and get some answers. If

56:48nobody has nowhere to go, shelters are

56:50closing. Uh CHL, Family Health Center

56:53programs are closing for the people.

56:54Where are they going to go? Do you know

56:56what I'm saying? And on behalf of the

56:59homeless community here in Worcester,

57:00I'm here to speak for them and I'm

57:02speaking for them now. This is this is

57:04wrong and this is corrupt and we got to

57:06do something better. We need solutions,

57:08not more problems. And I don't think

57:10finding people who can't afford it and

57:11they end up in jail is any solution to

57:14anybody. And for everybody making fun of

57:16the homeless and downing us even more

57:19than we already are, I just want to say

57:21make some room because the cost of

57:23living is going up and everybody's

57:24struggling. And also another point I

57:26want to add. Not everybody homeless is a

57:28drug addict or a criminal. Sometimes

57:30people just get down their luck and life

57:31is a roller coaster. That is all.

57:35[applause]

57:41[applause]

57:48That's a hard one to follow up on.

57:51Uh I'm Finn Bur. Um, I'm a resident of

57:54Boxboro, Massachusetts, but I work here

57:56in Worcester. I am a community organizer

57:58with WAFT, Worcester Anti-forclosure

58:00Team. Our motto is, uh, when you fight,

58:03you win. And I wish that that were more

58:07true because when there isn't support,

58:09when there isn't funding, and when

58:11people give up, and when they're in

58:12further crisis, sometimes they don't

58:14win. And sometimes the system is broken

58:17and, you know, works against them. and

58:20uh the powers that be break rules and

58:23illegally evict people and they end up

58:25out on the street.

58:26>> I'm dealing with more money

58:27>> I'm dealing with more than one more than

58:31two more than three residents of

58:33Worcester who have suffered from illegal

58:36evictions or foreclosures and ended up

58:38out on the street through no real fault

58:40of their own.

58:42And that is a crime.

58:45You passing an ordinance

58:48like in 819A

58:51would make my job much harder because

58:54I'm not just going to ditch people if

58:56they end up out on the street. Oh, you

58:58lost your home. Oh well, I'm just going

59:00to deal with the people in houses. No, I

59:02still show up for them. I still go to

59:04their encampments. I still help them in

59:07whatever ways that I can.

59:09>> And I'm taking I'm in Boxboro. I'm a

59:11resident of Boxboro and I am taking care

59:13of your residents here in Worcester. So

59:15I don't want to hear this crap about oh

59:17about other city other towns and cities

59:19are just sending people to our our city

59:21and and and doing drugs here. No,

59:24there's also people coming from

59:26commuting here and dealing with your

59:28traffic from other towns, other

59:30municipalities

59:32and taking care of your people. My

59:35partner, who currently lives with me in

59:37Boxboro now, originally lived in

59:39Worcester.

59:41When he threw out his back and was

59:44having a hard time keeping his apartment

59:46and his and his landlord was pushing him

59:48out and he couldn't find a place to

59:49live, guess who took him? So, your

59:53>> residents are being subsidized by

59:54neighboring towns as well.

59:56>> Thank you.

59:56>> Thank you.

1:00:04Good evening. My name is Athena Haden.

1:00:06I'm speaking on A18A. I'm a resident of

1:00:09D5. Um I'm a person also with lived

1:00:12experience and I work with the Sunhouse

1:00:14population every day. When the Supreme

1:00:16Court uh when the Supreme Court allowed

1:00:19cities to enforce public camping bans, I

1:00:20felt proud to live in Worcester, a city

1:00:22I believe would never punish people

1:00:24simply because they have nowhere to

1:00:26live. Yet here we are. A 25-day

1:00:29fine makes no sense for someone who can

1:00:32cannot afford housing. If shelters are

1:00:34full, where are people supposed to go?

1:00:36Fines and encampment removals will not

1:00:38end homelessness. They will only move

1:00:40vulnerable people and push them further

1:00:42into poverty. The residents of Worcester

1:00:45are paying attention. We notice the

1:00:47counselors who don't show their faces.

1:00:48We notice those that vote against

1:00:50allowing residents to speak. The people

1:00:52of Worcester deserve to be seen, heard,

1:00:54and represented. Hope homelessness is

1:00:56not a crime and poverty should not be

1:00:59punished. I ask Wister to lead with

1:01:01compassion, accountability and real

1:01:03solutions. Thank you.

1:01:04>> Thank you.

1:01:11[applause]

1:01:12>> Hello. Hello.

1:01:13>> We have a petition. He was the last one

1:01:15in line before. So, can he go?

1:01:18>> What item number are you speaking on?

1:01:19>> Um JL

1:01:20>> JL. Okay.

1:01:21>> Yeah. Okay.

1:01:23Hi, I'm Anola from district 5. I want

1:01:26the city council to order the crosswalk

1:01:31at Low Street and Lakeside A repainted

1:01:34because it's not safe. The lines are

1:01:37hard to see, cars don't stop, and school

1:01:39buses are picking up crossing students

1:01:43without the crosswalk. Cars keep going

1:01:46and our parents have to step into

1:01:49traffic to cross. I've been thinking

1:01:52about this crosswalk, but thinking won't

1:01:56make it safer. So, I'm speaking up

1:01:58today.

1:02:01Please represent the crosswalk.

1:02:05I mean, please repaint the qu the

1:02:07crosswalk. It will make everyone a

1:02:10little safer, especially children like

1:02:12me crossing the street on our way to and

1:02:16from school. Thank you.

1:02:18>> Thank you.

1:02:20>> [applause and cheering]

1:02:22[screaming]

1:02:26>> Hi, my name is Justin Leaport and I was

1:02:28here to speak on uh 8/19A

1:02:32um

1:02:39I apologize. A 72-hour eviction notice

1:02:42and a $25 a day fine for existing on

1:02:46public property doesn't push anyone

1:02:48towards shelter. It pushes people

1:02:50further into the dock, into hiding, into

1:02:52places where outreach workers can't find

1:02:54them, into the type of desperation that

1:02:57ends lives. You talk about this as a

1:02:59homelessness response. Let me tell you

1:03:01what it actually is. It's punishment for

1:03:02being poor. You can't find someone out

1:03:05of homelessness. A $25 fine for a person

1:03:08living in a tent isn't a deterrent. It's

1:03:10a debt that they'll never be able to

1:03:11pay. It's a a missed court date, a bench

1:03:14warrant that forever follows them. That

1:03:16makes housing and employment even more

1:03:18difficult. In a 72-hour notice, three

1:03:21days to disappear where, too, the

1:03:23shelters for these people don't exist. I

1:03:26know this cuz I'm one of the ones in the

1:03:27phone on the phone in parking lots every

1:03:29single day trying to get beds for these

1:03:32individuals. There is no shelter bed

1:03:34waiting at the end of the 72 hours and

1:03:36there never was. Here's what I know from

1:03:38doing this work and from living in it.

1:03:40People don't stay outside because they

1:03:41want to or because they love camping.

1:03:43They stay outside because the shelter

1:03:45system is overwhelmed. Because many

1:03:47people have been have untreated mental

1:03:49illness and addiction issues, things

1:03:51that I know very intimately myself. And

1:03:53because there's literally nowhere else

1:03:54to go. The people most affected by this

1:03:57ordinance deserve more than a 72-hour

1:04:00disappear from sight notice. They

1:04:02deserve somewhere to go. A ban with a

1:04:04fine and a deadline isn't housing. It's

1:04:06a broom. If WH wants to solve this, the

1:04:09money and energy needs to go into

1:04:12expanding housing programs, housing

1:04:14first models, treatment beds, wraparound

1:04:17services that actually work. Punishment

1:04:20isn't policy. It's an abdication. I got

1:04:23into recovery and into the business of

1:04:24helping people because people like me

1:04:27say people out there like that saved me.

1:04:30>> Every person in a tent is somebody's

1:04:32child, somebody's parent, somebody's

1:04:36>> Thank you.

1:04:38Thank you. [screaming]

1:04:44[applause]

1:04:46>> My name is Jamerson. I live in District

1:04:485. I've worked with the chronically

1:04:50unhoused population for almost a decade.

1:04:52I'm here to speak out against ordinance

1:04:548/19A. The vast majority of the unhoused

1:04:57population don't choose to live outside.

1:04:59They're forced to or compelled to do so

1:05:01because society has either priced them

1:05:03out or failed to accord them reasonable

1:05:05accommodations to integrate into society

1:05:07on their own nonharmful terms or needs.

1:05:11They choose to sleep outside sometimes

1:05:13when there is ample room within the

1:05:15shelter. And I'm using a very broad

1:05:17definition of ample due to a myriad of

1:05:19factors. Be they substandard sanitary

1:05:22conditions or dispossession of personal

1:05:24property or legitimate fear for their

1:05:26physical, emotional and or mental

1:05:28well-being or medical concerns or

1:05:30significant trauma or overwhelmingly

1:05:33distressing mental health symptomatology

1:05:35that we are not providing adequate care

1:05:37for. Existing without shelter should

1:05:40never be criminalized. Holding a

1:05:42cintillaa of autonomy over where someone

1:05:44chooses to sleep when they are unhoused

1:05:46should not be met with fines or

1:05:48criminality. The 20th century French

1:05:51poet, artist, actor, and theorist Anton

1:05:54said, "As long as we haven't been able

1:05:56to abolish a single cause of human

1:05:58desperation, we do not have the right to

1:06:00try to suppress the means by which man

1:06:03tries to cleanse himself of

1:06:04desperation." To me, that's the point.

1:06:07We have not as a society provided a safe

1:06:09space for vulnerable populations to

1:06:11exist. Nor have we insisted all of us

1:06:15collectively or forcefully enough for

1:06:17this to be rectified and transformed to

1:06:21subsequently criminalize behaviors

1:06:23unbefitting to civil society is an

1:06:25absolute legal, ethical and humanitarian

1:06:28abomination. Thank you.

1:06:29>> Thank you.

1:06:31[screaming]

1:06:34>> [applause]

1:06:39[applause]

1:06:40>> uh friend Nathan Worcester. The first

1:06:42item I'm going to take up here is 7A,

1:06:45the item about uh the report uh

1:06:48concerning all the zoning and the

1:06:50prerequisites of all the different

1:06:52construction and zoning. Uh are there uh

1:06:55there should be a report that the city

1:06:57should put out and I hope that is

1:06:59something that will fly. Uh the big

1:07:03elephant in the room tonight is 8 time

1:07:058/19a.

1:07:07So, you know, I can mix feelings about

1:07:10this. All I can say is you can find

1:07:12somebody $100 a day, you're never going

1:07:14to be able to collect it cuz they're

1:07:16homeless, you know, for a reason. They

1:07:19probably have no money. So, uh

1:07:23uh there was an issue.

1:07:26uh they were uh talking about having the

1:07:28police go out to arrest people and

1:07:30someone here might have even be you Mr.

1:07:32Mayor or might have been the previous

1:07:34city manager told the people we can't

1:07:36arrest our way out of this problem and

1:07:39you can't. So having said that you have

1:07:43to kind of think out of the box.

1:07:46We got three major colleges that were

1:07:48are within one one and a half miles of

1:07:50this institution.

1:07:53They've got oo boodles and oodles and

1:07:56boodles of money. How about them

1:07:58spending some money and being a good

1:08:00neighbor and they will pony up and build

1:08:04some shelters instead of having somebody

1:08:06sleeping in your doorway here people and

1:08:10and as far as you know people say, "Oh,

1:08:13homeless p is only downtown." I

1:08:16guarantee you anyone who who lives up on

1:08:18Salsbury Street, if they went outside in

1:08:21the middle of the night and they went

1:08:23deep into the woods around their house,

1:08:25I will guarantee you will find some

1:08:27people who are homeless. You may not see

1:08:29them because they try to stay uh under

1:08:32the radar because they don't want people

1:08:33seeing them. I guarantee you they're

1:08:35there. Um I'll mortgage the house on it.

1:08:41[applause]

1:08:45What's your name? Residence item number.

1:08:46>> My name is Principe Virtuez. I own

1:08:48Palace Elite Barber Spa here in Webster

1:08:50Square. Myself and my business have made

1:08:53every media platform in this city,

1:08:55including the Telegram and Gazette

1:08:56twice, for rising up from homelessness.

1:08:58I myself was homeless, not on drugs,

1:09:01just in a bad life predicament from

1:09:03birth. I'm a content creator with over

1:09:0570k followers, and my content is helping

1:09:07the homeless and representing this city.

1:09:09I slept on the streets that I now

1:09:11represent on social media. But with that

1:09:12said, proposing to punish people for

1:09:14being homeless not only makes our city

1:09:16look bad, but it's foolish. Punishing

1:09:18people for being homeless with fines is

1:09:20just going to make it worse. They won't

1:09:21be able to pay the fines, and next

1:09:23you'll be trying to incarcerate them for

1:09:24not paying the fines. I post helping

1:09:26homeless people on social media to

1:09:28spread awareness. I get donations from

1:09:30several community members all the time

1:09:32that support what I do. So, that tells

1:09:34me that there are an abundance of people

1:09:35that want to help. It saddens me that

1:09:37the civilians will come out of their

1:09:39pocket with money that they work hard

1:09:40for. Civilians will offer services from

1:09:43their business that they worked hard to

1:09:44build. Civilians that own restaurants

1:09:46that are struggling in this economy will

1:09:48donate food. Civilians that stand up,

1:09:50Civilians will stand up for this city

1:09:52every day. But the powers that be that

1:09:54we civilians rely on to lead look to

1:09:56punish the same people that us civilians

1:09:58are trying to help. People don't choose

1:10:00to be homeless. They just lost hope. Our

1:10:03leaders are supposed to inspire hope. We

1:10:05got to do better.

1:10:06>> Thank you.

1:10:11>> [applause]

1:10:15>> My name is Fiona Jatan Singh. I'm a

1:10:18resident of District 3. Um I believe a

1:10:21different city in Louisville, Kentucky

1:10:23had tried to pass a similar ordinance as

1:10:24this and it was found unconstitutional.

1:10:27Um also everybody deserves a right to

1:10:30life like like it says in the

1:10:31constitution, life, liberty, and pursuit

1:10:33of happiness. Um, basically this ban is

1:10:35saying that you people don't have a

1:10:36right to live because if you're going to

1:10:39find somebody for for that doesn't it's

1:10:42already unhoused like he's just said

1:10:44they have no money. So why how would

1:10:46they be able to pay the fine? So then

1:10:47you're going to try to lock them up. So

1:10:48then you're going to pay more money to

1:10:49incarcerate them than you would have to

1:10:51just provide housing. You should just

1:10:52try to have more housing for the

1:10:54unhoused community. You should have

1:10:56portaotties. You should have housing.

1:10:57You should have supplies wraparound

1:10:58services. There are many nonprofits/

1:11:01business owners that are willing to

1:11:02support with this. So the the funding is

1:11:04not the issue. If you guys are trying to

1:11:06raise money by finding people that have

1:11:07no money, you're idiots. Thank you.

1:11:10[cheering]

1:11:12[applause]

1:11:16>> How you doing? My name is Kevin Lynch.

1:11:19Uh I'm a citizen of Worcester. I'm also

1:11:22homeless. Uh I suffer with a very dire

1:11:25heart condition. I stand here with only

1:11:2818% of my heart in function. uh sitting

1:11:32in my car which I live uh I I gauged in

1:11:38175 heart rate you know so just fair to

1:11:41say I'm very unhealthy I'm very sick uh

1:11:44I had been living at 20 place in

1:11:46Worcester uh for 14 months with a a

1:11:49family member young adult and a dog and

1:11:51two cats and um the banks took us to

1:11:55court with a media injunction they

1:11:57didn't even go through the eviction

1:11:58process and they tore us out in the snow

1:12:02and um we've been out in the snow since

1:12:05uh my other family member is in a tent

1:12:07in the woods. He suffers with bipolars,

1:12:10beginning sta stages of schizophrenia

1:12:13and he takes multiple seizures. We've

1:12:15been asking for help from everybody.

1:12:18There is no help out there at all. There

1:12:21is just no help. You go to a landlord,

1:12:24they want to run your Corey, they want

1:12:26to run your credit score. You're looking

1:12:28to you're smiling the whole time. I've

1:12:30been watching you and and that's that's

1:12:32a shame because you know God is watching

1:12:35God is watching us all.

1:12:37>> This is a humanity issue and it's just

1:12:40insanity. You know my landlord was at

1:12:44the register of deeds as the owner and

1:12:47the court still to us out of our home.

1:12:49So there is a reason why people are

1:12:51homeless for a multiple across the

1:12:54spectrum reasons and people are you know

1:12:57sick out there and there is no help and

1:13:00you want to make sleeping while homeless

1:13:02a crime. You know you're stuck at the

1:13:05hip with you know the Chamber of

1:13:07Commerce and we built a stadium in this

1:13:11city. We discussed this mayor about

1:13:13having money for the homeless center and

1:13:16everything before the stadium was built.

1:13:19You know, we can do better than this as

1:13:20a people. Let's go, guys. You know,

1:13:22there's Habitat for Humanity. We can

1:13:24teach people, homeless people, skills to

1:13:26build.

1:13:27>> Appreciate,

1:13:28>> you know. Thank you.

1:13:30[cheering]

1:13:33>> Thank you. [applause]

1:13:42Hi, my name is Terry Kelly and I came up

1:13:46with a proposal for you guys back in

1:13:492011. Uh Katrina hit the country and our

1:13:53government had boots on ground with guns

1:13:56at these people telling them go back to

1:13:58the dome. There was no supplies, no

1:14:01food, no nothing and people succumb to

1:14:03the injuries. Now, I asked the city

1:14:06council for a shelter slash community

1:14:10center in every district with a soup

1:14:14kitchen, educational center cuz when the

1:14:16kids are 18, parents are kicking them

1:14:19out the door. A section for drug

1:14:21addiction so they can

1:14:24work on their their addiction.

1:14:27a rental hall just like Union Station.

1:14:31Nice big rental hall to teach a people

1:14:34how to run a business, cater, cook, or

1:14:37whatever with three floors, men,

1:14:40families, and women.

1:14:44Families, women, and men

1:14:47um in every district. In case we have a

1:14:50hurricane or a tornado, you all looked

1:14:53at me like I had three heads.

1:14:56Okay. Now, [clears throat] I don't

1:14:58understand why we can't have a system

1:15:01where we take a homeless person and put

1:15:05them in a apartment and give them

1:15:08wraparound services that would create

1:15:11jobs.

1:15:13Think about it.

1:15:15These things could be all across the

1:15:18whole state of Massachusetts. We are the

1:15:21heart of the Massachusetts.

1:15:25Do something. Stop leaving people

1:15:28homeless to die to free freeze on

1:15:30benches.

1:15:32Two men froze to death at St. John's in

1:15:36their their garage.

1:15:39People forget about that. A volunteer.

1:15:42His car broke down. He froze to death in

1:15:45his car.

1:15:46>> Thank you.

1:15:46>> A volunteer from St. John's.

1:15:49>> Thank you.

1:15:50>> When will this stop?

1:15:53Thank you.

1:15:55>> [applause]

1:16:02>> We'll go online and uh first p speaker.

1:16:06>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The first call on

1:16:07you is David Webb. Try to meet the

1:16:09resident now. Please say your name, city

1:16:11of residence, and the address item you

1:16:13call up.

1:16:15Uh, yes.

1:16:23>> David, can you hear us?

1:16:25>> Uh, one second. Are you able to hear me?

1:16:27>> Yes.

1:16:29>> Testing, can you hear me?

1:16:30>> Yes.

1:16:32>> Okay, cool. Great. Uh, David Webb,

1:16:34regretfully blister. Love the people,

1:16:35hate the city. It's getting worse by the

1:16:37year. Uh, where are they supposed to go?

1:16:39Is a question Batisa and his police

1:16:41couldn't answer years ago, and they

1:16:42still can't. Encampment sweeps are a

1:16:44waste of money and resources, and it's

1:16:46disappointing that you all choose

1:16:48violence every time. Tonight's agenda is

1:16:50another one where you guys have an

1:16:51opportunity to either do good 7Z or bad

1:16:54819A. You have police reform and criming

1:16:58homelessness on the agenda. I think we

1:17:00keep seeing national issues at a local

1:17:01level. And this is another example,

1:17:03another time that I have to ask, what is

1:17:05the point of being so big and great if

1:17:07we can't take care of the vulnerable

1:17:08members of our community? Do you think

1:17:10they have it easy an easier time getting

1:17:13housing when they get out of jail? Do

1:17:14you think jail helps or are you actually

1:17:16not trying to help? I just spent a few

1:17:18months in the Worcester County Office of

1:17:19Corrections and I can assure you it is

1:17:21already quite full of people who could

1:17:22not afford a $40 bill when they were

1:17:24harassed by the Worester Police

1:17:25Department and if they weren't homeless

1:17:27when they got sent there, they are a few

1:17:28months later. So, this is more steps in

1:17:30the wrong direction. This body had the

1:17:32opportunity to create a sanctioned

1:17:34encampment. The community has asked you

1:17:36for public bathrooms. You've had rent

1:17:38control tabled on your agenda for seven

1:17:40years. Seven years.

1:17:41>> Please watch your language.

1:17:42>> This is a I am. It says right

1:17:45here. This is a demonstration of the

1:17:46priorities of this administration.

1:17:48Paying people $25 a day is unreasonable,

1:17:51prohibitive, and ridiculous. Prohibiting

1:17:53picnics and hanging out on the sidewalk

1:17:54opens the city up to 14th amendment

1:17:56concerns, just like it did when it

1:17:58attempted to attack the unhoused

1:17:59community through busking, pan, and

1:18:00panhandling. Hunting the unhoused

1:18:03community isn't a viable solution, in

1:18:05part because it's cruel and

1:18:06dehumanizing. but also because if it did

1:18:08work then the millions that Eric Batisa

1:18:10has wasted on the so-called quality of

1:18:11life task force would have made a

1:18:13difference but it hasn't. Displacing

1:18:15them until they die is not a solution

1:18:17and it's gross this this that this body

1:18:19doesn't see this. You don't have a place

1:18:21for them to go and you know that because

1:18:23you literally just put out a request for

1:18:25nonprofits to open a winter shelter. Uh

1:18:27on the subject of police reform 7Z

1:18:30>> can you wrap up please? Thank you.

1:18:32>> Sure. Um I I uh it's unfortunate for

1:18:35some reason the city manager thinks I

1:18:38don't know why at 350,000 15,000 a year

1:18:41you think he'd be able to afford

1:18:42telegram subscription.

1:18:44>> We got next speaker.

1:18:48>> Thank you mayor. The next speaker is

1:18:49Karen. The res now.

1:18:55>> Can you hear me?

1:18:56>> Yes.

1:18:57>> Uh Karen Valentine Goins resident of

1:18:59Worcester. I'm speaking about three

1:19:01items. The petitions that are the

1:19:04subject of items 7G and 7H pertaining to

1:19:07a federally funded transportation

1:19:08improvement program project at Man

1:19:10Chandler Streets should be filed with no

1:19:12discussion. Regarding 7G, as several

1:19:15counselors have repeatedly told

1:19:16constituents, there will be a public

1:19:18meeting about this project shortly. The

1:19:20premise of SU 7H is nonsensical. The

1:19:23design is for roundabouts, not rotaries,

1:19:26as the opponent stubbornly refused to

1:19:27acknowledge. So the petition is moot.

1:19:30Further transportation project design

1:19:31should not be the subject of up- down

1:19:33voting by the city council. On item

1:19:368/19A, this item should be withdrawn or

1:19:39absent that absolutely go to the

1:19:41standing committee on public health for

1:19:43a public hearing. It is against rules to

1:19:45vote on it as is and a disservice to the

1:19:47public. I'm embarrassed that this cruel

1:19:50ordinance has been put forth and expect

1:19:51you to put an end to it. It will not

1:19:53solve the problem of homelessness in

1:19:55Worcester and will only serve to worsen

1:19:57life for people who have few or no

1:19:58options and criminalizing sitting on the

1:20:01sidewalk. I sometimes do this while

1:20:03waiting for a bus. Yet, as a

1:20:05middle-class white person, I think we

1:20:06all know I will not be penalized. I'll

1:20:08end here as I know others uh still have

1:20:11much to say about this item tonight.

1:20:13>> Thank you.

1:20:15Next speaker.

1:20:17>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The next speaker

1:20:18is uh Eric Stratton, chair with the res

1:20:20now.

1:20:22Good evening. Um, Eric Stratton, city of

1:20:24Worcester. Um, please apologize u my

1:20:26voice. I'm currently recovering from

1:20:28COVID. Um, to begin, I just want to say

1:20:31do better. Um, quite frankly, um, it it

1:20:35is really embarrassing that we are all

1:20:36having to come and speak about this. Um,

1:20:39it is just absolutely shocking to me

1:20:42that something like this ended up on our

1:20:44city agenda. Um, first and foremost, uh,

1:20:46ordinance like this is clearly [snorts]

1:20:49been written by individuals who have

1:20:52absolutely demonstrated that they have

1:20:55no empathy and no understanding of

1:20:58homelessness or what causes

1:21:00homelessness. And where are the experts?

1:21:04You know, you have all of these

1:21:06individuals who work with the homeless

1:21:08daily coming to you and pleading with

1:21:10you not to pass this ordinance. Clearly

1:21:12they were not consulted by this. So why

1:21:17why is it that we have to keep coming

1:21:19and arguing about these types of issues?

1:21:218/19A

1:21:23is really something that is just simply

1:21:26cruel and focused on criminalizing

1:21:28homelessness.

1:21:30It is just shocking to me that we spend

1:21:33all of this time and effort trying to

1:21:35criminalize it and in this case trying

1:21:37to even collect a $25 fine when we could

1:21:40be investing the funds trying to enforce

1:21:43such an ordinance on actually serving

1:21:46this population and the underserved

1:21:48population of Worcester.

1:21:50Why is it that we have yet to see any

1:21:53kind of permanent shelter facility from

1:21:55the city? It continues to come up year

1:21:58after year after year. Even when private

1:22:01winter shelters come up, those are

1:22:03simply being done because none of you

1:22:06want to see this in your district. You

1:22:08all are turning a blind eye to your

1:22:10constituents. And yes, the homeless

1:22:12individuals or individuals suffering

1:22:14from homelessness in your community are

1:22:16still your constituents and you have a

1:22:18responsibility to serve them.

1:22:21To me, this is absolutely cruel

1:22:24>> and I am shocked to see this kind of

1:22:26thing come up.

1:22:27>> Thank you.

1:22:27>> Please do better.

1:22:37[applause]

1:22:38>> Mayor, the next speaker is Dina Teski.

1:22:40I'm going to try and meet the resident

1:22:41now.

1:22:44>> Hi, good evening. My name is Dena

1:22:46Tedeski. I'm a Worcester resident and

1:22:48I'm District 1 resident and I am

1:22:50absolutely embarrassed and ashamed to

1:22:53see 8119A

1:22:55presented on tonight's agenda. It was

1:22:58clearly not thought out in real respect

1:23:00to those individuals that are unhoused

1:23:03or are experiencing homelessness. And

1:23:06just to appreciate how many of those

1:23:08individuals include families, children's

1:23:12children and students of our school

1:23:14district that these are people that are

1:23:18using our part of our community and

1:23:20using our services. And it would be best

1:23:22served to use this money that we're

1:23:24currently using to address things after

1:23:26the fact and in to criminalize being

1:23:29homeless to use these f funds in a

1:23:32forward motion to provide services,

1:23:35build shelters, as someone mentioned,

1:23:37using experts. Clearly, there are a lot

1:23:39of people impassioned about this issue

1:23:41and are available to provide lots of

1:23:43information on how we could do better on

1:23:45this and I would love to see that

1:23:47happen. 8/19 is an absolute abomination.

1:23:50Thank you.

1:23:54[applause]

1:24:00>> The next speaker is Chrissy Bates. I'm

1:24:02trying to mute the resident.

1:24:11>> Can you hear us

1:24:13on mute though?

1:24:15>> Yep.

1:24:18>> Yep. Christy Bates, thank you. I since

1:24:22Mayor Petty, I think a lot of ceremonial

1:24:24things um get to you. Um I want to say

1:24:28in [clears throat]

1:24:30I want to say in 1999,

1:24:33six Worcester firefighters

1:24:35died searching a burning warehouse for

1:24:38homeless people they believed were

1:24:40trapped inside right here in Worcester.

1:24:43President Clinton

1:24:46came here and told this city, "Your

1:24:50tragedy is ours."

1:24:54That legacy was about inclusion.

1:24:57Right? Like he he came here

1:25:01because he wanted to know the

1:25:02firefighters were serving

1:25:05the homeless,

1:25:07right? They they went in there and and

1:25:11firefighters are still continuing to die

1:25:15for this population

1:25:18because this population

1:25:20is them.

1:25:22Okay? You try being a paramedic.

1:25:26You try you try being out there. Right?

1:25:29As us Democrats,

1:25:31we need to be making sure that we're

1:25:34including all people, right?

1:25:37Firefighters

1:25:39need to be on our side.

1:25:41Okay, that's what we need to be calling

1:25:44people in, right? This isn't about

1:25:47calling people out, which I could

1:25:50totally be doing right now, right? But

1:25:54think about why President Clinton, which

1:25:57is still alive, and I hope he listens to

1:26:01this

1:26:03because this is awful.

1:26:05And this is never the Wister that I

1:26:09thought that I was read. I read I'm a

1:26:13subscriber of GBH.

1:26:15I'm a subscriber because I believe in

1:26:18hope.

1:26:19>> Okay. Thank you.

1:26:20>> And I'm her. I got a key to the city

1:26:23from you, Mayor Penny. Is my time up?

1:26:25>> Yes, it is. You can wrap up. Thank you.

1:26:29>> Thank you,

1:26:32[applause]

1:26:35Mr. Mayor. The next speaker is Natalie

1:26:37Gibson. Try to mute the res now.

1:26:43>> Hi, good evening. Can you hear me?

1:26:44>> Yes.

1:26:46>> Hi, Natalie Gibson, Worcester, Mass, uh,

1:26:49District 5 resident. I'm speaking on um

1:26:52item 8/19A.

1:26:54So, let me get this straight. Uh there's

1:26:58no rent control, so landlords can hike

1:27:00up rents that are not proportional to

1:27:02pay pay wages. Then you allow developers

1:27:06to come into Worcester and cram large

1:27:08multi-unit apartments on post postage

1:27:12stamp lots and overpop populate certain

1:27:14areas. These developers dangle a

1:27:16minuscule amount of affordable units

1:27:18that are equal to the Worcester

1:27:20community AMI and not what Worcester

1:27:24city residents make for that. They do

1:27:26receive some sort of a tiff. I might be

1:27:30getting that acronym wrong, but they're

1:27:31getting something. People are losing

1:27:34their current housing due to situations

1:27:36like this. And then you expect to find

1:27:38them for what this city is allowing to

1:27:40happen to them when they can't pay these

1:27:43fines. because I'm sure most of them

1:27:45would rather use what little money they

1:27:48have to purchase their basic necessities

1:27:50or whatever it is they choose to use it

1:27:51for. You are going to jail them, give

1:27:54them a record which is going to make it

1:27:56harder for them to get housing, a job

1:27:58and etc. Worcester is waging a class war

1:28:02and further dividing the residents.

1:28:05Poverty and homelessness should not be

1:28:07punishable by a fine or jail time.

1:28:10Winter is coming. open the DCU Center

1:28:14for Emergency Housing as you opened it

1:28:17during the pandemic for medical care. If

1:28:20we can do it then, why can't we do it

1:28:22now? By the way, isn't the city getting

1:28:24federal funding for the unhoused

1:28:26population? What are you doing with that

1:28:29money?

1:28:29>> Also, where's the other money that was

1:28:31coming in for from marijuana? Like all

1:28:35of this extra money we were supposed to

1:28:36be getting and using for things like

1:28:38this, where is all that money? Thank

1:28:41you.

1:28:42>> Thank you.

1:28:44[applause]

1:28:50So mayor,

1:28:50>> the next speaker is Andrew. Mute mute

1:28:53the res now.

1:28:58>> Hello there. My name is Andrew Nellen. I

1:29:01am a student at Clark University and I

1:29:06would like to say that while I don't

1:29:09live in Worcester, I I'm from Portland

1:29:14and area myself in Maine, we have had

1:29:17similar or policies towards the homeless

1:29:22and in the two years since I've been wa

1:29:24watching that I have seen in encampments

1:29:28taken out with bulldozers ers and the

1:29:31homeless population has only grown from

1:29:34there. I hope that this city will take

1:29:38more effort to do something beyond the

1:29:42act the ineffective

1:29:45practice of simply shoeing

1:29:49unhoused people in into the dark corners

1:29:52of the world and instead

1:29:56add I create solutions that prevent

1:29:59people from entering this position in

1:30:01the first place. Thank you.

1:30:03>> Thank you.

1:30:05>> [applause]

1:30:09>> Mayor, the next speaker is Echko. Should

1:30:11I meet the resident now?

1:30:15>> Hi, my name my name is Zake Benjamin.

1:30:18What's um what's crazy is

1:30:20>> No, go ahead. No, Echo. Come back to

1:30:22Echo. Go ahead. It's your name again.

1:30:24>> My name is Zake Benjamin. What's crazy

1:30:26is I'm homeless and my wife is homeless.

1:30:29And it it hurts me to see a lot of

1:30:32homeless people dying in the streets

1:30:34like going through a lot of this. Like

1:30:36me seeing a new um a fire department is

1:30:39crazy. Housing, new housing is crazy.

1:30:43That should go towards a homeless

1:30:44shelter. All these abandoned buildings

1:30:46sitting there rotting away doing what?

1:30:49All these dispensaries, all these smoke

1:30:51shops. Stupid. Put that money towards

1:30:53the homeless shelter. Get these druggies

1:30:55off the streets. Get these people from

1:30:57dying off the streets. I I'm born and

1:31:00raised out here. I've been out here my

1:31:01whole life and I just hate to see this.

1:31:04I hate seeing this, man. It hurts me

1:31:07because it's like it's ridiculous. I'm

1:31:08moving back to Texas because the way

1:31:10this is the way it is out here. This is

1:31:11ridiculous. The rent, the jobs. Oh,

1:31:13forget about it. You can't get a job,

1:31:14get go pay rent cuz you got to pay 7,500

1:31:16a month. Like, what is up with that?

1:31:19This is bad. People obviously, you know,

1:31:22we obviously got to I mean, y'all wanted

1:31:23us to stop sleeping in tents. Build some

1:31:25homeless shelters.

1:31:26>> You want to arrest us for some stupid

1:31:28petty stuff? It's stupid. Getting us

1:31:30locked up, make us pay for fines we

1:31:32can't even pay for. We live our food

1:31:33stamps.

1:31:35>> Some of us can't even afford to get a

1:31:37job. Some of you don't have family. What

1:31:39if it was your like, you know what I'm

1:31:41saying? Like it's your kids out there.

1:31:43This is hurts.

1:31:45And then like seeing older people, elder

1:31:48people out there being homeless. I hate

1:31:49to see that. My mom raised me well to

1:31:52take care of mentally, my son and my

1:31:53father. Like I I talked to my father. My

1:31:55father see me stressed every day about

1:31:57this. I hate it. I hate seeing this and

1:32:00it really hurts. Like I'm holding this

1:32:03in, but it's it's it's stupid. Like I

1:32:05walked down Main Street seeing bodies.

1:32:07Like the other day I'm going back to my

1:32:09what you know. Yes. I'm going back to my

1:32:10old camp seeing a freaking body

1:32:11ambulance hopping out looking at a B on

1:32:13the side of the road on the highway.

1:32:15This is stupid. Thank you.

1:32:17>> Thank you.

1:32:27Echo, can you hear us?

1:32:30>> Um, yes. Can you hear me?

1:32:31>> Yep. Go ahead.

1:32:33>> Hi, my name is Eko Luisant Collins. I am

1:32:36a resident of Worcester and the founder

1:32:39and executive director of 508 Chairs. Um

1:32:42I am calling to comment on the um

1:32:45attempted

1:32:46um criminalization of unhoused people.

1:32:50And um through the summer I worked with

1:32:53my youth and we made and distributed

1:32:56about 800 meals um in Worcester in city

1:32:59comments to um assist the unsheltered um

1:33:03but more so um to have conversations

1:33:05with them. And the one thing that the

1:33:08youth came back to me and continually

1:33:11said was, "Miss Eko,

1:33:14these people are not all bad. They're

1:33:17not all criminals. They're not all

1:33:20addicts. They don't all have mental

1:33:22health issues. Like, these are just

1:33:25people."

1:33:26And they had conversations with them and

1:33:28they found out their names and their

1:33:31stories and their families. Um, and I

1:33:34say that to say that um, we are all one

1:33:38trauma, one incident,

1:33:42one job loss or tragedy or car accident

1:33:47that or surgery that has you on surgery

1:33:50that then has you addicted to

1:33:52painkillers. There's so much that could

1:33:54happen that we could all be unhoused and

1:33:57unsheltered.

1:33:59Um the cost of groceries is extremely

1:34:03high. Uh what is affordable housing? I

1:34:06have a very good job and it's hard to

1:34:09afford rent. Um and I have a job and I

1:34:12have an education. Um and there is um a

1:34:15second income in my household. So, um,

1:34:19we're going to start seeing a lot more

1:34:22so-called,

1:34:23um, regular people, citizens out in the

1:34:28streets. Uh, and what are we going to

1:34:30do? Um,

1:34:33>> throw away their stuff, find them.

1:34:36>> Not be compassionate.

1:34:38>> And I'm just asking for compassion.

1:34:41>> And I'm asking this to go back to the

1:34:42standing committee as well.

1:34:44>> Thank you.

1:34:50Okay, we're going to do petitions. If

1:34:52anybody's here for a petition, just let

1:34:54me know. Keith Busher Bucher request the

1:34:57public report to be written regarding

1:34:58the city's procedures ensuing the zoning

1:35:00conditions.

1:35:02And there's a motion referred to

1:35:04economic development committee. Did your

1:35:05names your residents?

1:35:06>> Yep. Uh Keith Buché, District 1, Western

1:35:09Mass.

1:35:11I [clears throat] submitted this

1:35:12petition because my experience as a

1:35:14direct abuter to an active construction

1:35:16project has raised broader questions

1:35:18about how the city tracks and enforces

1:35:21requirements placed on development

1:35:23projects. Over the past year, the

1:35:25project next door has required our

1:35:27neighborhood to contact multiple city

1:35:29departments, review ZBA mandated site

1:35:31plans and permit requirements, request

1:35:34compliance reviews, and monitor

1:35:36corrective actions. has become

1:35:38increasingly difficult for residents to

1:35:41determine whether outstanding

1:35:42requirements have been satisfied, how

1:35:45compliance issues are being addressed,

1:35:46and whether work has been properly

1:35:49authorized.

1:35:50Sustained neighborhood involvement is

1:35:52not a substitute for municipal

1:35:54oversight. When an approval expressly

1:35:57says that a requirement must be

1:35:59satisfied before a permit is issued,

1:36:01there should be a clear record showing

1:36:03that it has been it was satisfied or a

1:36:06clear explanation of the authority under

1:36:09which work was allowed to proceed

1:36:10without it. The burden of compliance

1:36:13should not depend on whether neighboring

1:36:15residents are actively monitoring a

1:36:17project. Residents should be able to

1:36:20rely on the city to identify outstanding

1:36:23requirements, verify them before work

1:36:25proceeds, monitor corrective actions

1:36:28through resolution, and communicate

1:36:29enough information to know material

1:36:32concerns have been addressed. There also

1:36:35needs to be clarity about how different

1:36:37requirements interact. When a project

1:36:40subject is subject to ZBA conditions,

1:36:42permit requirements, and approvals from

1:36:44the city departments, it should be clear

1:36:47how those require requirements are

1:36:49reconciled and sequenced and whether one

1:36:51department can authorize work while

1:36:54another required approval or condition

1:36:56remains outstanding.

1:36:59My [clears throat] petition asks for a

1:37:01public report explaining how these

1:37:04processes currently work, how

1:37:06departments coordinate, how outstanding

1:37:08conditions are tracked uh are tracked

1:37:11before later stages of construction are

1:37:13authorized, how stop work orders and

1:37:16corrective actions are followed through

1:37:18to resolution, and how significant

1:37:20compliance concerns reported by

1:37:22residents are documented and

1:37:24communicated. A clear public explanation

1:37:27of these procedures along with any

1:37:29needed improvements would strengthen

1:37:31accountability and public confidence in

1:37:33the process. I respectfully ask the

1:37:36council to support the referral of this

1:37:38petition and allow that review to move

1:37:40forward. Thank you.

1:37:41>> Thank you. So the motion to send that to

1:37:44economic development roll call. Council

1:37:47King.

1:37:50>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um just want to

1:37:53say I look forward to this report. Um

1:37:56also wanted to mention that in addition

1:37:59to these um concerns and the request for

1:38:02the report and um improvements

1:38:06procedural and coordination improvements

1:38:09to uh boost up public confidence in city

1:38:13development construction oversight

1:38:14process. we have the concurrent issue um

1:38:17of folks reporting multiple delays um in

1:38:21building projects um costing money etc.

1:38:25So we there's two sides to this coin and

1:38:27while I agree with the petitioner um my

1:38:30request would be Mr. Chairman if you

1:38:32could reconsider saying this to economic

1:38:34development. This right here Mr.

1:38:36chairman is a request for a report to be

1:38:39written regarding city procedures um

1:38:42pertaining to these matters and also

1:38:45asking that the administration identify

1:38:47any procedural coordination improvement

1:38:49and that said report then go to economic

1:38:52development Mr. Chairman to send this to

1:38:54economic development without the

1:38:56opportunity for the city manager and his

1:38:58administration to provide the requested

1:39:00report will only delay the the desired

1:39:04response. So, I would ask, Mr. Chairman,

1:39:06that you consider sending this directly

1:39:08to the administration um so they can

1:39:10produce what was requested before it

1:39:12goes to economic development. Thank you,

1:39:14Mr. Chairman.

1:39:15>> Council Bergman,

1:39:16>> I'll put it on the next economic

1:39:17development subcommittee meeting if it's

1:39:19going to get referred to us.

1:39:22>> Okay. Should we get a report first and

1:39:25then send that to them? Yeah. Yeah. I

1:39:27think we Mr. Chair, we're going to Is

1:39:28that right? You asked to go to economic

1:39:30development, I think. So, we'll send

1:39:32that to the uh city manager. Come of

1:39:35reports under the economic development.

1:39:36Is that fine? Okay. Roll call.

1:39:40>> Councelor Bregman.

1:39:41>> Yes.

1:39:42>> Bada.

1:39:43>> Yes.

1:39:44>> Economo.

1:39:45>> Yes.

1:39:45>> Mr. Zolo.

1:39:46>> Yes.

1:39:47>> King.

1:39:47>> Yes.

1:39:48>> Mitra.

1:39:49>> Yes.

1:39:49>> Oh,

1:39:50>> yes.

1:39:51>> Rivera.

1:39:51>> Yes.

1:39:52>> Mr. Rosen.

1:39:53>> Yes.

1:39:53>> Tumi.

1:39:54>> Yes.

1:39:55>> And Mayor Petty.

1:39:56>> Yes. 7B to 7 W. Refer those to traffic.

1:40:00>> Mr. Chairman. Um I'd like to to take out

1:40:037FG and H um separately. I like to speak

1:40:07on them collectively.

1:40:08>> Okay. So we'll do uh everyone but except

1:40:117 FG and H. Roll call.

1:40:16>> Councelor Bergman.

1:40:17>> Yes.

1:40:18>> Bada.

1:40:19>> Yes.

1:40:20>> Economo.

1:40:20>> Yes.

1:40:21>> Zolo.

1:40:22>> Yes.

1:40:22>> King.

1:40:25>> Yes.

1:40:26>> Mitra.

1:40:26>> Yes.

1:40:27>> Oh.

1:40:28>> Yes.

1:40:28>> Rivera.

1:40:29>> Yes.

1:40:30>> Rosen.

1:40:30>> Yes. Mr. Chumi.

1:40:32>> Yes.

1:40:32>> And Mayor Petty.

1:40:33>> Yes.

1:40:34>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just um

1:40:38regarding 7G and H. Just wanted to

1:40:40clarify that this is going to go

1:40:42>> where through chair

1:40:44>> right on the agenda, traffic and

1:40:45parking.

1:40:46>> Okay. All right. I don't have any

1:40:47further questions on that. On on 7F um

1:40:52and 7 if possible, Mr. Chairman, those

1:40:54are related to um school matters. Um

1:40:58those two items um we have in my

1:41:01committee um pending issues to discuss

1:41:04pertaining to safety audits, walking,

1:41:06pedestrian, etc. um in my subcommittee.

1:41:09So, I'm just wondering um if I can make

1:41:12a separate motion requesting that items

1:41:15um pertaining to uh school safety um and

1:41:20pedestrian safety um such as 70 and 7F

1:41:27um

1:41:29be uh that that language be um sent to

1:41:33my sub subcommittee as well. So I

1:41:35understand it's going to traffic and

1:41:36parking, but we're doing a comprehensive

1:41:39look at school safety.

1:41:41>> Those supposed to go to traffic and

1:41:42parking. Those of us should go there.

1:41:44>> Yeah, it's a separate motion, Mr.

1:41:45Chairman, that that l that that language

1:41:47is also uh moved to uh be included in

1:41:51the school safety discussion um in the

1:41:55>> those are street issues on traffic and

1:41:57parking.

1:41:58>> Mr. Chairman, we through the chair to

1:42:00the clerk. Um could you please read the

1:42:03pending item pertaining to school um

1:42:07walkability, safety, etc. in the

1:42:09education committee that we're

1:42:10scheduling for our next meeting?

1:42:13>> Um to the chair, to the council, are you

1:42:15requesting that I pull up your pending

1:42:17list?

1:42:18>> I'm asking that you read the item on the

1:42:20pending list pertaining to um school

1:42:23safety audit as relates to uh walking,

1:42:27etc.

1:42:29If you could please read that item for

1:42:30the record.

1:42:52All right. It says a request standing

1:42:53committee on education invite the

1:42:54whistle public schools director safety

1:42:56an upcoming meeting for the purpose of

1:42:58scing school safety matters.

1:43:02>> Yes, is there more to that order?

1:43:05>> I'm sorry.

1:43:05>> Is there more to that order?

1:43:07>> Um I can share with with the rest of the

1:43:10council to see.

1:43:19>> So that is your pending item number

1:43:20four.

1:43:23Okay.

1:43:25And then there's uh

1:43:26>> the one regarding the school audit.

1:43:29>> School audit.

1:43:30>> Yeah.

1:43:33>> I don't know about the school audit, but

1:43:45there's only one school safety matters

1:43:47that I can see on the pending.

1:43:52And it's a joint meeting between uh

1:43:54Wilson public schools and

1:43:56>> uh

1:43:58can you read that please

1:44:01>> through chair?

1:44:02>> Um request stand any committee on

1:44:03education invite the public schools

1:44:05director of safety to an upcoming

1:44:06meeting for the purpose of discussing

1:44:08school safety matters.

1:44:09>> Okay, Mr. chairman. Um that was things

1:44:14that were requested um some time ago um

1:44:17as relates to many of these items

1:44:18including school signage. Um we're just

1:44:21trying to to get um a a separate motion

1:44:25not to prevent anything from going to

1:44:27traffic and parking. SE separate motion

1:44:30um that these the items that I read um

1:44:33be on the record um in the committee on

1:44:36education um to include as part of our

1:44:38discussion on safety.

1:44:42>> Council Rivera,

1:44:44you raise your hand. No. Okay. So, my

1:44:46motion is to send these to traffic and

1:44:48parking. That's where they belong is in

1:44:49traffic and parking. And uh roll call.

1:44:58Councelor Bergman.

1:45:00>> Yes.

1:45:01>> Bada.

1:45:02>> Yes.

1:45:03>> Economo.

1:45:04>> Yes.

1:45:04>> Rolo.

1:45:05>> Yes.

1:45:06>> King.

1:45:06>> Yes.

1:45:07>> Mitra.

1:45:08>> Yes.

1:45:09>> Yes.

1:45:10>> Rivera.

1:45:10>> Yes.

1:45:11>> Rosen.

1:45:12>> Yes.

1:45:12>> Tumi.

1:45:17>> Tumi.

1:45:20>> Yes.

1:45:21>> Hey. Mayor Petty.

1:45:22>> Yes.

1:45:25Okay, we are on.

1:45:27>> Mr. Chairman, I had a separate motion.

1:45:29>> I didn't get the motion. What was the

1:45:30motion?

1:45:31>> Just just again for clarification, the

1:45:33motion was not to send those items to to

1:45:37prevent sending those items to traffic

1:45:39and parking. That was not my motion.

1:45:41Yeah, I support that. Uh the motion was

1:45:43that those particular items related to

1:45:45school safety um for our kids um that uh

1:45:50the motion is that we take that language

1:45:53on those two items um and refer to uh

1:45:56the education committee uh for our

1:45:58safety discussion that we're having at

1:46:00our next meeting.

1:46:01>> Do you know belonging education the

1:46:03belonging we take it for a motion if you

1:46:05like and

1:46:06>> excuse me we send it to traffic and

1:46:08parking that's where it belongs is in

1:46:09traffic and parking.

1:46:10>> Mr. Chairman, we're taking a look at

1:46:12safety issues

1:46:13>> in our let me explain

1:46:16>> in our committee and there's a there's a

1:46:18pattern of issues there. It's not

1:46:21specific um to these schools, but these

1:46:24schools are examples of some of the

1:46:26concerns. It's been in the newspaper.

1:46:27There's been articles about folks having

1:46:29to walk in the street um on the west

1:46:32side up by the airport. Um and now we

1:46:34have three additional issues. We had

1:46:36testimony tonight um from a a young

1:46:38person um indicating their concerns as

1:46:42relates to similar and that's exactly

1:46:44what we're going to be discussing in

1:46:46committee um at our next education

1:46:48committee meeting. So the motion is is

1:46:51that the language items be sent to my

1:46:54committee.

1:46:54>> Your motion is not to pass it but just

1:46:56to talk about it.

1:46:57>> Correct. So we can discuss them

1:46:59specifically in committee

1:47:00>> but not make a motion on it. All right.

1:47:02So

1:47:02>> but not make a vote on it. gives that's

1:47:05traffic and parking job.

1:47:08>> Yeah. No, we're not approving it.

1:47:10>> Okay.

1:47:10>> For discussion.

1:47:11>> Okay. Okay. Any thoughts?

1:47:15Roll call.

1:47:18>> I don't vote yes, but I really don't.

1:47:21>> Mr. Mr. Chairman, I withdraw the motion.

1:47:23It's good. We're good. Yeah.

1:47:25>> Okay. Okay.

1:47:29We are on.

1:47:34Set a hearing 7X and 7 Y for National

1:47:37Grid for cond location on Gate Street

1:47:40and Pat Street. Roll call.

1:47:44>> Council Bergman.

1:47:45>> Yes.

1:47:46>> Bada.

1:47:47>> Yes.

1:47:48>> Econom.

1:47:49>> Yes.

1:47:49>> Bizo.

1:47:50>> Yes.

1:47:51>> King.

1:47:51>> Yes.

1:47:52>> Mitra.

1:47:53>> Yes.

1:47:53>> Oh,

1:47:54>> yes.

1:47:54>> Mr. Rivera.

1:47:55>> Yes.

1:47:56>> Mr. Rosa.

1:47:56>> Yes.

1:47:57>> Mr. Tumi.

1:47:58>> Yes.

1:47:59>> Mayor Petty.

1:48:00>> Yes. request to see council consider

1:48:02adopting the attached proposal in part

1:48:05uh titled executive summary proposal for

1:48:08police reform in the city of Worester

1:48:10and um and this you know it's held under

1:48:13privilege.

1:48:14>> Yeah. So do I have do I have to speak as

1:48:15a petitioner now because it's first time

1:48:17on

1:48:17>> you can no you don't have to but you get

1:48:19to you get to you can come back next

1:48:21week and speak

1:48:22>> speak as petitioner.

1:48:22>> Yeah. Okay.

1:48:25We should we should put that with the

1:48:27petitions so we don't have to wait till

1:48:28the end of the meeting.

1:48:31Okay.

1:48:33Okay. This held under the privilege.

1:48:37We are in the manager's calendar.

1:48:39Recommend adoption resolution

1:48:40authorizing the tax agreement finance

1:48:42agreement amendment 336 Washington

1:48:44Square. Motion adopt the roll call. Roll

1:48:48call.

1:48:49>> Councelor Bergman.

1:48:50>> Yes.

1:48:51>> Bada.

1:48:53>> Yes.

1:48:54>> Econom.

1:48:55>> Yes.

1:48:55>> Brazo.

1:48:56>> Yes.

1:48:57>> King.

1:48:58>> Yes.

1:48:58>> Mitra. Yes,

1:49:00>> yes,

1:49:01>> Rivera.

1:49:02>> Yes,

1:49:02>> Rosen.

1:49:03>> Yes,

1:49:04>> Tumi.

1:49:05>> Yes.

1:49:06>> And Mayor Petty.

1:49:07>> Yes. Public works transmitting

1:49:09information communication relative to

1:49:10dog waste disposal advisory. Send that

1:49:13to public works.

1:49:15>> Mr. Chairman,

1:49:16>> council.

1:49:17>> Yep. Thank you. Uh just have a few

1:49:21questions. Um if you don't mind,

1:49:26council, go ahead.

1:49:28Thank you, Miss Jim.

1:49:30Sorry, I got all misplaced here, but I

1:49:34got it here, I believe.

1:49:38Yeah. So, some of the questions I have

1:49:40uh through the chair. I'm not even sure.

1:49:42I guess commissioner, I can direct this

1:49:44to you, I believe. Um,

1:49:50so [snorts] it says that um there are

1:49:52brochures mailed to every licensed dog

1:49:54owner in the city. So, um I guess one of

1:49:57my concerns is um those are licensed dog

1:50:00owners. Some some people probably do not

1:50:02have licenses and there's probably many

1:50:04dogs, right? And um one of the concerns

1:50:08I have is

1:50:10um I get many phone calls and emails

1:50:14about the school bus stops. Uh parents

1:50:17are picking up their kids and then that

1:50:19little patch of grass area that's full

1:50:21of uh dog feces there in some areas. Um,

1:50:25and I've asked to see if we can find a

1:50:27way to put signs to remind residents to

1:50:30pick up after themselves. Um, and it's

1:50:32good that these sign these messages are

1:50:34being sent uh periodically, but um I'm

1:50:38just trying to figure out if there's way

1:50:39of doing multiple signs um throughout

1:50:42the city uh probably in multiple

1:50:44languages, probably working with the at

1:50:46the bus stops where it's a QR code. I'm

1:50:49not sure through the chair to the

1:50:50commission if there's any been thoughts

1:50:52about that of doing other ways. um

1:50:54getting this information out through the

1:50:56schools as well

1:50:58>> through the chair. That's certainly

1:51:00something that we are open to

1:51:02investigating. Uh there was a a request

1:51:05that came through the public works

1:51:06committee when we met last night for

1:51:08additional dog signs. Uh so we're

1:51:11working with inspectional services and

1:51:13we will be working with legal to make

1:51:15sure that our signs are appropriate in

1:51:18those areas.

1:51:19>> Okay. Thank you. Yeah, I think um you

1:51:22know and and it's not just that. It's

1:51:24also those you know sending that

1:51:26information through the schools about

1:51:28the the waste and what happens to the

1:51:29waterways with um you know the the the

1:51:32dog waste that we're we're finding u

1:51:35more and more. So I'm hoping that you

1:51:36know we can educate more people as much

1:51:39as possible but really have an

1:51:41opportunity to within the buses um the

1:51:44signs like I said at the bus stops and

1:51:46other locations um because

1:51:50again being mailed to licensed dog

1:51:52owners. Um we I'm pretty sure there's

1:51:55people here that have dogs, but they

1:51:56probably just haven't licensed their

1:51:57dogs and we're not going to go to every

1:52:00house and check if their dogs are

1:52:02licensed unless we we are doing that.

1:52:04But um I think this is just, you know,

1:52:06find find better ways to really get this

1:52:08out, especially the fact that this is

1:52:09becoming a major issue in our city. So

1:52:12thank you.

1:52:14>> So we'll send that to uh public works.

1:52:18Roll call. Uncle Bergman.

1:52:20>> Yes.

1:52:21>> Bada.

1:52:22>> Yes.

1:52:23>> Economo.

1:52:24>> Yes.

1:52:25>> Brazo.

1:52:25>> Yes.

1:52:26>> King.

1:52:27>> Yes.

1:52:27>> That's Mitra.

1:52:28>> Yes.

1:52:29>> Oh,

1:52:30>> yes.

1:52:30>> Rivera.

1:52:31>> Yes.

1:52:32>> Rosen.

1:52:32>> Yes.

1:52:33>> Tumi.

1:52:34>> Yes.

1:52:35>> Mayor Petty.

1:52:36>> Yes. Um, we are on 8.11A

1:52:41transmitting information communication

1:52:42rel relative to the street and sidewalk

1:52:45construction progress report.

1:52:47You can file that or you want that in

1:52:49committee?

1:52:50>> No. If I may, Mr. Chair.

1:52:51>> Yeah, Mr. um Council Okono.

1:52:53>> Thank you. Uh Mr. Chairman, here I

1:52:57appreciate the report, too. I think it's

1:52:59a good collaboration between DPW and uh

1:53:02DTM.

1:53:04Um

1:53:05I don't think it needs to go to

1:53:06committee. It's pretty self-explanatory.

1:53:08There's no nothing further on it that is

1:53:10needed. Um, the one thing I would ask as

1:53:14as we go forward is just maybe better

1:53:18a better explanation and communication

1:53:22whether with whether it's with us, the

1:53:25council or the general public

1:53:29um as to having a better idea of

1:53:31timelines. You know, I I know things get

1:53:34selected,

1:53:36you know, like people ask me now about

1:53:38streets and it's like, okay, well, the

1:53:40prior council selected streets to be

1:53:41resurfaced. So, um when are those

1:53:44streets going to be finished? I think

1:53:46that's important for people to know and

1:53:48understand

1:53:50um those timelines and especially with

1:53:52streets and with sidewalks.

1:53:54And on top of that, too, let me just

1:53:56throw this in. If a street does not have

1:53:58a sidewalk and it's getting improved, is

1:54:00a sidewalk added or is it not added? Um,

1:54:05or are we just doing what's phys uh

1:54:07visibly there? I think that would be

1:54:09helpful to alleviate some questions that

1:54:12I'm sure all of us receive.

1:54:14>> Okay.

1:54:15>> Thank you, Mr. Chair.

1:54:16>> Council, Mr. Chairman, I have a

1:54:18question.

1:54:18>> Okay, Council B.

1:54:20>> Yeah, thank you. Um, no, I appreciate

1:54:22this report. I I had a question on page

1:54:27believe it's five. It says uh

1:54:31under p not excuse me not payment

1:54:33preservations but sidewalk projects um

1:54:36page eight of the report excuse me it

1:54:38says above is remaining work for the

1:54:402025 construction season. Is there uh

1:54:43that says sidewalk projects are there

1:54:46any additional sidewalk projects that

1:54:48are that were started in this fiscal

1:54:52year? I'm just a little confused about

1:54:54this this page.

1:54:56>> Mr. Commissioner Raleigh

1:55:04>> or is the only work being done from

1:55:07>> work from 2025

1:55:09>> through the year through the chair. So

1:55:10these these are um I believe these are

1:55:13all uh active sidewalk projects that are

1:55:16standalone projects. So there's other

1:55:17sidewalks being constructed in

1:55:19association with the street project.

1:55:21These are standalone projects. Um the

1:55:24note is actually a carryover from the

1:55:26prior construction reports in 25. So it

1:55:29should now read 2526

1:55:31season uh sidewalk projects.

1:55:35>> No, I appreciate that. Thank you again.

1:55:37I I just want to kind of um I know casor

1:55:40conu had touch touched on it but I think

1:55:41I'm again going to continue to to beat

1:55:43the drum on sidewalk repairs need to be

1:55:46done in a more timely way. you know, are

1:55:48are taxpayers constituents really

1:55:50deserve better timelines on this work?

1:55:53And if it's contractors

1:55:56um not being good contractors, then

1:55:58these contractors should not be rewarded

1:56:00uh anymore because I I hear uh a lot of

1:56:04concerns from residents uh how long all

1:56:07the work takes. There's just another

1:56:08article in the paper. I'm not uh

1:56:10familiar because it's over by the west

1:56:12side, but but where where sidewalk

1:56:15constructions their schools were not

1:56:17done. So, I I continue to have just

1:56:20concerns about all of this because it's

1:56:22concerning to my constituents and

1:56:24frankly our taxpayers deserve better. Um

1:56:28I understand there's there's challenges.

1:56:30I know uh DPW is is doing, you know, the

1:56:35best they can with what they have and I

1:56:36know we've talked about that continually

1:56:38and I I absolutely believe DPW is going

1:56:40in a better direction, but we we we

1:56:43still really need to do better on

1:56:44delivering uh concise timelines for

1:56:47constituents. Thank you,

1:56:52>> Councelor King.

1:56:53>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um

1:57:00certainly appreciate this this report uh

1:57:03from the commissioner um through the

1:57:05chair to the administration. Um

1:57:08how are timelines established within the

1:57:12department? Um how are you measuring um

1:57:15the effectiveness of construction

1:57:18progress as relates to this particular

1:57:21matter?

1:57:24Commissioner

1:57:31>> because it's again it sounds like folks

1:57:33are looking for timelines. I know I've

1:57:34asked for timelines related to other

1:57:36matters in the past and I'm just

1:57:38wondering what internal um frameworks

1:57:43exist and how are you measuring um the

1:57:46completion and the progress thereof

1:57:50>> through the chair. When we issue a

1:57:52contract for roadway construction, let's

1:57:54take Millan overlay for example, uh

1:57:57several roads are

1:57:59>> in the same contract and those are

1:58:02issued to uh many times several roads to

1:58:06one contractor and that contractor has a

1:58:09period of time uh to be able to complete

1:58:12that work on all the roads. I will say

1:58:14that our engineering division is looking

1:58:17to tighten up those controls so that

1:58:19when we bid our next set of projects

1:58:22that we will have a tighter time frame

1:58:24for completion of a single road or a

1:58:27single sidewalk so that we don't end up

1:58:30with uh extended periods of time when

1:58:33roads or sidewalks are open to

1:58:35excavation.

1:58:37>> Thank you. Um let me um ask it this way.

1:58:42Um so I appreciate the response um as

1:58:45relates to one contract several roads um

1:58:49and you had mentioned that they have a

1:58:51period of time. Please fill in the gap

1:58:54there. What is the period of time? Who

1:58:57establishes it and who monitors it

1:59:00through the chair?

1:59:01>> Commissioner

1:59:02through the chair.

1:59:03>> What's the rubric?

1:59:06>> Through the chair. It depends on the

1:59:08number of roads whether it's mill and

1:59:10overlay whether it's full depth

1:59:12reconstruction.

1:59:14Um so it truly depends uh we could

1:59:17provide information based on any

1:59:19particular road in in question but in

1:59:22general it depends on the length of road

1:59:25the materials that are going to be used

1:59:27and the preservation or construction

1:59:29techniques that'll be used.

1:59:30>> So thank you. understand the variables

1:59:33um given your experience and given the

1:59:36needs as it relates to the city of

1:59:38Worcester and our condition of our

1:59:41sidewalks, our streets, etc. Um

1:59:45I haven't heard the framework that you

1:59:48use for timelines. I heard the

1:59:49variables. I haven't heard the

1:59:51framework. What leaves myself as a

1:59:54counselor, I'm not going to speak for

1:59:55anyone else, um in the dark. And if I'm

1:59:58in the dark, when folks are asking me

2:00:00questions, they're in the dark. Um, so

2:00:03the the example you gave earlier, I

2:00:05can't remember what road it was. Um,

2:00:07what's the time frames there through the

2:00:10chair?

2:00:11>> Through the chair, I'm sorry. For which

2:00:13example?

2:00:13>> I thought you'd given an example of a a

2:00:15road that had multiple

2:00:18um a contractor had multiple roads. I

2:00:20thought you referenced one of the roads

2:00:22on the list. So on that road you

2:00:25referenced what's the time frame within

2:00:27which your department expects completion

2:00:31>> uh through the chair uh I didn't mean to

2:00:34reference [clears throat] excuse me one

2:00:36particular road for example if it's a

2:00:38mill and overlay a contract will be put

2:00:41out for several roads in one contract.

2:00:44So again it would depend on uh the

2:00:47contract, the construction that's going

2:00:49to be uh occurring, the length of roads,

2:00:52the width of roads. So there are

2:00:53multiple variables. Um in rare instances

2:00:57or less frequently I'll say uh we have

2:01:01for example uh endicott and bigalow

2:01:04construction. uh that would have a more

2:01:06defined timeline based on if there's

2:01:09drainage work, if there's sidewalk work,

2:01:12if there's uh full depth reconstruction.

2:01:15So again, we can certainly look at a

2:01:17particular road and we can look at what

2:01:20those variables were, but when I'm

2:01:22looking at the uh the great number of

2:01:26roads that we have here, it's difficult

2:01:28for me other than just in general to be

2:01:30able to state what the uh what the

2:01:33criteria are that go into setting that

2:01:36timeline.

2:01:37>> Thank you to the chair, to the manager.

2:01:39Given that description and the lack of

2:01:42definity um that I heard pertaining to

2:01:46these manners, how is what's your

2:01:48expectation? How do you gauge if your

2:01:50department um is overseeing these

2:01:53projects in a way um that's effective

2:01:56and meets the needs of the city? Through

2:01:57the chair,

2:01:59>> Mr. Andra

2:02:01chair to the council when we work with

2:02:03the as I work with the department we

2:02:05look at multiple projects and again like

2:02:07the commission is explaining it is

2:02:09extremely difficult to give you a

2:02:11scenario of one full death uh project in

2:02:14terms of beginning and end 12 18 months

2:02:1624 months 36 months etc because every

2:02:19project requires a level of analysis a

2:02:22level of work with the contractor to

2:02:24determine the timeline for that

2:02:26particular project. So we don't want to

2:02:29provide any uh misdirection to the

2:02:32public by saying these projects take

2:02:33like 12 to 18 months because it's under

2:02:36a realistic number. They all pertaining.

2:02:38So what we do is we evaluate and my

2:02:41evaluation of the department is that

2:02:43within that time frame that we provide

2:02:44within the contractor that job needs to

2:02:47be completed within that time frame and

2:02:49that there's benchmarks within that

2:02:50project that needs to be completed. As

2:02:52long as the contractor is meeting those

2:02:54bench lines within that contract, that

2:02:56is something that then we then uh I am

2:02:59able to measure the success and the

2:03:00outcomes of the actual department. But

2:03:02every project is different and that's

2:03:04why we would have to go through every

2:03:06single street or every single project to

2:03:08give you a an actual timeline of that

2:03:11potential contract.

2:03:14So through the chair um this particular

2:03:18table five on page eight that was

2:03:20referenced it has for example Dolly

2:03:22Drive um from Miscoco Miscoco road 0%

2:03:27complete 2025 construction season Tapman

2:03:30Street um J Street to number one and

2:03:33number 17 also Tapman Street Victoria

2:03:36Street to J Street both 0% complete for

2:03:39the 2025 construction season Um,

2:03:44how are we then to how's the public in

2:03:47the neighborhood in the community to

2:03:48have any expectations? I just grabbed

2:03:50those one here for King Street. It's 99%

2:03:53done. Um, but you know, Dolly Drive, IDA

2:03:55Road, 0%.

2:03:58How do we explain to um folks that are

2:04:02waiting and have been waiting for years,

2:04:04for months, for weeks when this will be

2:04:07done given what's communicated here? Um,

2:04:11if I get a call about Tapman Street, um,

2:04:13how am I to convey to them that the

2:04:16sidewalk repair is expected to be

2:04:18completed by such and such a date? Or

2:04:20are you telling me that that's not

2:04:22possible?

2:04:23>> Mr. Manager,

2:04:24>> to the chair, to the council, as part of

2:04:26the selection of these sidewalk

2:04:28projects, for example, that the

2:04:30counselors get to select, the district

2:04:31council select, and they work with the

2:04:33department. Part of that is we present

2:04:35to the council the projects that will be

2:04:37done within that construction season or

2:04:39within multiple construction seasons and

2:04:41we try to explain that this project

2:04:44could take that variety of different

2:04:46dates. Um

2:04:49what it's important is is that there

2:04:51could be a contractor that has 10

2:04:53sidewalks to accomplish, right? And so

2:04:56that contractor may need x amount of

2:04:58months or potentially

2:05:01an entire construction season to achieve

2:05:03all those 10 sidewalks. What becomes

2:05:05challenging is is to try to give you a

2:05:07definitive date of when this particular

2:05:09street is going to get done because the

2:05:11contractor can face a lot of different

2:05:13variables that impact their ability to

2:05:16deliver on that project. But the

2:05:17contract gives the ability to the

2:05:19contractor to achieve that within that

2:05:21season. Um and so it is extremely

2:05:25difficult to try to give you a point in

2:05:26time because it's going to be a moment

2:05:29where there will be variables that we

2:05:31won't or the contractor won't achieve it

2:05:33and so that would be a false

2:05:35expectations. So what we try to do is

2:05:37say again it's going to be within that

2:05:39construction season within that time

2:05:41frame and that contract then has the

2:05:44ability to complete that within that.

2:05:45Sometimes these projects are multi-year.

2:05:47They begin one year but they not fully

2:05:49get completed till the next construction

2:05:50season. Sometimes these things are

2:05:52selected, right? And we fund them in in

2:05:55July 1. We funded a bunch of projects in

2:05:57July 1st of this year. But we have to

2:05:59now go through a bidding process. We got

2:06:01to write the go through the bid, put out

2:06:04the bids, spend time waiting for the

2:06:05bids to come back, review the bids,

2:06:07approve the bids, then write the

2:06:09contracts. So by the time these

2:06:10contracts get approved, we're looking at

2:06:12probably end of September, if not

2:06:14October, for this work to begin, even

2:06:16though we approved the budget in July

2:06:181st. So that again there's a process in

2:06:20which these takes. So it's it's

2:06:22sometimes it become a little bit

2:06:24difficult. Now we are working to clean

2:06:27this up a little bit and try to be more

2:06:29refined in these dates um and the length

2:06:32of those contracts. I've asked the

2:06:34department to evaluate the length of

2:06:36contracts. Is 12 months too much? Is 18

2:06:38months too much? Can we do it in eight

2:06:40months and 10 months? And that's part of

2:06:42the discussion that we literally last

2:06:44week start uh uh were were recently

2:06:46engaging in because we need to be more

2:06:48precise in our communication to the

2:06:50council and the public about these

2:06:52particular timelines. But it beca it

2:06:54beca there is a little bit of nuance uh

2:06:56to to some of the uh uh uh uh dates uh

2:07:00uh and trying to provide them specific

2:07:01dates.

2:07:02>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I I hear the

2:07:04nuance um and I appreciate the move

2:07:06towards um being more precise. Um,

2:07:10however, I think for the public that's

2:07:12listening, this is um a bit frustrating

2:07:15um to to hear um through the charity

2:07:18administration, what are the best

2:07:19practices as it relates to what we're

2:07:22talking about um and notice and

2:07:24timelines and and bids, etc. um for

2:07:28completion of projects. I'm I'm assuming

2:07:30that beyond your discussion, there's

2:07:31been some sort of research or um um

2:07:36exploration regarding best practices as

2:07:38relates to these questions that have

2:07:40been put before you today through the

2:07:42chair.

2:07:43>> Through the chair, come to council.

2:07:44That's part of the uh work that they're

2:07:46going to do to provide to me in terms of

2:07:48what are those best practices, what are

2:07:49the areas that we can strengthen um so

2:07:51that we can shorten some of this time.

2:07:53Now, the process in which a lot of this

2:07:55work has happened has not changed in the

2:07:58years that I've been here. It's been the

2:08:00same process every single year. However,

2:08:03this year has become a little bit more

2:08:06um there's been a little bit more

2:08:08attention to it. And so, that's where

2:08:10the the commissioner and I I'm going to

2:08:12spend some time looking through it, has

2:08:14his team looking through it, look at

2:08:15best practice and ways in which we can

2:08:16strengthen the process. But this process

2:08:18that we've engaged, the selection of

2:08:20streets and construction and the way

2:08:22that bids and projects have been

2:08:23completed, it's been happening probably

2:08:25for the p over 20 years in this city.

2:08:27Um, but that's something again that

2:08:29we're going to be reviewing. commission

2:08:31>> through the chair if I may. Um, per the

2:08:34uh city manager's request, we worked

2:08:37very closely with uh DTM and our folks

2:08:40at uh do it so that we have updated and

2:08:45improved the mapping that we have on our

2:08:47engineering website so that if uh

2:08:50residents have a concern or a question

2:08:52about a particular project, they can

2:08:55look at the map. they can uh they can

2:08:57filter it out by either roadway projects

2:09:01or safety improvement projects. They can

2:09:04click on the street and that would give

2:09:06additional information including uh what

2:09:09engineers from the engineering division

2:09:11have been assigned to the project. So if

2:09:12they have particular questions they can

2:09:14call the engineering division. So that

2:09:16information exists on the DPW's

2:09:19engineering website

2:09:21>> through chair. Is that new?

2:09:23>> Uh through the chair that's new this

2:09:25year.

2:09:25>> Right. So I want to again express

2:09:27appreciation for that transparency. U

2:09:30Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the

2:09:32explanations this evening. Um

2:09:36the reason I was asking about best

2:09:38practices, I think that the city manager

2:09:40commented that it's been about 20 years

2:09:42or so we've been doing things the same

2:09:43way and we know we do things the same

2:09:45way. We it's it's at times foolhardy

2:09:49when it's not as successful as could be

2:09:51to expect better results. So Mr. Jim and

2:09:53just would like to make a motion that we

2:09:55we get back forth with best practices as

2:09:58relates to the questions that were posed

2:10:00this evening. Um

2:10:03and not just one best practice, best

2:10:05practices um so that the appropriate

2:10:08committee can can have a little bit of

2:10:09oversight uh regarding what direction um

2:10:13the manager in this department choose to

2:10:15go in. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

2:10:18>> Council Rivera.

2:10:22My my question is, I'm sorry if this

2:10:24been answered before, but um through the

2:10:27um chair through the um Commissioner

2:10:29Westland,

2:10:31does the city only do use contractors

2:10:35when working on all the city streets

2:10:38or does you guys the city also fix some

2:10:42of the streets? Just contractors or

2:10:46both?

2:10:47>> Mr. Commissioner

2:10:48>> through the chair, I'm terribly sorry.

2:10:49Would you repeat the beginning of that

2:10:50question?

2:10:51>> Sorry. Does the city only use

2:10:53contractors when they're fixing the

2:10:56streets? And I know you guys put out

2:10:58bids, right, to fix the streets? Is that

2:11:00is that the only way has been done? It

2:11:03says for the last 20 years, stuff like

2:11:05that. Is that the way it's been done all

2:11:07the time?

2:11:08>> Uh through the chair, we have a

2:11:11procurement process that we have to

2:11:13follow. Uh so that's where we put out

2:11:16the bid and the contractors bid on the

2:11:18projects for the streets. There are some

2:11:20projects that the DPW can accomplish.

2:11:23For example, if there are sidewalk

2:11:25repairs that are a few panels on a

2:11:29concrete sidewalk, for example, or

2:11:32resurfacing a batuminous concrete

2:11:34sidewalk, the DPW can accomplish that

2:11:37work. But in general, if they're larger

2:11:39repairs or reconstructions, that's work

2:11:42that's put out to bid. And the

2:11:44successful bidder who follows the

2:11:46procurement process, they are the ones

2:11:48that are selected. Gotcha. So the the

2:11:51city to the chair to the commissioner

2:11:53the city mainly work will work on

2:11:56sidewalks but not on the streets. Those

2:11:57are given out to to bid for to work

2:12:01outside of the the city.

2:12:03>> Uh through the through the chair if

2:12:05again if they are smaller repairs or

2:12:08smaller resurfacing uh with our

2:12:12with our staff in the uh resources and

2:12:15equipment that we have. uh we can do

2:12:17that repair work ourselves. But in

2:12:19general, if it's a roadway

2:12:20reconstruction project, that requires a

2:12:23contractor who can mobilize large pieces

2:12:26of equipment and uh different

2:12:28subcontractors who can work on those

2:12:31particular items in the construction.

2:12:35example um if it's a small street needs

2:12:40repairing stuff that would that be

2:12:42something that you guys will be able to

2:12:44do or still contractor bid the whole

2:12:47process small street just paving fixing

2:12:51stuff

2:12:52>> through the through the chair the city

2:12:54doesn't have uh the necessary paving

2:12:57equipment uh whether that be the the the

2:13:00screeds that spread the patuminous

2:13:02concrete uh the the the rollers ers, the

2:13:05multi-tonon rollers, whether they are

2:13:07rubber tired or steel drums, the city

2:13:09doesn't have that equipment. So, any

2:13:12resurfacing or repaving, that would be

2:13:14something that we put out to bid.

2:13:16>> Gotcha. Thank you.

2:13:18>> Thank you, Mr. Manager.

2:13:19>> Uh, just quickly, just to add a little

2:13:21bit more context, some of the work that

2:13:22the DBW crew does, uh, majority is like

2:13:25pothole repairs or small patches. That's

2:13:28really the work that they do on the

2:13:29streets. outside of any of that work

2:13:31requires contracted work. Uh because the

2:13:34required equipment that's needed to do

2:13:37even a long patch work has to be a

2:13:38contracted work. The the department

2:13:40doesn't have the equipment to be able to

2:13:42do something like that. So a lot of it

2:13:43is small little patches or you know uh

2:13:46or actually pothole uh repairs.

2:13:49>> Sorry before you go to councelor um for

2:13:52solo just remember one question. um how

2:13:55is the um pothole master plan coming

2:13:58along with the city? I know that you

2:14:01guys been going to work and stuff like

2:14:03that. Just an update on how that's

2:14:05coming along

2:14:07>> through the chair as we're looking at

2:14:09this coming winter. Uh we are we've been

2:14:13approved for funding for our batch plant

2:14:17for hot mix asphalt. Uh we do have an

2:14:20abundant supply of millings which is old

2:14:24asphalt that was milled off of roadways

2:14:27that we have stockpiled and frankly this

2:14:29is a great reuse of that item. Uh so we

2:14:33are uh planning to have that in place

2:14:36that batch plant in place before

2:14:37snowflies this year.

2:14:39>> Thank you. Okay, council visol

2:14:45through Mr. Chairman. Uh I'm looking for

2:14:48some guidance or education from you. I

2:14:50have a item on

2:14:52>> read now

2:14:54>> 9000 and this and I wonder if we can

2:14:57take it down a while

2:14:58>> department head to here.

2:15:00>> Okay. 900 is request the stand committee

2:15:03on public works hold a discussion

2:15:04relative to the ways that the city can

2:15:06improve the process used in the

2:15:07department of transportation mobility

2:15:08and department of public works to make

2:15:10their street and sidewalk relocation

2:15:12surfacing project selections in each of

2:15:15the city's district councils said

2:15:17discussion should include the timeline

2:15:19required to ensure streets and sidewalks

2:15:21are resurfaced in a timely manner

2:15:25council

2:15:26>> thank you Mr. Chairman through you Mr.

2:15:29chairman, when when uh

2:15:33being a new counselor, when I came into

2:15:35the uh

2:15:38into the term and uh we sat with uh

2:15:43Commissioner Raleigh and uh went over at

2:15:46the time uh those speed humps that uh

2:15:52were picked

2:15:53uh or I should say were were uh

2:15:58selected, not selected but brought forth

2:16:01by the previous district counselor and

2:16:04then uh I had the opportunity to pick

2:16:08which ones um

2:16:11that I was allowed to the seven or so

2:16:13that you were allowed to uh at that time

2:16:15I was given a list of streets and

2:16:18sidewalks that I was told again I'm not

2:16:21I'm not holding anybody to the you know

2:16:24saying that they misspoke or anything

2:16:25but when I when I was at that meeting I

2:16:28was given a list of sidewalks, streets

2:16:31and sidewalks and told that these are

2:16:33the streets and sidewalks that would be

2:16:35done uh this construction season. Uh

2:16:42what I found out was that uh as as the

2:16:46time went by, you know, I I asked him

2:16:49when when that would would happen, it'd

2:16:51probably be uh August or September. Uh

2:16:55so I waited till August of September and

2:16:58saw that those streets and sidewalks

2:17:00weren't being started. So I uh inquired

2:17:04about it and I was told that uh they

2:17:07were picked in December of 2025 and

2:17:11because of that late date, they wouldn't

2:17:14they wouldn't be uh worked on until next

2:17:18year. So 2027,

2:17:21it'll be fiscal year 2027, I believe. Uh

2:17:26July 1st of 26 to June 30th of uh 27.

2:17:33But again, I was given that list and

2:17:37uh being a rookie to all this, I

2:17:41spoke to people that had their streets

2:17:44and sidewalks on this list and told them

2:17:45that their street and sidewalk was going

2:17:48to be done this year. And now I have to

2:17:51go back and tell them that it's not

2:17:54going to be done this year. It's going

2:17:56to be done next construction season. And

2:17:58I can't tell them about procurement

2:18:01process and why it's uh the case that I

2:18:06was told it was going to be done this

2:18:08year and it's it's uh unfortunately not

2:18:11going to happen till next year. Again,

2:18:13I'm not blaming anyone, Mr. chairman,

2:18:15but there's something that's got to be

2:18:18we've got to work. We've got to re we've

2:18:20got to work together and we've got to

2:18:22make a a better process of of how this

2:18:26goes because um you know I I just I have

2:18:30to say that uh it's tiresome to hear

2:18:34well this is the reason why we're not

2:18:36doing it. No, we we need we need to put

2:18:39a plan together and

2:18:42uh make sure that

2:18:44uh if it's if you're told that it's

2:18:46going to be fiscal, you know, I look at

2:18:49this and it says, Mr. Chairman, through

2:18:52you public works to repair the following

2:18:55list of sidewalks during fiscal years 25

2:18:58and 26. That's what it says on this

2:19:01list. and we're not getting it get

2:19:04getting to calendar year 27. And Mr.

2:19:07Chairman, in all due respect, uh I don't

2:19:10see work starting until later in the

2:19:13year until August and September. So that

2:19:18isn't fiscal year

2:19:2126. It isn't. It it ends in June 30th.

2:19:24So, are we going to get to these streets

2:19:26and sidewalks

2:19:28through you to the to the commissioner

2:19:30or to the uh city manager? Are we going

2:19:32to get to those before June 30th?

2:19:35Because if not, I want to be able to

2:19:37tell people because that's what it says

2:19:39here, fiscal year 2025 to 2026. If

2:19:43someone could answer that, I'd

2:19:45appreciate it. Commissioner Morali or

2:19:48Commissioner.

2:19:54Sure.

2:20:14So through the chair um thank you for

2:20:17letting me take a look at the list. So

2:20:20the uh there are different time frames

2:20:22for the sidewalks and the street

2:20:24projects. So councelor Friso was

2:20:26referring to the sidewalk projects um on

2:20:29that list and uh I believe some of those

2:20:33are reflected in this sidewalk list. So

2:20:35for example, Dolly Drive is on there as

2:20:37you've noted that hasn't started yet. Um

2:20:40what happened with the sidewalk uh picks

2:20:43is that councilors had not selected

2:20:47sidewalks for the prior two years. So

2:20:49that was essentially a catchup um

2:20:52exercise where the city manager uh

2:20:57agreed to allocate some additional

2:20:58funding toward toward uh construction of

2:21:01sidewalks and we did an additional round

2:21:04of sidewalk picks. So that covered the

2:21:062025 and 26 time frame, but we were

2:21:09doing so in a retroactive fashion.

2:21:13>> Okay.

2:21:14>> So if I if I may, I'm sorry. So it was a

2:21:17one-time um activity that was different

2:21:20than the normal cadence of the street

2:21:24and sidewalk selections both previously

2:21:26and today.

2:21:27I I appreciate the explanation, but in

2:21:30all due respect, I I cannot go and tell

2:21:32the constituent that I told him their

2:21:35sidewalk was going to be done this year

2:21:37or even next year

2:21:40that for an answer. It's it's just it it

2:21:43doesn't make me look well. It doesn't

2:21:44make me look I I have to tell you, Mr.

2:21:47Chairman,

2:21:49I I know uh my colleague uh councelor

2:21:54Mitra says he got elected to get things

2:21:57done. And you know, I I I

2:22:02absolutely use that phrase in my

2:22:04campaign that I I you know, someone

2:22:06someone said to me one day, "I'm glad

2:22:10you I'm glad you're coming back, John."

2:22:12I told my friend, I'm glad he's coming

2:22:14back because he gets things done. and we

2:22:16went and we ran we ran with that. Then I

2:22:19I'm here to get things done. And it's

2:22:20frustrating when

2:22:24you see things that are on paper and

2:22:27what they say and then you go and tell

2:22:29people and you can't come through it.

2:22:31It's it's a question of your word. And I

2:22:34and I am uh frustrated with that. I have

2:22:36to be honest with you. I I am frustrated

2:22:37with that. Let me ask you this. Um

2:22:41through you, Mr. chairman.

2:22:44I was told also that speed humps, the

2:22:47permanent speed humps would start in

2:22:49August in in approximately around

2:22:52August. I haven't saw a speed hump, a

2:22:55permanent speed hump yet in the district

2:22:59I represent and it's now it's middle of

2:23:02September. When when are those starting

2:23:05through you, Mr. Chairman?

2:23:07>> Commissioner Christian Ro.

2:23:08>> Yeah, thank you. through the chair. So,

2:23:10the speed hub um budgets are authorized

2:23:13July 1st with the new fiscal year. Um we

2:23:15immediately put a bid out for that work.

2:23:17So, they've all been bid and awarded. Um

2:23:20so, that contractor has been selected.

2:23:22They have until the end of November to

2:23:24complete all of the permanent speed

2:23:25humps for this season.

2:23:28>> Do you do through you, Mr. Chairman, do

2:23:30you have any idea when they're starting?

2:23:32>> Commissioner

2:23:33>> through the chair. It should be within a

2:23:35matter of a week or two.

2:23:36>> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, thank

2:23:38you, Mr. Raleigh. Um, Mr. Chairman, I

2:23:42had people call me and say,

2:23:45"We didn't get our uh speed hump this

2:23:47year." And I and then I referred back to

2:23:51um the office and and the aids looked it

2:23:55up and that's and they said, "Well,

2:23:56that's because they had it. They had the

2:23:58temporary two years and they uh what

2:24:01happens is then the third year is the

2:24:04permanent one." So, I go back to them

2:24:05and I tell them the reason why you have

2:24:08to wait until August is because you're

2:24:11getting a permanent speed hump. So, uh

2:24:14although you have to wait that long,

2:24:15from that point on it's permanent. It'll

2:24:17be there year in year out. You won't

2:24:20have to worry about it. And here we are.

2:24:21I get calls, John, you told us it was

2:24:24going to be in August. And here we are

2:24:26midseptember, but Mr. Raleigh says it's

2:24:28going to start in the next week or two.

2:24:30at least I can get back to them with uh

2:24:33that that answer. But again, it's

2:24:35frustrating, Mr. Chair. I'm not going to

2:24:37lie. And uh I I want to cooperate

2:24:40cooperate with everyone. I want to get

2:24:43have a good relationship, but at the

2:24:45same time, I need to keep uh my word and

2:24:50uh you know, it's your word's your bond.

2:24:52And uh it bothers me that uh you know,

2:24:55in in I'll bring up a case. I know the

2:24:58commissioner, Commissioner Wesling

2:25:01through you, Mr. Chairman, uh, got back

2:25:03to me today. There's a street on a list

2:25:09that was picked May 28th of 2024.

2:25:13There were four four streets on this

2:25:15list to be done in district three. Three

2:25:18of them or two of them are complete, one

2:25:22Ho H Hotton Street from Actton to

2:25:23Haywood.

2:25:25uh they're working on right now, but

2:25:28upsal street from Louise Street to

2:25:30Providence Street has not started and

2:25:32it's not going to start this year. And

2:25:35again, we're talking about it was picked

2:25:38in 2024.

2:25:40And uh I don't know why it's held up.

2:25:42The commissioner was told me he he'd get

2:25:45back to me tomorrow. I'm not I'm not

2:25:47trying to make anyone look bad. I'm just

2:25:50saying this is the things that you know

2:25:53again I've told people oh solid street's

2:25:56getting done and and then when it gets

2:25:58done it's also going to have speed humps

2:26:01permanent speed humps uh you know along

2:26:04with it and people are you know

2:26:08questioning me when when is it going to

2:26:09start and obviously it's not going to

2:26:11start right now because I know I through

2:26:14you Mr. Chairman, I I brought it up to

2:26:16you back a few weeks back and uh no uh a

2:26:20couple weeks back and you said, "Geez,

2:26:22if it doesn't get if it hasn't get

2:26:23started now, it's not going to because

2:26:25it'll never get done." So, uh this is

2:26:30what I'm talking about, Mr. Chairman.

2:26:32And one other example I'd like to bring

2:26:34up is this one. Uh I have emails here.

2:26:38Uh

2:26:39>> about a minute left. Yeah.

2:26:41>> Excuse me.

2:26:41>> About a minute left.

2:26:42>> Okay, I'll make it quick.

2:26:45Uh, I was uh um told by a a constituent

2:26:50on St.

2:26:52Anthony Street, which is a dirt road off

2:26:55of Granite Street that they that the

2:26:57Department of Public Works was uh out

2:27:00last construction season working on

2:27:03Granite Street to um work on the uh the

2:27:08the flow of, you know, rain rainwater

2:27:11that the uh source couldn't handle and

2:27:13they'd come out out to those streets and

2:27:15wash them out. and uh they didn't

2:27:19complete the work and they were told

2:27:21that they'd come back this construction

2:27:22season. So, April of this year, I

2:27:25contacted I didn't, but the staff in the

2:27:28office contacted the DPW asking uh about

2:27:32it and he said the gentleman in the

2:27:36email here uh Commissioner, assistant

2:27:38commissioner Melo said uh the work would

2:27:41uh begin in around August. And uh we we

2:27:46put it we put it in

2:27:48>> uh can you wrap it up?

2:27:49>> Yeah.

2:27:50>> Very quickly, we put in the computer to

2:27:53recheck with them.

2:27:55>> Point of order, Mr. Chairman.

2:27:57>> Um, he's over his a loted time. Um, I'd

2:28:00like to make a motion to suspend the

2:28:01rule so he can complete his thoughts.

2:28:04>> Mr. Chairman, he's my motion, Mr.

2:28:07Chairman.

2:28:07>> Yep.

2:28:08>> Mr. Chairman, I I only

2:28:10>> roll call, Mr. Chairman. So call by

2:28:12>> Thank you. Thank you, Council. Councelor

2:28:15Bergman.

2:28:16>> Yes. Council

2:28:17>> Bada. Yes.

2:28:21Council

2:28:21>> Bada.

2:28:23Yes,

2:28:24>> council econom.

2:28:25>> Yes, council

2:28:25>> Brazil.

2:28:26>> Yes,

2:28:27>> council king.

2:28:28>> Yes, council

2:28:28>> Mitra.

2:28:29>> Yes,

2:28:30>> yes,

2:28:31>> Rivera.

2:28:32>> Yes,

2:28:32>> Rosen.

2:28:33>> Yes,

2:28:34>> Tumi.

2:28:35>> Yes.

2:28:35>> And Mayor Petty.

2:28:36>> Yep.

2:28:38>> Uh thank you to my colleagues. I'll make

2:28:40it as quick as I can. Uh

2:28:43the word back once the office called uh

2:28:47on it in August, we had it again. We had

2:28:50it in the computer to call back in

2:28:52August to make sure it was going to

2:28:54start. Then when we when we uh spoke to

2:28:59uh Commissioner Melo

2:29:03uh through email,

2:29:06the message back was unfortunately it's

2:29:08not going to happen this year. It's

2:29:09going to have to wait till spring of

2:29:11next year. Now, uh, spring of next year,

2:29:15uh, is there a procurement process

2:29:17that's going to happen again where

2:29:19that's going to, uh, delay that and and

2:29:21it goes even further? These other

2:29:24frustrations that we're dealing with,

2:29:26Mr. chairman. I only bring them out

2:29:28because uh

2:29:31again, I told I told this constituent

2:29:34that they'll be back in August and then

2:29:36and now I I had to go back and tell them

2:29:39uh it's not unfortunately it's not going

2:29:42to happen until next year. So, I'll

2:29:45leave it there, Mr. Chairman. I'll let

2:29:46the uh the commissioner if he if he

2:29:50could uh just address address that and

2:29:53uh I'll take it from there. Thank you,

2:29:55Mr. Chairman,

2:29:58>> Commissioner,

2:30:00>> uh through the chair. Um I absolutely

2:30:03will have the information on Absala for

2:30:05you tomorrow as I indicated. Uh and I've

2:30:08got to check on the Granite Street issue

2:30:10and I will also provide you with that

2:30:12information as to what the status is. I

2:30:15believe that that was an item that had

2:30:16to be bid, but I've got to confirm that

2:30:18and I'll get back to you.

2:30:20>> Mr. Chair, can I just Mr. Mr. Chair, can

2:30:22I just say one

2:30:24>> if it had to be bid, how did the work

2:30:27start through you, Mr. Chim, how did the

2:30:29work start last year

2:30:32>> and they tell the constituents, the

2:30:35residents, that they'll be back next

2:30:37year to finish and we have to put it

2:30:39back out to bid. That's that's what's

2:30:41confusing here. And if you could address

2:30:43that, Mr. Commissioner, I'd appreciate

2:30:45it.

2:30:47>> Commissioner,

2:30:48>> through the chair, that's the

2:30:49information that I'll provide to the

2:30:50counselor.

2:30:51>> Okay. Okay. Thank you.

2:30:53>> Okay. Okay. So, we have uh I think

2:30:56Council Con spoke once. Council Ver

2:30:58spoke once. So, not speaking. Council

2:31:01Mitch, you're up next.

2:31:04Thank you, Mr. Chair. To you,

2:31:05[clears throat] to uh city manager and

2:31:09commissioners here, it's him.

2:31:13Um you know we all hear this that uh

2:31:16there are some dates given on that date

2:31:19that something will be completed it's

2:31:22not done as my colleague um councelor

2:31:26Fzolo has been expressing his

2:31:28frustration

2:31:30um I mean we all feel the same way that

2:31:33um I have been saying this from

2:31:37council ship that we should have a smart

2:31:39goal which means that we should have a

2:31:41deadline that this is when it will be

2:31:42done and it's done through some you know

2:31:45good calculations.

2:31:47Uh I believe something is missing here.

2:31:50So I understand that uh nobody is not

2:31:54finishing the job uh intentionally. I

2:31:57think that DPW, DTM, they're all working

2:32:01hard to get this done. But if it is not

2:32:03done on the time that you mention, maybe

2:32:06there should be a communication. Maybe

2:32:07there should be an explanation and maybe

2:32:09change or update your whole chart that

2:32:12you have that this was supposed to be

2:32:14done in 26 but couldn't be done. There

2:32:16is an column that explains why. So at

2:32:19least we counselors at the same time if

2:32:23any constituent or residents wants to

2:32:25see why it didn't get done there is an

2:32:27explanation by not expressing anything

2:32:31by not updating it is always very

2:32:34frustrating to anyone. So it's not very

2:32:37difficult to in the in the era that we

2:32:40live in a technology being we live in

2:32:42Massachusetts second largest city I

2:32:45think we should have the technology or

2:32:47or the technical systems available so to

2:32:51update these things with adding into the

2:32:53column that we receive here that this is

2:32:55the sidewalk will be done on this day

2:32:57this is the roads will be um paved on

2:33:00this date but as he's saying that it's

2:33:03not done we don't know Why? So if we

2:33:07could get this updated, I think that

2:33:09might give us some idea and we can also

2:33:12probably talk to our constituents and

2:33:14say, "Hey, I just saw this because of

2:33:15this reason. This was not getting done."

2:33:18Not that I know that nobody is really

2:33:20trying to intentionally not do it. But

2:33:22there is a reason why it's not getting

2:33:24done. If that reason can just be given

2:33:26that well budget was not there, the

2:33:29material was not there or whatever the

2:33:31contractor was not selected, whatever

2:33:33could be the reason. So we have an

2:33:35explanation. We can we see why it didn't

2:33:37happen and update it. It's not going to

2:33:39get done in 26. It'll get done in 27. So

2:33:42at least we are in a better position to

2:33:45explain to our constituents. So

2:33:47appreciate that u change if that could

2:33:50be done. Thank you

2:33:50>> commissioner

2:33:51>> through the chair. Uh the spreadsheets

2:33:54that you're seeing in this report are

2:33:56paired down from a spreadsheet that

2:33:58probably has uh 70 different columns. Uh

2:34:02but the the point is well taken that if

2:34:05we're showing 0% we can add a column in

2:34:09there that shows what the reason is

2:34:10whether it's a utility hold or funding

2:34:13issue or something else but we can

2:34:15absolutely provide that information.

2:34:17>> Okay. Okay. Um we have council Rosen.

2:34:24>> Thank you Mr. Chairman. I know one

2:34:27thing, even though we're talking about

2:34:29the issues we have with these streets

2:34:31and sidewalks, that we've come a long

2:34:33way though because I was first elected

2:34:36to city council after 10 years in the

2:34:38school committee in 1995.

2:34:421995.

2:34:44And at the time, and none of you

2:34:46obviously were on the council there, and

2:34:50uh uh Mayor Mariano appointed me right

2:34:53off the school committee. What did I

2:34:54know? uh the public works committee

2:34:56chair which was kind of unusual in those

2:34:59days but the toughest thing we had was

2:35:02streets and sidewalks and they the five

2:35:06district councilors kept coming to me

2:35:08and saying oh I've got more bad roads in

2:35:13my district than the other four and I

2:35:16need more money and I heard this from

2:35:18all five and there's only a certain part

2:35:19of money and no one ever had the idea of

2:35:22splitting it five ways so now the

2:35:24district council's That's where it came

2:35:26from. When when I was the the DPW chair

2:35:29of the committee, the public works

2:35:31committee, I said, "We're going to make

2:35:33this split up five ways. It's still

2:35:35happening, still working, although we

2:35:37certainly have problems." I live on a

2:35:39street called Herbert Road, and it runs

2:35:41into one of these that's presently under

2:35:43construction called uh Hadwin Lane. And

2:35:46you wouldn't even know they're two

2:35:48different streets. Maybe just look at

2:35:49the sign because they it's like like one

2:35:51street, but okay. So it runs into Hadwin

2:35:53Lane which is under construction now.

2:35:55Hadwin Lane runs down to Pleasant

2:35:57Street, not far from Richmond Avenue,

2:35:59just so people have an idea. So they

2:36:01started work and it was approved in

2:36:032021.

2:36:05So it's only been 5 years before they

2:36:07got started. Okay, five years. We

2:36:09waited, you know, I've been there for

2:36:1020some years and my neighbors kept

2:36:12saying when are they going to pay? But I

2:36:14said soon. But I never I never say to

2:36:17them it's going to be this year or next

2:36:18year. I've learned that lesson a long

2:36:20time ago. So, it's been five years.

2:36:23They've been working on it for three

2:36:24months. The problem is on this street

2:36:28anyway, they come once a week, maybe on

2:36:31good weeks, twice a week. And of course,

2:36:34my neighbors say, "Why don't they just

2:36:36finish the job?" I I don't know why they

2:36:38don't finish job. I say to him, "Well,

2:36:40they've got other jobs to do. So, if

2:36:42they have 10 jobs to do, we'll give

2:36:45everyone a day here and everyone a day

2:36:47there." And that to me is idiotic. I

2:36:50mean, this is a short street we're

2:36:51talking about. And they got all the

2:36:53granite curbs in. Looks great. And they

2:36:55put the first layer uh down. And that

2:36:57looks great cuz the street was just

2:36:59horrendous. One of the worst in the

2:37:00city, I'm sure. And so the progress is

2:37:03so slow, but they are making progress. I

2:37:06don't know if they're going to finish.

2:37:07It's only been three months. How do I

2:37:09know? This this two ten of mile street,

2:37:11but maybe not even that. It's been three

2:37:14months of construction, but they weren't

2:37:15there today. Hey, they weren't there

2:37:17yesterday. They'll probably be there.

2:37:18What's tomorrow? Wednesday. Yeah, we'll

2:37:19probably see them one day cuz they have

2:37:21other streets to do. What is wrong

2:37:23through the chair to the commissioner

2:37:25with them finishing the project? I don't

2:37:27care if it takes them four months, but

2:37:29work on it and get it done. I mean, if

2:37:32this street isn't finished this

2:37:34construction year, it'll just be

2:37:37idiotic.

2:37:39commission

2:37:41>> uh through the chair that is what I had

2:37:43mentioned earlier where the engineering

2:37:45division is looking at this was brought

2:37:47to our attention uh and this is

2:37:50something that we're working at so that

2:37:52we don't have a contractor who comes in

2:37:54and the issue uh you hit the nail on the

2:37:56head uh counselor is that we would issue

2:38:00a contract to a single contractor for

2:38:03many roads. So the way that construction

2:38:06works, there would be a contractor or

2:38:10subcontractor that is skilled in

2:38:13removing for example uh asphalt off the

2:38:16road. So that contractor comes in and

2:38:18let's say there's five roads would

2:38:20remove the the the buminous concrete the

2:38:22asphalt from the first road then

2:38:24mobilize to go through the entire list

2:38:27of roads that they have. The next

2:38:30utility contractor that would be coming

2:38:32in, for example, would be raising

2:38:35structures, and that's a subcontractor.

2:38:37So, the subcontractor would come in and

2:38:39do those five roads. The next contractor

2:38:42to come in would have the skill set in

2:38:45uh installing granite curbing. So, they

2:38:48would come in and do all of those roads.

2:38:50So, it's a process that we need to

2:38:52tighten up the timeline. Uh and we can

2:38:54do that through our contract, and we're

2:38:56committed to doing that. so that we

2:38:58don't end up with roads like Hadwin

2:39:01where it starts at one point and it just

2:39:06uh you you described it perfectly uh

2:39:09that it that it takes more time than if

2:39:12it was just one contractor with one

2:39:15road. So through the chat I understand

2:39:18that it's got to kind of be coordinated

2:39:20between the different uh companies that

2:39:23are working on these and that can be

2:39:24difficult. I understand that. But

2:39:25there's just so many days and now again

2:39:27I'm talking this road because I live

2:39:29right there. So many days where there's

2:39:31just nothing happening day after day and

2:39:34that's a big problem. And I don't know

2:39:36we through the chair when we they they

2:39:39bid these contracts, we give out these

2:39:40these contracts. Are we that desperate

2:39:42that we can't say here's how it's going

2:39:44to be done? I mean we want it done here.

2:39:46Hadwin land. It's been on the list 5

2:39:48years. We're starting it in June. It's

2:39:51got to be done by September. I mean,

2:39:53can't we or we don't pay you or we take

2:39:55we pay you half. I mean, there's going

2:39:57to be some type of penalty for these

2:40:00companies.

2:40:01>> Again, through the chair. Sorry, Mr.

2:40:03Manager. Go ahead.

2:40:04>> Uh through the chair, that's something

2:40:06that we are committed to uh tightening

2:40:08up that time frame. So, for example, if

2:40:10there's five roads, we might award the

2:40:13bid uh July 1st and say that they've got

2:40:16six months to complete all of those five

2:40:19roads. We need to look at uh how do we

2:40:23shorten the time frame for each one of

2:40:25the roads. For example, instead of

2:40:26giving five roads six months or longer,

2:40:30whatever [clears throat] the period is,

2:40:32uh perhaps we start issuing contracts

2:40:34for only two roads and you've got three

2:40:36months to complete them or something

2:40:38like that. So, that's something we're

2:40:39committed to doing for next year's

2:40:41concern.

2:40:41>> And through the chair, to make them

2:40:43comply, there should be some type of

2:40:44penalty system. Let me just stick and

2:40:46I'm almost done, Mr. Chim. Stick to

2:40:48Hadman Lane. It's probably one of the

2:40:51widest mouths of a road in Worcester

2:40:53when it runs into Pleasant Street, not

2:40:55far from uh Richmond a very very wide.

2:41:00And now I see it's been narrowed down

2:41:03because of the granite curbing. It's

2:41:05been narrowed down to maybe onethird

2:41:06that width. And the rest of it, the

2:41:09other two/irds at that mouth has granite

2:41:12curbing all around. And it looks like

2:41:13they're going to plant grass there. It's

2:41:15all I can think because neighbors have

2:41:16asked me and every time I drive by, you

2:41:18know, I see a lot of dirt. There was a

2:41:20lot of construction material there. Now

2:41:22it's just dirt and I'm saying, I guess

2:41:24they're going to plant grass. I mean,

2:41:26they put curbs in, so it's not going to

2:41:28be part of the road where I'm going to

2:41:29drive. So, I don't know if we're going

2:41:31to plant grass or flowers or whatever,

2:41:33but do we do that? I never saw that

2:41:35before. Through the chair.

2:41:38>> Through through the chair. I can take

2:41:40the first shot at answering that. And

2:41:41Commissioner Westerling may have some

2:41:43additional information to add, but yeah.

2:41:44So that's a location where it had

2:41:46probably one of the widest mouths of any

2:41:49intersections in the city which was a

2:41:51significant safety concern. I think that

2:41:53crosswalk was about 85 90 ft across. Um

2:41:57city had constantly been getting

2:41:59complaints um particularly for school

2:42:02children walking to school about how

2:42:04unsafe it was to cross both Hadwin and

2:42:06then also Pleasant Street at that

2:42:08location. So, as part of the project,

2:42:12um, DPW worked on a reconfiguration of

2:42:16that to reduce those crossing distances

2:42:18and get rid of that excessive width. Um,

2:42:21my understanding is, and we may have to

2:42:24report back on the specific details,

2:42:26we'd have to check with the engineering

2:42:27division of of DPW for this, but um, my

2:42:30understanding is yes, that will be

2:42:32planted. I'm not sure if it might uh

2:42:35either be a like a bioail treatment. I

2:42:38think a portion of it will be so it's a

2:42:40natural feature that helps with storm

2:42:42water u infiltration and some of it may

2:42:46be planted to just be essentially lawn

2:42:49or grass space but we can we can report

2:42:52back on the the details on that.

2:42:54>> Okay. It's kind of unusual but that

2:42:56that's fine. And my my last point is

2:42:58this. So maybe the plows the largest

2:43:01plows we have in the winter which

2:43:03sometimes do that area. So if they come

2:43:05down the hill, the Richmond ABS on the

2:43:08left, they first come down that hill,

2:43:09Pleasant Street, and they want to flip a

2:43:11right onto Adwin Lane. Now it's been all

2:43:13changed. Of course, they used to have

2:43:14that huge wide mouth. Now they don't

2:43:16have it. They get onethird of it. And

2:43:17with the curbing, the angle is wrong. If

2:43:20you're going to make that turn on a big

2:43:22plow, I mean, we thought of that before

2:43:24that they can't plow to have unless he

2:43:27goes way over to the other side of

2:43:28Pleasant Street and he makes a real

2:43:30square turn, I suppose you could do it.

2:43:32It's going to be troublesome, I'd say,

2:43:34because the street is so narrow, and I

2:43:36just thought the angle, I mean, I'm not

2:43:39an expert like you guys, but I never

2:43:40would have picked that angle if I was

2:43:42just going to make the street one-third

2:43:44as wide. So, it could be a problem with

2:43:46big trucks or certainly plows.

2:43:50Thank you, Mr. Chair.

2:43:51>> Thank you. Okay, we have councelor

2:43:53Bergman.

2:43:54>> Okay. Thank you, [clears throat] Mr.

2:43:56Chairman.

2:43:57When I look over and heard councelor

2:44:00Fzolo uh speaking as he did to um to

2:44:04both commissioners reminded me of myself

2:44:07a few years ago um before the

2:44:10frustration just took over and I was

2:44:12unable to be as calm as he was. So um I

2:44:17hope that doesn't happen to him. Uh I

2:44:19will just say that through the chair to

2:44:21uh whichever commission I'll go to

2:44:22commissioner Westerling. When I look at

2:44:24the printout, street name, segment,

2:44:26segment, construction type status, the

2:44:29one thing that stands out to me, there's

2:44:31a column that I think should be there

2:44:33and isn't, which is anticipated

2:44:35completion date. So, through the chair

2:44:38to the commissioner, what why isn't

2:44:40there a category that says that?

2:44:44>> Commissioner,

2:44:45>> uh through the chair, we can absolutely

2:44:47add that. We do have that information

2:44:49and we can absolutely add another column

2:44:53uh to include anticipated completion

2:44:55date.

2:44:55>> I say that, Mr. Chairman, because as my

2:44:58colleagues have said, when constituents

2:45:00ask us when's something going to be

2:45:02completed, puts a huge burden on us to

2:45:05try to represent to them what we believe

2:45:07to be accurate information. when the

2:45:09information turns out not to be

2:45:11accurate. Not saying intentionally, but

2:45:13it just turns out for whatever reason

2:45:15there are delays, comes back to to

2:45:17really make us look like we're not being

2:45:19truthful with our constituents. And

2:45:21quite frankly, I I don't think that

2:45:23should be our role. I think our role

2:45:25should be to transmit accurate

2:45:27information. So, through the chair of

2:45:28the commission, I hope you consider

2:45:30putting a column on that says that. If I

2:45:32may just switch to another topic that

2:45:34councelor Rosen reminded me of because

2:45:36uh we we both live in a similar um

2:45:39neighborhood and both come across that

2:45:41Hadwin project and I also was curious

2:45:44what's going on over there. So through

2:45:46the chair this one goes to commissioner

2:45:47Raleigh. Was was the redesign of Hadwin

2:45:50road initiated by any sort of citizen

2:45:53petition or was it something decided

2:45:55upon by the transportation mobility

2:45:58department? Commissioner

2:46:00>> through the chair. I'll actually have to

2:46:02defer to Commissioner Westerly on that a

2:46:04little bit. Um I don't know if there was

2:46:08a petitioner request. There had

2:46:09certainly been requests over the years

2:46:11to address the crosswalk safety and both

2:46:13legs of that. Um you know going back

2:46:16several years. Um DTM did not initiate

2:46:20the design uh changes there. That was

2:46:22initiated by DPW.

2:46:24um certainly support them on a

2:46:26conceptual level and we've consulted

2:46:28with them on the um on the the layout.

2:46:32Um but that was not something that we

2:46:33had involvement with.

2:46:35>> Just if I may, Mr. Chairman, to the Mr.

2:46:38Raleigh, who who I appreciate answering

2:46:40the question, uh would you agree with

2:46:42me, Commissioner Raleigh, or that

2:46:45crosswalk

2:46:46concerns don't necessarily require the

2:46:49narrowing of the roadway? I mean, was

2:46:51there a specific request to narrow that

2:46:54roadway because of the crosswalk

2:46:55concerns? That's really my question.

2:46:57>> Yeah. Through the chair. I I'd have to

2:46:58go back and search the records to see if

2:47:00there had been, but

2:47:01>> Well, it is a if I may just finish um

2:47:05that that is a technique that is most

2:47:07commonly employed when you have an a

2:47:09really excessive um crosswalk like that.

2:47:12Well, I'll just I'll just finish with

2:47:14with saying this that one one of the

2:47:17things I think frustrates a lot of

2:47:19people uh in neighborhoods like that.

2:47:21There's been no public discussion about

2:47:23those changes. Uh for some I heard what

2:47:25councelor Rosen said. I agree with them.

2:47:27The angle of of uh snow removal trucks

2:47:30coming out of there. It's going to be

2:47:32difficult. Making a right-hand turn

2:47:34coming down Hadwood onto Pleasant is

2:47:37going to be difficult. And there's been

2:47:39absolutely zero neighborhood input. So,

2:47:41I I just think when I've said this

2:47:43before, when there are significant road

2:47:45changes, what is wrong with asking the

2:47:48neighbors what their opinion is? That

2:47:51that's my question. When you do things

2:47:52like this after the fact and people like

2:47:55Council Rose and myself have to ask you

2:47:57what's going on, to me, that spells an

2:48:00absolute failure in communication to the

2:48:02neighborhood when the councils

2:48:04themselves don't know what's going on. I

2:48:06hope it works out well. U but I see this

2:48:08as a continuing pattern. that fright

2:48:10frustrates the daylights out of me that

2:48:12there's no communication to the

2:48:14neighbors about what what you're doing

2:48:16and then councilors themselves are left

2:48:18in the dark without an explanation to

2:48:20give to their constituents. I I don't

2:48:22need a response but thank you Mr.

2:48:23Chairman.

2:48:25>> Okay, we have uh councelor Caroff of

2:48:28Council Rivera.

2:48:30>> Thank you Mr. Chairman.

2:48:32So you can see the frustration that we

2:48:34have right that what we're dealing with.

2:48:37I think something else that might help

2:48:40us

2:48:41is it calendar year or fiscal year,

2:48:45right? Because you're telling us 20 25

2:48:4926 or 27. Okay. So, is that 26 27 25 26

2:48:55right? And it may be worth in January to

2:48:59come out with a January to July or end

2:49:02of June and then after whatever bids go

2:49:04out

2:49:06after July 1st for the second half of

2:49:08the year. Um and just I would also be

2:49:13remiss if I didn't say this too.

2:49:16Westinghouse Parkway got started this

2:49:19this summer.

2:49:21They came in, they tore it all up, they

2:49:24left

2:49:26It was over a month that the it was just

2:49:28left

2:49:30dirt. Okay.

2:49:33I find that unacceptable. I think when a

2:49:35contractor gets started, they should be

2:49:37there to do the job. Um Cheyenne Road,

2:49:42the people on Cheyenne Road are in their

2:49:46second year

2:49:49of waiting to get their street finished.

2:49:53They tore it all up last year, put the

2:49:55base coat down, and it's been like that

2:49:57all year. It hasn't been finished. The

2:50:01driveway aprons haven't been finished.

2:50:03The final coat of asphalt hasn't been

2:50:05done. It may be attached to Westinghouse

2:50:08Parkways from what I understand, but I

2:50:11find that completely unacceptable.

2:50:14that stretch of Cheyenne Road through

2:50:16the chair

2:50:20would be a one-year, one season project.

2:50:23I can't see why that would be where it

2:50:26is today still in the middle of

2:50:28September

2:50:30and it's not done.

2:50:32So, these are the frustrations that

2:50:34we're dealing with and that's why I

2:50:36think it's important for us to tighten

2:50:38up these contracts.

2:50:40Um,

2:50:41not leave them as loose.

2:50:44And I think no, no street once it's

2:50:47started or torn apart

2:50:51should be left unattended and unworked

2:50:54on for even even a week or two. You

2:50:57know, I feel we need to hold the

2:50:59contractor accountable.

2:51:02to have his people lined up.

2:51:05And as somebody said earlier, I've

2:51:07learned my lesson, too, not to give

2:51:09anybody a specific date because weather

2:51:12happens,

2:51:13unexpected issues at other job sites

2:51:16happen, and there's always delays. It's

2:51:18just the nature of uh construction. But

2:51:22I think in an effort to help us do our

2:51:24job and not bother you guys too to be on

2:51:27your backs all the time um you know what

2:51:30are we doing where are we think that

2:51:33would be beneficial to us.

2:51:35>> Thank you chairman.

2:51:38>> Yeah just quickly I just want to one I

2:51:40just want to thank the council for

2:51:42bringing this up. This is something

2:51:43that's been uh heavily discussed

2:51:45internally with both of the

2:51:46commissioners here. Um, this is

2:51:49something that is a priority in terms of

2:51:50trying to make sure that we provide

2:51:52better messaging. That's why the website

2:51:54is we've strengthened that. We're going

2:51:55to try to strengthen more. That's why

2:51:57we've brought back the actual reports on

2:52:00a monthly basis. We're going to

2:52:01strengthen this more. Um, there's a lot

2:52:04of work that needs to be done. We need

2:52:05to also work better with some of our

2:52:08contractors. We have challenges where

2:52:10some contractors perhaps may have too

2:52:12many roads that they're doing and that's

2:52:14why it's taking longer because they have

2:52:15too many roads. But but you know we we

2:52:18we need to do better in that area. We

2:52:20acknowledge that there's a bunch of

2:52:21areas that we need to strengthen. Um and

2:52:23we need to work with council on these

2:52:25things and setting the expectations and

2:52:27understanding uh the the the

2:52:29deliverables as well. U this is a big a

2:52:31big kind of undertaking. Uh there are

2:52:34best practices out there significant

2:52:37practices across the entire nation. Some

2:52:39of those best practices

2:52:42are things that will require tough

2:52:45conversation on this floor because it

2:52:47would remove an ability of potentially

2:52:50council involvement. But those are best

2:52:53practices across the nation. And so we

2:52:55we will look at that. We will bring that

2:52:57forward and have that conversation

2:52:59because at the end of the day, we all

2:53:00want the same thing. We want better

2:53:02roads and we want our residents to

2:53:04receive the the the response that they

2:53:06deserve. Um, and so we're going to do

2:53:08what we can to make sure we come back

2:53:10with a report to answer all these

2:53:11questions that have been asked uh

2:53:12tonight. Thank you.

2:53:14>> Thank you, councelor Rivera.

2:53:16>> U Mr. Chair, just real quick, if there's

2:53:18any other uh my colleagues do want to

2:53:20ask questions to the chair because mine

2:53:22is an amendment to Folo's order that

2:53:25hasn't been voted on yet. So they can

2:53:27ask questions first and then I can go.

2:53:29>> You can put your amendment. We'll come

2:53:30back to it.

2:53:31>> You can do your amendment now. We'll

2:53:32come back to it at the end.

2:53:33>> All right. Perfect. Um, first I want to

2:53:36say clearly that my I I rise for this. I

2:53:41I have no

2:53:43negative to say about any any counselors

2:53:46before me, after me, currently here.

2:53:49This is strictly um noticed things that

2:53:53I've noticed in my short eightmonth

2:53:55period that I've been here at city

2:53:56councelor. And I've learned a lot and

2:53:59I've seen a lot and um I'm also learned

2:54:02a very good lesson. and it took me eight

2:54:05months. Don't give no dates, you know,

2:54:07because mistakenly I was given a date on

2:54:10the street. Um, and that's not going to

2:54:13happen. And now the is egg on my face,

2:54:15but it's okay. Um, but I did notice that

2:54:19uh

2:54:20um a lot of the

2:54:23stuff with the streets and sidewalk

2:54:25that's going on is it's is become

2:54:29politics over people, you know. and I

2:54:32ran on people over politics, you know.

2:54:35So, you know, I I rise to offer an

2:54:38amendment to the order. I support the

2:54:40spirit of this order and opportunity to

2:54:42discuss how we can improve the

2:54:44resurfacing and the rehabilitation of

2:54:46our streets and sidewalks. I know we all

2:54:49share commitment to providing municipal

2:54:51services as timely, predictable, and

2:54:53effective as possible.

2:54:55If we're going to review the current

2:54:57process, however, I believe it should be

2:54:59a holistic review that considers not

2:55:02only the timing of the projects, but

2:55:03also how projects are selected,

2:55:06scheduled, and coordinated between the

2:55:08city administration and the district

2:55:10counselors.

2:55:11With that said, my amendment would

2:55:13insert the following language at the end

2:55:15of original order. envision to the

2:55:18timeliness said discussion should

2:55:20consider ways in which project

2:55:22scheduling can be made more predictable

2:55:25and whether the current role of district

2:55:27counselors in the selection process is

2:55:29the most effective approach

2:55:32and um and in an order separate to that

2:55:35I I would I would consider especially

2:55:37what we have here today is similar to

2:55:40how DTM has done with the speed hub and

2:55:43speed table policy I would request in

2:55:45order that the committee public works to

2:55:48work with DPW to review the council

2:55:50selection process of streets and

2:55:52sidewalks to create a similar policy. I

2:55:56think it's important that we're not

2:55:58going to be city councils here forever,

2:56:00but it's important that the residents

2:56:02get

2:56:04they're the taxpaying residents that

2:56:06they get what they what they earn and

2:56:08what they deserve. and and and a lot of

2:56:11these streets have over 50 years,

2:56:13sidewalks 40 years, 30 or 20 years just

2:56:16been ignored and and and we should be go

2:56:19by the PCI, worst case scenario across

2:56:22the board, across the city and and I

2:56:25just feel like it's the best way for us

2:56:27to represent our constituents. Thank

2:56:30you.

2:56:31>> Thank you. Okay, we have uh councelor

2:56:35everybody's got smoke. Okay, councelor

2:56:37King for a second time.

2:56:39I think.

2:56:40>> Thank you. Just uh clarification was

2:56:43that motion to eliminate district

2:56:46councils from the process? What what was

2:56:48the motion?

2:56:49>> It was a motion was to at the end was he

2:56:52had a separate motion to create a policy

2:56:54have the public works create a written

2:56:56policy so people know how to uh what the

2:57:00policy is and how streets are picked.

2:57:02That's why I took it. Yeah.

2:57:03>> Okay. I didn't understand. Okay. Thanks.

2:57:05Um Mr. Chairman, I know that some time

2:57:08ago we took a vote um to accept a grant

2:57:12or accept money uh for Grafton Street

2:57:16and um for addressing Grafton Street

2:57:19from Rice Square to Monaporic Street for

2:57:22the 2026 season. I'm just wondering if

2:57:25this work has begun and if so, when will

2:57:28it be completed through the chair?

2:57:32>> Um

2:57:34when do the commissioners

2:57:36Grafton Street um and from Rice Square

2:57:39through Metaphoric Street. I think we've

2:57:41discussed this previously on the floor

2:57:44uh through the chair. That was an item

2:57:47that the city sought and received a

2:57:51grant from the Massachusetts Department

2:57:54of Transportation. It was a grant for

2:57:57state numbered local roads. Uh I would

2:58:00have to get back to uh the counselor as

2:58:03to uh what the time frame is for that. I

2:58:06believe that that was one that similar

2:58:09to what happened with speed bumps uh

2:58:11that we had to wait until the money was

2:58:12available before we could bid it. But I

2:58:14can get back to the council on the time

2:58:17frame for that work.

2:58:21>> Third chair to the manager.

2:58:24>> Mr. Manager,

2:58:25>> the chair to the council. The project is

2:58:27under bid is is listed in the pamphlets

2:58:29that the council have in the report. The

2:58:31current project is under bid right now.

2:58:33>> Out to bid.

2:58:34>> Out to bid. Yes.

2:58:37>> Okay. Will it get done this construction

2:58:39season through the chair?

2:58:41>> Uh commissioner

2:58:42>> through the chair. That depends on the

2:58:45contractor that's selected and what they

2:58:46have for a time frame in their available

2:58:49schedule.

2:58:50>> Thank you.

2:58:52>> Okay. Okay.

2:58:55So, uh, council, did you want that 8.11a

2:58:58in your committee? Just file it.

2:59:02>> Yeah.

2:59:04>> Yeah. The second report we're going to

2:59:05send council, uh, we haven't got to the

2:59:08second report yet.

2:59:11>> Yeah. So, uh, council

2:59:14as amended and councelor

2:59:17Rivera's order along with it was sent to

2:59:19the council's report to request.

2:59:23[snorts] It will go to the standing

2:59:24committee of public works as amended and

2:59:27we'll also take council river's order.

2:59:30Send that to the administration

2:59:33and and any other reports that were

2:59:36requested. Roll call.

2:59:38>> All right. And the amendment say as well

2:59:40>> as amended I said.

2:59:41>> Oh good.

2:59:42>> Thank you.

2:59:43>> Councelor Bergman.

2:59:44>> Yes.

2:59:45>> Bada.

2:59:46>> Yes.

2:59:47>> Econom.

2:59:48>> Yes.

2:59:48>> Council.

2:59:49>> Yes.

2:59:50>> King.

2:59:50>> Yes.

2:59:53Yes.

2:59:53>> Oh,

2:59:54>> yes.

2:59:55>> Rivera,

2:59:55>> yes.

2:59:56>> Rosa,

2:59:56>> yes.

2:59:57>> Mr. Tumi,

2:59:58>> yes.

2:59:59>> Mayor Petty,

3:00:00>> yes. Okay, we have uh let's just take an

3:00:03item out of order here.

3:00:09Public health

3:00:11>> 8/19B

3:00:12>> 819B

3:00:14819

3:00:17>> 819B transformation information

3:00:19communication relevant to the city of

3:00:21Worester opioid allocation

3:00:24we'll send that to public health

3:00:27I'm sorry roll call

3:00:29>> Bman

3:00:30>> yes

3:00:30>> Bada

3:00:32>> yes

3:00:33>> econom

3:00:33>> yes

3:00:34>> zolo

3:00:35>> yes

3:00:35>> king Yes,

3:00:36>> Mitra.

3:00:37>> Yes,

3:00:38>> yes,

3:00:39>> Rivera.

3:00:40>> Yes,

3:00:40>> Mr. Rosen.

3:00:41>> Yes,

3:00:42>> Tumi.

3:00:43>> Yes,

3:00:43>> Mayor P.

3:00:44>> Yes.

3:00:57Excuse me, Mr. Chairman. Could we take

3:00:589P out of order just just to wrap that

3:01:02up?

3:01:11So she has nothing.

3:01:13Okay. 9P

3:01:16resolution that this council see hereby

3:01:19recognize September as national service

3:01:21dog month. Councelor Bada.

3:01:24>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um we had a

3:01:26great resident that lives in the canal

3:01:28district. Shout out to Michelle and her

3:01:30service dog, Healey. Um, great

3:01:32neighborhood residents and asked uh to

3:01:35acknowledge uh National Service Dog

3:01:37Month. Uh, it's great. It's a great

3:01:39service. I had a service dog myself uh

3:01:42from an agency called uh Needs uh up in

3:01:45Sterling, Massachusetts. I believe uh

3:01:48Healey is from a uh veteran uh companion

3:01:52K9 companion agency. I just really want

3:01:54to acknowledge the great work that

3:01:56service dogs do and they help out so

3:01:57many folks with disabilities uh from you

3:02:00know my service dog helped me with

3:02:02opening doors picking things up uh as as

3:02:05well as just providing you know

3:02:06companionship and safety out in the

3:02:08community. So just wanted to take some

3:02:09time to recognize all the great agencies

3:02:11uh and all the great service dogs out

3:02:12there that help out so many in our

3:02:14community.

3:02:15>> Thank you. Roll call.

3:02:17>> Councelor Bergman.

3:02:18>> Yes.

3:02:18>> Bel.

3:02:20>> Yes.

3:02:20>> Economo.

3:02:21>> Yes.

3:02:22>> Zolo.

3:02:22>> Yes.

3:02:23>> King. Yes,

3:02:24>> Mitra.

3:02:25>> Yes,

3:02:26>> yes,

3:02:28>> yes,

3:02:28>> Rosen.

3:02:29>> Yes,

3:02:29>> Tumi.

3:02:31>> Yes,

3:02:31>> Mayor Petty.

3:02:32>> Yes.

3:02:36>> All set. Okay, we have uh

3:02:41let's do speed humps. Uh transformation

3:02:44communication concerning new policies

3:02:46and procedures for administration

3:02:47traffic calming speed hump program.

3:02:51Send that to traffic and parking. All

3:02:52those in favor? Opposal ordered.

3:02:56>> Roll call.

3:02:56>> We hold the next one. 8.19A.

3:02:59>> Oh, I'm sorry. Roll call.

3:03:01>> Councelor Bergman.

3:03:02>> Yes.

3:03:02>> Bada.

3:03:04>> Yes.

3:03:04>> Econom.

3:03:05>> Yes.

3:03:06>> Zolo.

3:03:06>> Yes.

3:03:07>> King.

3:03:07>> Yes.

3:03:08>> Mitra.

3:03:09>> Yes.

3:03:09>> Mr. O'Hada.

3:03:10>> Yes.

3:03:10>> Mr. Rivera.

3:03:11>> Yes.

3:03:12>> Rosa.

3:03:12>> Yes.

3:03:13>> Tumi.

3:03:14>> Yes.

3:03:14>> Mayor Petty.

3:03:15>> Yes. Transmitting information

3:03:17communication rel to the 20 July 2026

3:03:19financial update. Send that to MO. Roll

3:03:23call.

3:03:27Councelor Bergman.

3:03:28>> Yes.

3:03:29>> Bada.

3:03:30>> Yes.

3:03:31>> Economo.

3:03:31>> Yes.

3:03:32>> Rolo.

3:03:33>> Yes.

3:03:33>> King.

3:03:34>> Yes.

3:03:35>> Mitra.

3:03:35>> Yes.

3:03:36>> Aa.

3:03:37>> Yes.

3:03:37>> Mr. Rivera.

3:03:38>> Yes.

3:03:38>> Mr. Rosen.

3:03:39>> Yes.

3:03:39>> Tumi.

3:03:41>> Yes.

3:03:41>> Mayor Petty.

3:03:42>> Yes. Um, X is 8.30A. Transferring

3:03:46information communication re to the

3:03:48upcoming DCU special tax district

3:03:50borrowing motion to send the MLO.

3:03:54Roll call. Councelor Bergman.

3:03:56>> Yes.

3:03:56>> Bada.

3:03:57>> Yes.

3:03:58>> Economo.

3:03:59>> Yes.

3:04:00>> Yes.

3:04:00>> King.

3:04:01>> Yes.

3:04:02>> Mitra.

3:04:03>> Yes.

3:04:03>> Ha.

3:04:04>> Yes.

3:04:04>> Vera.

3:04:05>> Yes.

3:04:06>> Rosen.

3:04:06>> Yes.

3:04:07>> Tumi.

3:04:08>> Yes.

3:04:08>> And Mayor Petty.

3:04:10>> Yes. We have 8.35A 8.36A.

3:04:148.378 through D. Adopt on the roll call.

3:04:17Roll call.

3:04:17>> Councelor Bergman.

3:04:18>> Yes.

3:04:19>> Bada.

3:04:21>> Yes.

3:04:21>> Councor Econom.

3:04:22>> Yes.

3:04:23>> Zolo.

3:04:23>> Yes.

3:04:24>> King.

3:04:26>> Yes.

3:04:27>> Mitra.

3:04:28>> Yes.

3:04:29>> Yes.

3:04:29>> Mr. Rivera.

3:04:30>> Yes.

3:04:31>> Mr. Rosen.

3:04:31>> Yes.

3:04:32>> Tumi.

3:04:33>> Yes.

3:04:34>> Mayor Petty.

3:04:35>> Yes. Next line item up is 9A. Team

3:04:38manager turns information communication

3:04:40road to the economic development

3:04:41initiatives.

3:04:42Um,

3:04:47this ED

3:04:50roll call.

3:04:52>> Councelor Bergman.

3:04:54>> Yes.

3:04:54>> Bada.

3:04:55>> Yes.

3:04:56>> Economo.

3:04:57>> Yes.

3:04:57>> Roso.

3:04:58>> Yes.

3:04:58>> Councelor King.

3:05:00>> Yes.

3:05:01>> Mitra.

3:05:02>> Yes.

3:05:02>> Councelor Aida.

3:05:03>> Yes.

3:05:03>> Mr. Rivera.

3:05:04>> Yes.

3:05:04>> Mr. Rosen.

3:05:05>> Yes.

3:05:05>> Mr. Tumi.

3:05:07>> Yes.

3:05:07>> And Mayor Petty.

3:05:08>> Yes. Next item is transmitting

3:05:09information communication related to the

3:05:11housing and neighborhood development

3:05:12activities.

3:05:14Send it to ED.

3:05:16>> Roll call.

3:05:17>> Councelor Bergman.

3:05:17>> Yes.

3:05:18>> Bada.

3:05:19>> Yes.

3:05:20>> Councilor Economo.

3:05:21>> Yes.

3:05:21>> Roso.

3:05:22>> Yes.

3:05:23>> King.

3:05:23>> Yes.

3:05:24>> Mitra.

3:05:25>> Yes.

3:05:26>> Oh,

3:05:26>> yes.

3:05:27>> Rivera.

3:05:27>> Yes.

3:05:28>> Rosen.

3:05:28>> Yes.

3:05:29>> Tumi.

3:05:30>> Yes.

3:05:31>> And mayor Petty.

3:05:32>> Yes. Next item is communication city

3:05:34manager trans transmitting information

3:05:36communication road to the semianual tiff

3:05:39tai reporting June 30th 2026

3:05:43the ed

3:05:46>> roll call.

3:05:46>> Councelor Bergman.

3:05:47>> Yes.

3:05:48>> Bada.

3:05:49>> Yes.

3:05:50>> Economo.

3:05:51>> Yes.

3:05:51>> Brazo.

3:05:52>> Yes.

3:05:53>> King.

3:05:54>> Yes.

3:05:54>> Counc.

3:05:57>> Yes. Counc.

3:05:58>> Yes.

3:05:59>> Rivera.

3:06:00>> Yes.

3:06:00>> Rosa.

3:06:01>> Yes. Mr. Tumi,

3:06:02>> yes.

3:06:03>> And Mayor Petty,

3:06:04>> yes. Next item is uh 9D. Request city

3:06:08manager request the commission of public

3:06:10works provide council with a report

3:06:11detailing the preparations occurring

3:06:14within the um department for upcoming

3:06:16winter weather and snowstorm season.

3:06:19Said report should include a breakdown

3:06:21of the department's available personnel

3:06:23equipment anticipated improvements in

3:06:26snow and ice removal operations.

3:06:30Council Okonnell.

3:06:31>> Mr. Chairman, as it reads.

3:06:34>> Okay. As it reads. Roll call.

3:06:36>> Council Bergman.

3:06:37>> Yes.

3:06:37>> Mr. Bada.

3:06:39>> Yes.

3:06:40>> Economo.

3:06:40>> Yes.

3:06:41>> Yes.

3:06:42>> Mr. King.

3:06:42>> Yes.

3:06:43>> Mitra.

3:06:44>> Yes.

3:06:44>> Toa.

3:06:45>> Yes.

3:06:45>> Mr. Rivera.

3:06:46>> Yes.

3:06:47>> Mr. Rosa.

3:06:47>> Yes.

3:06:48>> Mr. Tumi.

3:06:49>> Yes.

3:06:50>> And Mayor Petty.

3:06:51>> Yes. Request to provide council with a

3:06:53report detailing the uh convers

3:06:55conversion of private streets into

3:06:57public streets into the city. said

3:06:58report should include information

3:07:00related to how many miles of private

3:07:01streets currently exist in the city, the

3:07:04process used by residents to convert

3:07:06streets from p private to public, the

3:07:08legality and of the uh fiscal amounts

3:07:11required to have the city pay to convert

3:07:13all private streets to public streets

3:07:15and the process used by the

3:07:16municipalities to convert their private

3:07:18streets to public streets. Um, councelor

3:07:21Mitra.

3:07:23>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um,

3:07:27what I have experienced that, uh, any of

3:07:30the private streets that we have, if we

3:07:32want to, uh, if any resident gives us

3:07:35the petition to change it into public

3:07:38street, uh, looks like it gets very

3:07:40difficult to do that because the costs

3:07:42that the residents have to incur. I just

3:07:46wanted to know the what it takes for us

3:07:49to really get it converted. Can can I

3:07:52know the whole report which says I know

3:07:54it's about 400 some miles of private

3:07:56streets we have in our city. Um is there

3:08:00a is there a legally can the city or

3:08:03administration say that well we have it

3:08:06is our city you live in here even though

3:08:09it's a private street is there a legal

3:08:11right that the city has that they can uh

3:08:15definitely change it from the point of

3:08:17the safety point of view um how are the

3:08:20other municipalities are really

3:08:22converting private streets into public

3:08:25streets because of the safety reasons I

3:08:27say I've visited many private streets

3:08:29and they're quite unsafe. So, um I just

3:08:33wanted to have a report that what it

3:08:34takes for us to convert because it's

3:08:36getting very difficult uh really to

3:08:39bring it back to a a public state if we

3:08:43want to. So, I can get a report on that.

3:08:46>> Okay. So, send that to the

3:08:47administration.

3:08:50I'm sorry.

3:08:50>> Yeah.

3:08:51>> What's that?

3:08:52>> Yeah, that's fine. Okay.

3:08:55>> Okay. Council Council O'Hara.

3:08:59>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a quick

3:09:00question to uh through you to the city

3:09:03manager. I remember um probably when I

3:09:06first got on, this was something that

3:09:08came up um the private streets with

3:09:10councelor Russell and he wanted to know

3:09:14um if there's been a change to the rate

3:09:17um residents would have to pay. I guess

3:09:19it was a the rate is pretty much

3:09:21outdated or it was like the rate has

3:09:23never changed over time. So through the

3:09:26chair,

3:09:26>> Mr. manager [clears throat]

3:09:27>> through the chair to the council. You

3:09:28you're talking about two different

3:09:30things. The what council Russell had

3:09:32brought up and that you're uh alluded to

3:09:34right now regarding the raid is $6 per

3:09:37linear fee is for the maintenance of

3:09:39private roads that the city can provide

3:09:41on maintenance.

3:09:42>> The what Dr. Mitra just brought forward

3:09:44this order is about conversion of the

3:09:47actual street. There two different

3:09:48things. Okay. Uh so the conversion it's

3:09:51it's we do an analysis of the cost of

3:09:53the entire project and then there's an

3:09:55assessment that's based on to the

3:09:57property owner based on the square

3:09:58footage of that property that has

3:10:00frontage to that road. Um and so the

3:10:03what you're discussing or what you

3:10:05brought up here is the maintenance. So

3:10:07if there is a a a desire from a resident

3:10:10that requires some kind of maintenance

3:10:12to that private road, they can file a

3:10:14petition. The council will approve. we

3:10:16would then have to appropriate some

3:10:18funds to be able to provide that

3:10:19maintenance and it's $6 per linear fee

3:10:22depending of how how you know how how

3:10:24how much that maintenance programs uh

3:10:26can extend.

3:10:27>> So that I guess that was the question

3:10:28then has that so that clearly has not

3:10:30changed. How long has that been in

3:10:32place?

3:10:36>> It's uh the that $6 kind of uh linear

3:10:40fee has been for a long time. I don't

3:10:42know exactly the data. I can get that to

3:10:43you after.

3:10:44>> Yeah, that's fine. I I just know that

3:10:45>> been on for a long time.

3:10:46>> Yeah. Sorry. I know that was something

3:10:47that um councelor Russell had wanted to

3:10:49know if we could look into that and if

3:10:52um we would change that to help the

3:10:54residents. So, I'm not sure if that ever

3:10:56has been talked about

3:10:58>> uh through the ship to the council. Um

3:11:01we have not changed that uh as of yet.

3:11:04Um it is a matter of a funding uh uh

3:11:07situation, right? and and can we be able

3:11:10to provide enough funding to be able to

3:11:13address these private roads? Um,

3:11:15understanding and knowing that we have

3:11:17significant amount of work on our public

3:11:19works public roads that we just talked

3:11:21about. Uh, so it's it's a matter of

3:11:23funding and kind of how to manage that

3:11:25appropriately. Yeah. And and and just

3:11:26another thing, it just comes to mind

3:11:28that I' I've gotten a couple calls about

3:11:30residents really interested in in in

3:11:32looking into that and changing it from

3:11:34from private to public. Um but then

3:11:37understanding that it's a it's a cost to

3:11:39residents um or somewhat of a cost to

3:11:41residents and just trying to figure out

3:11:43if there's other ways or if there's

3:11:45other things of avenues of that you have

3:11:47thought about to to better their roads

3:11:50but not to the point where the road has

3:11:52been done over. So I want to know if

3:11:54this through the ch there's been

3:11:55conversations like that in your

3:11:56department

3:11:57>> through the ch the council what we if

3:12:00it's it's more so about putting funding

3:12:03forward um for the purposes of

3:12:06maintenance to these particular private

3:12:08rows based on the petitions. So if an

3:12:10annual basis you have or if we have two

3:12:12or three petitions on that year we would

3:12:14then assess how much we need to allocate

3:12:16for that purposes of that year for

3:12:18maintenance on that road. Um and and so

3:12:21that it's it's based on that. It's based

3:12:23on petitions and based on need.

3:12:26>> That's good to know. Thank you. Yeah.

3:12:28>> Okay.

3:12:28>> Thank you.

3:12:29>> Thank you. So we'll send that to uh the

3:12:32manager. I'm sorry. Roll call.

3:12:35>> That's Bergman.

3:12:36>> Yes.

3:12:37>> Bada.

3:12:39>> Yes.

3:12:39>> Economo.

3:12:40>> Yes.

3:12:41>> Bolo.

3:12:42>> Yes.

3:12:42>> Dr. King.

3:12:44>> Yes.

3:12:44>> Dr. Mitra.

3:12:45>> Yes.

3:12:46>> Oh,

3:12:47>> yes.

3:12:47>> Rivera.

3:12:48>> Yes.

3:12:48>> Mr. Rosen. Yes.

3:12:50>> Tumi.

3:12:51>> Yes.

3:12:52>> Mayor Petty.

3:12:53>> Yes. Request mayor provide council with

3:12:54a with a report concerning any

3:12:56responsibility the city has to ensure

3:12:58private streets are kept at a basic

3:13:01minimum standard that allows public

3:13:02safety vehicles to pass through the

3:13:04road. Further request report include

3:13:06information concerning how the city

3:13:08could allocate funding to ensure the

3:13:10roads are kept at set standard. Council

3:13:13metro.

3:13:14>> Thank you Mr. Chair. through you to the

3:13:16administration or manager. Um I'm I'm

3:13:22kind of trying to you know see that how

3:13:24we can

3:13:25bring some solution to this private

3:13:28streets and uh because many of the

3:13:30streets we see are not very safe or the

3:13:33medical emergency vehicles to go or fire

3:13:36trucks to go. They're not really in a

3:13:38good position to be does the city have

3:13:41any responsibility to have some kind of

3:13:43a standardized at least standard to have

3:13:46maintain our streets that it may be

3:13:49private but since you live in the city

3:13:51of Worcester we have a responsibility to

3:13:53maintain it at this certain at a certain

3:13:55level and if that is there I'd like to

3:13:58know what that is and does the city have

3:14:00the responsibility to at least bring it

3:14:03to that level. Uh I'm not saying the

3:14:06city has to pay right now but can we do

3:14:08that because the city private streets

3:14:11are in such a way there are so many

3:14:13streets that medical you know emergency

3:14:15vehicles cannot go fire trucks cannot

3:14:17go. So can we maintain it to a certain

3:14:20extent that it has a standard it has a

3:14:23to some extent it is in that quality

3:14:25that at least that can be done. We don't

3:14:27want to put people's life in risk uh by

3:14:30not really keeping some level of

3:14:32standard procedure or for any street. So

3:14:35my my request was that can the city do

3:14:38that? Do we have that possibility? Is

3:14:41that a doable thing or if you live on a

3:14:44private street the city has no

3:14:45responsibility at all. I would like to

3:14:47see that we have some responsibility to

3:14:49maintain it at least to a certain level

3:14:51so that it is safer. Bringing in safety

3:14:54as my major concern here. Thank you. If

3:14:57you can just let me know about that.

3:14:58>> Thank you. We'll send that to the

3:15:00manager. Roll call.

3:15:01>> Councelor Bergman.

3:15:02>> Yes. Council

3:15:03>> Bada.

3:15:05>> Yes.

3:15:06>> Econom.

3:15:06>> Yes.

3:15:07>> Brazil.

3:15:08>> Yes.

3:15:08>> Mr. King.

3:15:09>> Yes.

3:15:10>> Mr. Mitra.

3:15:11>> Yes.

3:15:12>> Oh,

3:15:12>> yes.

3:15:13>> Mr. Rivera.

3:15:14>> Yes.

3:15:14>> Mr. Rosen.

3:15:15>> Yes.

3:15:16>> Tumi.

3:15:17>> Yes.

3:15:17>> Mayor Petty.

3:15:18>> Yes. request any city any manager

3:15:19request the commissioner of

3:15:20transportation mobility provide council

3:15:22with a report detailing the um monetary

3:15:25allocations required to resources each

3:15:27of the city's major arteries as defined

3:15:29by the city's payment management program

3:15:31respectively said report should only

3:15:32include major arteries that are in need

3:15:34of such repairs council Mitra

3:15:37>> thank you again Mr. chair. Um

3:15:41last one of the meeting that I had

3:15:42requested um Commissioner Steven Raleigh

3:15:46to give me the major arteries of the

3:15:49city uh and he was very graceful to give

3:15:52the report and we he listed about 26 of

3:15:55them which are major arteries of the

3:15:57city. My goal was to see that once again

3:16:00uh we try to bring businesses here.

3:16:02We're seeing that how uh almost every

3:16:05week we have a new business coming in.

3:16:07we're going ribbon cutting and we want

3:16:08to give them a sort of feeling that this

3:16:10is a city where you want to do business

3:16:13and they want we want to retain them.

3:16:15One of the ways would be to see that

3:16:16they when they drive they find the city

3:16:19has safe road and smooth roads. So I

3:16:22wanted to see if we can at least the

3:16:25major arteries of the city we can pave

3:16:27them we can make them look good. Some of

3:16:28them are already in a position that

3:16:30they're in good shape like burn code,

3:16:32like Newton Street. But there are many

3:16:34which are not to that level that could

3:16:37attract people to come here, stay here,

3:16:40do business, raise their family and find

3:16:42this city to be one of the best cities

3:16:44to live. So that with that intent, I

3:16:46just wanted to get have a gauge that if

3:16:49we do all these major streets, uh

3:16:52resurface them, pave them, make them

3:16:54look good, not just a piece of it like

3:16:56we are doing Park Avenue from Highland

3:16:59to um or um Highland to I think

3:17:04Salisbury Street. That's the piece looks

3:17:07good, but rest of the park avenue is not

3:17:09at that par. So my goal was to make some

3:17:13major arteries look very decent, look

3:17:16good, smooth, and pave them from the

3:17:19beginning to the end of that street. In

3:17:21order to do that for those streets which

3:17:24are not yet done, may I have an

3:17:26assessment of what it might cost? I'm

3:17:28not saying we're going to go get it done

3:17:30all the time, but I know the budget is

3:17:32an issue. I understand that. But maybe

3:17:34there is some other ways we can get get

3:17:36it funded. But I'd like to know what

3:17:39would it cost for us to really repave

3:17:42redo all those streets to make the city

3:17:44look really nice and smooth and ride

3:17:47would be very comfortable. So with that

3:17:49intent uh to attract all other business

3:17:52owners and residents to come to this

3:17:54city and stay. It's one thing that

3:17:56they're coming but we want to retain

3:17:58them and for them it should be it should

3:18:01be a good idea to see that the roads are

3:18:03very comfortable. So, if I can get that

3:18:05assessment of the prices, what it costs,

3:18:07I'll appreciate that.

3:18:08>> Send that to the manager.

3:18:11I'm sorry. Um, roll call.

3:18:24>> Bergman.

3:18:24>> Yes.

3:18:25>> Bada.

3:18:27>> Yes.

3:18:28>> Economo.

3:18:28>> Yes.

3:18:29>> Molo.

3:18:30>> Yes.

3:18:30>> King.

3:18:31>> Yes.

3:18:32>> Mitra.

3:18:32>> Yes.

3:18:33Ha.

3:18:34>> Yes. Mr.

3:18:34>> Rivera,

3:18:35>> yes. Mr.

3:18:36>> Rosen,

3:18:36>> yes.

3:18:37>> Tumi,

3:18:38>> yes.

3:18:39>> Mayor Petty,

3:18:40>> yes. NH Council Rosen, request the city

3:18:44manager consider reviewing existing

3:18:46homelessness response actions plans in

3:18:48communities such as Seattle, Portland,

3:18:49Sacramento, Spokane for the purposes of

3:18:52adopting a similar in Worcester in

3:18:54effort to enhance the city's ability to

3:18:56serve as many needs of this growing

3:18:58unhoused population. Councelor Rosen.

3:19:02>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman,

3:19:04when we had the public comment section

3:19:07earlier, we heard one of the commenters

3:19:10screaming at me. Screaming at me. And I

3:19:13I said to myself, where did he get that

3:19:15impression that what he was suggesting I

3:19:18believe in I ever said. I I never said

3:19:20that.

3:19:21As I thought about it tonight, I said it

3:19:23must be from my item, my order 9H,

3:19:27which is an item that I'll take part of

3:19:30it in an effort to enhance the city's

3:19:33ability to serve the many needs of the

3:19:36growing unhoused population. He should

3:19:38have loved that part of it because, you

3:19:42know, if we listen to all the speakers

3:19:43tonight, that's basically what they're

3:19:45saying. And that's what I was

3:19:46suggesting. You know, I came up with

3:19:48this orders a few weeks ago before I

3:19:51think we even had the plan in front of

3:19:53us that was discussed at length by the

3:19:55public today. But this is a pro homeless

3:19:59item. And there's a lot in it. And I'm

3:20:02not going to go to my number one, but

3:20:03I'm going to go to my number two, which

3:20:04I think set him off. Over the years here

3:20:08in the city of Worcester, even on the

3:20:10Worcester city council, people have

3:20:12said, and it's not just on the council,

3:20:14and it's not just councilors who are

3:20:16here now, it's councilors in the past,

3:20:18but it's been said on the radio and TV

3:20:20and in newspaper, people have accused

3:20:23some of the surrounding towns of putting

3:20:26homeless on buses or in police cars and

3:20:30they're dropping them off at the border

3:20:31of Worcester. And I've never said that.

3:20:34Never. I I wouldn't talk that way. I

3:20:37wouldn't say that. I don't know who

3:20:38believes it. I don't believe it's true.

3:20:42But what I'm suggesting is and I think

3:20:45the report that the manager submitted to

3:20:48the council about the anti-amping, I

3:20:51think he suggested at the beginning that

3:20:53what we've done for so many years in

3:20:55Worcester dealing with the homeless

3:20:57issue hasn't been working. And that's

3:20:59why I came up with this order. It hasn't

3:21:02been working. So I'm suggesting maybe we

3:21:06can have and has nothing to do with

3:21:08accusing any cities or towns nearby of

3:21:13sending their homeless to Worcester

3:21:15because they don't want to deal with it

3:21:16and they can't afford it and Worcester

3:21:18has service. It wasn't that that wasn't

3:21:20my intention. But as I listened to him

3:21:22and then I thought about it, I said

3:21:23there must be this where I suggested a

3:21:26regional

3:21:27approach, a regional solution to

3:21:30homelessness, not just Worcester. And I

3:21:32put it this way. I said, "Entering into

3:21:34formal interlocal agreements." They're

3:21:37done around the country. I mentioned uh

3:21:39Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, and

3:21:41Spokane. Yeah, they're a lot bigger than

3:21:42Worcester, but they sat down with the

3:21:44surrounding towns and they came up with

3:21:47an agreement that let these four cities

3:21:50couldn't handle the homelessness issue

3:21:53either. They couldn't afford it. They

3:21:54they were overwhelmed similar to on a

3:21:57smaller scale with the city of Worcester

3:21:59here. and they came up with these

3:22:00agreements with several surrounding

3:22:02cities and towns to share the financial

3:22:04and operational expenses of a regional

3:22:07homelessness response. That's what all

3:22:09I'm I'm suggesting. I don't know, Mr.

3:22:12Chairman and Mr. Mayor and my

3:22:13colleagues, if we've ever even asked any

3:22:16of the towns to work with us. I know

3:22:18we've bashed them. We've been doing that

3:22:20in Worcester for a long time, saying

3:22:22they're putting them on buses and

3:22:24they're putting them in police cars and

3:22:26they're dropping them off at the border.

3:22:28I don't talk like that. I never said

3:22:29that. And I that was not my intention

3:22:32here. My intention was to sit down with

3:22:34the cities and towns around us. I guess

3:22:36mostly towns, right? So, seven or eight

3:22:39of the towns just like we did years ago

3:22:41with public health. We had a regional

3:22:43public health plan. It eventually didn't

3:22:46work as well as we all hoped and we kind

3:22:48of dissolved that. But that was a good

3:22:51point at the time, a regional public

3:22:53health plan. Why not talk to Lester,

3:22:56Spencer, Holden, Paxton, Princeton,

3:22:59Rutland, Sterling, Shrewsbury? Why not

3:23:02just talk to them? Invite them to sit

3:23:03down with us and say, "Would you people

3:23:05be interested in a regional approach to

3:23:09homelessness?" I don't know if we've

3:23:11ever done that. I don't know if we're

3:23:12doing that. I haven't heard anything

3:23:14about that. But again, I want people to

3:23:16realize I never intended to accuse any

3:23:20of these towns of doing something they

3:23:22shouldn't do. Bringing homeless. That's

3:23:25not And and a woman said it tonight. She

3:23:27said, "I'm from Worcester. I live in

3:23:29Worcester. Seven or eight years. I

3:23:31wasn't born here. I just moved here, but

3:23:32now I'm part of Worcester. And anyone

3:23:35who comes to Worcester is now a

3:23:36Worcesterite." And we have to treat him

3:23:38with respect. And that's what I'm

3:23:40talking about. So, I was I I suggested

3:23:43we send this to the manager and that

3:23:46that's what I want. Uh whether it'll

3:23:48ever come back to us, I don't know. Not

3:23:50everything comes back. We know that. But

3:23:52could we get Mr. Chairman and the clerk,

3:23:54is it okay to get can we get a dual

3:23:56referral? I'd love to send this to

3:23:58public health where I hope when we do

3:24:00talk about the uh anti-amping

3:24:04uh proposal and ordinance of the

3:24:06manager. I guess that's next Tuesday.

3:24:08When we talk about that, I assume I'm

3:24:11hopeful that I'll make the motion next

3:24:13week that we do send that to the public

3:24:15health committee. I'd like this to go to

3:24:17public health but with a report. Can we

3:24:19do a dual re? No. So you want to the

3:24:21manager get the report the only and

3:24:24that's fine. I'll agree to that. That's

3:24:25fine. So refer to the manager. The only

3:24:27trouble is when the manager has 2,000

3:24:29requests. You know, I guess I have to go

3:24:32to the manager during my monthly meeting

3:24:34and say, "Bring this to the top because

3:24:37I need this in my committee." But it's

3:24:39there to help the homeless. We're all

3:24:41here to help the homeless. Are there

3:24:43questions about the the anti-amping

3:24:45proposal and ordinance of the man? A lot

3:24:47of questions. A lot of us have the same

3:24:49questions that the the uh public had

3:24:52tonight, and we'll deal with that in

3:24:53subcommittee. We'll we'll we'll

3:24:55certainly analyze that. We'll invite the

3:24:57public in and we'll have a good public

3:24:58hearing. So, I'm not afraid to deal with

3:25:00the issue. But again,

3:25:03>> just to wrap it right up, Mr. Manager,

3:25:05in an effort to enhance the city's

3:25:06ability, the city doesn't have the

3:25:08ability right now. That's why we're

3:25:10trying other things to serve the many

3:25:12needs of the growing unhoused

3:25:13population. That's not negative to the

3:25:15homeless folks. That's positive. I want

3:25:17to help them out like I know my other 10

3:25:19colleagues do, too. And the manager

3:25:21does, too. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

3:25:24Yeah, just quickly I just want to add

3:25:25some comments um to the uh to the order.

3:25:28We have been working with communities

3:25:30around us, Milbury, Shbury, Auburn,

3:25:33Grafton. We've been in conversations

3:25:35some of those leaders. We provided some

3:25:36trainings uh to them. They've been

3:25:38interested in opening up potential

3:25:40whether it's shelters or other

3:25:42resources. And so our team has provided

3:25:44some level of training to those

3:25:45communities. Uh it's an ongoing

3:25:47conversation with these uh communities

3:25:49and we're still engaging in that. We're

3:25:51going to continue to strengthen that

3:25:52part of the effort with Central Mass

3:25:54Housing Alliance. Uh CHA, they are the

3:25:57regional uh uh coordinator on the

3:26:00they're the one who has the COC, the

3:26:02continuum of care uh for the city. So,

3:26:04their efforts are working with community

3:26:06partners, whether it's Spencer and

3:26:08Lester. Uh just last year, last winter,

3:26:11we we worked with Spencer to to uh open

3:26:13up some units and so or some some um uh

3:26:18a shelter for our seniors in in Spencer

3:26:20and they were very open to that. Uh

3:26:23either Spencer or Lester, I don't

3:26:24remember, but there's been some ongoing

3:26:26work and it will continue to do some of

3:26:28the work. I do want to uh just clarify a

3:26:30point. The the what I presented to

3:26:32council, it's a it's a uh it's called a

3:26:35a disrupting the cycle framework. is a

3:26:38framework that one of the components

3:26:41it's an encampment policy. It's not an

3:26:42antihomeless policy. It's not an

3:26:44anti-homeless framework. It's a

3:26:46disrupting the cycle. That's the name of

3:26:48the what we've named it. It's focused on

3:26:50on on a bunch of different efforts. One

3:26:53of them is an encampment policy that we

3:26:55introduced to council. So, it's it's

3:26:56important to note that.

3:26:58>> Thanks for clarifying that, Mr. Manager.

3:27:00And certainly from what you just

3:27:01mentioned, you've written half the

3:27:03report already. So, it would be nice to

3:27:05read that and I'm glad to hear that we

3:27:06are doing things with towns. Thank you,

3:27:08Mr. Mayor.

3:27:08>> Thank you, Council.

3:27:10>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, I did want

3:27:12to say, you know, I'd like to sign off

3:27:14on this as well. One thing that I think

3:27:16is is missing from, you know, Council

3:27:18Rosen's order in the is in the report uh

3:27:21that we'll be looking at next week is a

3:27:23need for public bathrooms. It's it's a

3:27:26really dire need in the Canal District.

3:27:28Um there's not enough bathrooms for

3:27:31people to go to the bathroom. It's a

3:27:32public health hazard. Uh people are

3:27:35having to defecate and urinate on the

3:27:36sidewalk. It's been going on for years.

3:27:39We we need to provide some type of

3:27:41additional h bathroom facilities to

3:27:46folks. Um I think having pushing

3:27:48everyone to the library is not fair to

3:27:50the library. Uh I think uh they're they

3:27:54go above and beyond to help out folks

3:27:56that are in need or in crisis. I think

3:27:58we but we need some additional resources

3:28:00to really resolve this public health

3:28:02crisis because that's what it is. Thank

3:28:04you.

3:28:04>> Thank you, Councelor. for um Bergman.

3:28:09>> I just wanted to um kind of follow up on

3:28:13something Council Rosen said. I'm not

3:28:15going to shy away from something I had

3:28:17said in the past. It could be

3:28:19misinterpreted or twisted as something

3:28:21that was said by in a heartless or cold

3:28:24way. Obviously, we care about all

3:28:26humanity whether whether they're live in

3:28:29Worcester, from Worcester, um or not.

3:28:32But what I had said in the past, and I'm

3:28:33going to say it again, is that and I and

3:28:37I do believe it to be true because I've

3:28:40heard it from a number of very reliable

3:28:42sources that the surrounding towns do or

3:28:47encourage their folks that need services

3:28:49to come to Worcester and that's that's

3:28:52not something that's sustainable. we

3:28:54don't have the resources that can go on

3:28:56indefinitely um addressing all the needs

3:29:00of all the folks not only from Worcester

3:29:02but from the surrounding towns. So

3:29:05that's it's an issue and and I've spoken

3:29:08to folks that I trust uh in this field

3:29:11and the overwhelm I shouldn't say

3:29:13overwhelming but the majority of folks

3:29:15that are unhoused in Worcester are folks

3:29:17from surrounding towns more than 50% and

3:29:20they know that because there's intake um

3:29:23forms that are filled out when

3:29:25addressing this. Having said all that

3:29:27there shouldn't be a discussion about

3:29:28whether we care or don't care about

3:29:30people from surrounding towns. It should

3:29:32be what I see council Rosen's order um

3:29:36stating which is you and what the city

3:29:38manager said. It should be a

3:29:40collaboration between the towns and

3:29:42Worcester and trying to share resources

3:29:44so that we can maximize how many people

3:29:46we can help on a much more efficient

3:29:49basis. But let me be clear. I do think

3:29:51the priority of helping people should be

3:29:53first and foremost for Worcester

3:29:55residents. I'm not going to back away

3:29:57from that. people that that pay taxes

3:29:59here, have worked here, have raised

3:30:00their families here. Um, if we have a

3:30:04limited fund, that's where the priority

3:30:06should be. However, I'd like to see that

3:30:08fund expanded. And I think with the help

3:30:10of our surrounding towns, we can. And

3:30:12it'd be nice to think that we can help

3:30:13everybody. And it would also be nice to

3:30:15think that the surrounding towns can

3:30:17contribute uh as much as as needed so

3:30:20that nobody falls through the cracks.

3:30:23But uh this is a a costly initiative. uh

3:30:27there is no cost to give to human life.

3:30:29I get it. But there's a certain reality

3:30:31which is programs are not unlimited as

3:30:34far as our ability to pay for them. And

3:30:36I hope moving forward we can, you know,

3:30:38stop the the fingerpointing about who

3:30:41cares for who. Realize we all care for

3:30:43everybody, but there's a financial

3:30:45reality that we have to address as well.

3:30:47Thank you, Mr. Chair.

3:30:48>> So send us to the uh chairman. Yeah,

3:30:50>> Mr. Chair.

3:30:51>> Okay. Council King, follow Council Tumi.

3:30:53>> I'll go after Council Tumi is fine.

3:30:55Council Tommy, go ahead.

3:30:56>> Um, thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted

3:30:58to make a comment that I'm aware of

3:31:00several uh county sheriff's departments

3:31:03um throughout Massachusetts that have

3:31:06entered into discussions of using their

3:31:09um opioid settlement funds uh to help um

3:31:12pay for housing for uh individuals that

3:31:15are from those particular towns.

3:31:18>> Okay. Thank you, Counc.

3:31:20>> Thank you.

3:31:24>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um I I have a

3:31:26couple of questions um before I can vote

3:31:29in the affirmative on this. Um

3:31:32so I rise not in support at this time.

3:31:35Um my question to the chair

3:31:38um we've had some discussion about uh a

3:31:41regional approach in this item. Um, in

3:31:44addition to that, we had some comments

3:31:45about um the city reaching out to some

3:31:49of our contingent towns um and locations

3:31:52and and and entering into um some

3:31:55strategy regarding this population um

3:31:58that's the subject of this order. Mr.

3:32:01Chairman

3:32:02was mentioned Shrewsbury, Milbury,

3:32:05Auburn, Grafton, etc.

3:32:07um through the charity administration,

3:32:09what was the name of the um structure of

3:32:14the regional

3:32:16um health alliance for lack of a better

3:32:19term that we had previously

3:32:22um with these surrounding towns that

3:32:25dissolved. Um at the time that it

3:32:27dissolved um I know something came

3:32:29across the council floor maybe a year or

3:32:31two ago um indicating this was sort of a

3:32:34a win. Um so through the charity

3:32:36administration what was the function of

3:32:41that entity? What was the name of the

3:32:43entity? What was the mission of that

3:32:45entity through the chair?

3:32:47>> Uh Mr. Manager

3:32:49>> uh through the chair to the council. It

3:32:50was through the public health division

3:32:52here in the city of Worester under HHS.

3:32:55The public health uh division was

3:32:57responsible to provide regional efforts.

3:32:59It was a regional alliance. Uh

3:33:02I forgot the name. um Central Mass

3:33:06Regional Alliance Health Network. Uh um

3:33:09I can't get a clear the uh name on that,

3:33:12but that was the purpose of the purpose

3:33:14of of their work was to work with the

3:33:16towns to provide regional public health

3:33:19support, whether it was nursing, whether

3:33:21inspections, tobacco, um uh regional

3:33:25work around uh youth and youth surveys.

3:33:28Um a lot of those kind of efforts to

3:33:30bring public health issues uh as a

3:33:32region. Um and our staff, our divisional

3:33:35staff would provide that support to

3:33:38those towns where there's communication

3:33:40uh efforts that that were coming through

3:33:42the state that we needed to communicate

3:33:44to businesses, organizations, etc. Um

3:33:48that was really the the the mission of

3:33:51that network.

3:33:51>> Thank you. And not to belver the point,

3:33:53Mr. Jim, I'm going to file a motion

3:33:56requesting um for this particular um

3:34:01rendition of the council um a report

3:34:04back on the dissolution

3:34:06of those relationships. Um a definition

3:34:10as it relates to that regional public

3:34:12health structure. Um I don't think it's

3:34:15a stretch to say um that the issues

3:34:17facing the unsheltered and facing the

3:34:19city are of a public health nature. Um

3:34:22and um I like again a report on that. It

3:34:26seems as though um that

3:34:30no longer being in place um perhaps puts

3:34:34us in a position um that's not as

3:34:37advantageous

3:34:38as it relates to collaboration perhaps

3:34:41than it could be. Um so [cough]

3:34:45that would be my motion, Mr. Chairman.

3:34:48Um,

3:34:50I'll certainly uh support this if that

3:34:52if that can occur. Thank you.

3:34:54>> Okay. So, we have council Rosen's items

3:34:57sent to the city manager. Council King's

3:34:58item is a report from the city manager.

3:35:01Take those collectively. Roll call.

3:35:03>> Mr. Chairman, just a point of order. So,

3:35:06um, just kind of stay on the record. I'd

3:35:08like to get that report back uh for next

3:35:11week. It shouldn't be more than a page

3:35:12or two. Thank you.

3:35:14>> It's not part of the motion, just a

3:35:16statement.

3:35:17>> Okay.

3:35:19Councelor Bergman.

3:35:20>> Yes.

3:35:21>> Bada.

3:35:22>> Yes.

3:35:23>> Cono.

3:35:24>> Yes.

3:35:24>> Zolo.

3:35:25>> Yes.

3:35:26>> King. [snorts]

3:35:26>> Yes.

3:35:28>> Yes.

3:35:28>> Oh,

3:35:29>> yes.

3:35:30>> Rivera.

3:35:30>> Yes.

3:35:31>> Rosa.

3:35:32>> Yes.

3:35:32>> Tumi.

3:35:33>> Yes.

3:35:35>> Mayor Penny.

3:35:36>> Yes.

3:35:37Council Rivera request city management

3:35:38provided city council to report

3:35:40concerning best practices a public can

3:35:42use to report and take action against

3:35:44the invasive insect known as the sparted

3:35:48wenfly.

3:35:51>> I laugh because uh I never thought I

3:35:53would get so much um questions on this

3:35:57issue and and uh a lot of concerns,

3:36:00neighborhood meetings, everything. And

3:36:02I'm aware that the city has made their,

3:36:05you know, put out there um but um

3:36:09they've done a spread awareness through

3:36:11social media and the website and

3:36:13everything. But um there there is a

3:36:16little what what I like to do is I like

3:36:18to add to this uh report um order

3:36:21because it's I don't want to put it all

3:36:25in in in the agenda like this. So I just

3:36:27figured I'll I'll do it this way. Um and

3:36:30I'm aware like I mentioned that the city

3:36:33has made some awareness um spread some

3:36:35awareness but what I would like to under

3:36:39um um order would be also is what

3:36:41happens after the sighting of egg masses

3:36:43is reported to the city because because

3:36:45it gives you know what to do where to go

3:36:47and everything like that but it doesn't

3:36:49say what happens afterwards. Um who's

3:36:52responsible these are all questions that

3:36:55that the neighbors ask. who's

3:36:56responsible for infestation on

3:36:59stateowned property, the city or the

3:37:01commonwealth. Um they want to know has

3:37:03Worester 311 been used as a tool to

3:37:05report and locate egg masses and major

3:37:08concentration? If so, how many? Um then

3:37:12um there's also a correlation between

3:37:14the tree of heaven and the um spotted

3:37:18lantern flies. Uh so they want to know

3:37:20because of the tree heaven is the

3:37:21preferred host of the um spotifi its

3:37:24management included and is it included

3:37:27in the state cities and state response?

3:37:30Does the city maintain an inventory or

3:37:32map of tree of heaven and municipal and

3:37:35public rights of way? What procedures

3:37:38does the city use if any to treat and

3:37:40remove tree of heaven and our employees

3:37:42and contractors trained to cut it down

3:37:44as the trees regenerate from the roots?

3:37:48um is a city coordinated with the um

3:37:50mass um department of agriculture

3:37:52resource, masdot railroads and other

3:37:55major land owners to locate and manage

3:37:58tree of heaven. If so, what do these

3:38:00efforts look like? Um milkweed milkweed

3:38:04is the administration of where um of um

3:38:08emerging research into milkweed's

3:38:10possible effect on spotted lantern

3:38:12flies.

3:38:13If this research pro If this research

3:38:16proves promising, would the city

3:38:17consider launching a p pilot program to

3:38:20plant milkweed on public land as a

3:38:22countermeasure against spot lantern

3:38:24flies? Um

3:38:27they uh they want the city to coordinate

3:38:29with the mass department of agriculture

3:38:31resources to determine what assistance

3:38:33and um resources the state could provide

3:38:36the city. And lastly, if we can develop

3:38:39a plan to identify and control tree of

3:38:42heaven on city owned land as part of the

3:38:44city spot flying response, including

3:38:47proper treatment and replacement in

3:38:49appropriate native species.

3:38:52Thank you. Sorry. [laughter]

3:38:54>> Thank you. So send that council's item

3:38:58as amended to the manager roll call.

3:39:02>> Councelor Bergman.

3:39:03>> Yes.

3:39:04>> Mr. Bada.

3:39:06Yes,

3:39:07>> econom.

3:39:07>> Yes,

3:39:08>> Zolo.

3:39:09>> Yes,

3:39:09>> Mr. King.

3:39:10>> Yes,

3:39:11>> Mr. Mitra.

3:39:12>> Yes,

3:39:13>> yes,

3:39:13>> Mr. Rivera.

3:39:14>> Yes,

3:39:15>> Rosen.

3:39:15>> Yes,

3:39:16>> Tumi.

3:39:17>> Yes,

3:39:18>> Mayor Petty.

3:39:19>> Yes. Request manager Karine immediate

3:39:21action plan.

3:39:22>> Motion to recuse.

3:39:24>> Okay. Council,

3:39:26>> what item? Councelor Tumi has asked to

3:39:29recuse herself from this item.

3:39:30>> What item? So it says request to see

3:39:33manager create a immediate action plan

3:39:35to address the recent violent incidents

3:39:38that have occurred in and around the

3:39:40Worester Common Downtown Central

3:39:42Business District which has taken place

3:39:44over the last several months. Councelor

3:39:48Okonnell.

3:39:50>> Thank you Mr. Chairman. I don't know

3:39:52maybe I don't know if the manager has an

3:39:54answer on this at this moment as to

3:39:57what's transpired or if there's any any

3:40:00plan of changing the way things are done

3:40:02down in this area.

3:40:04>> Mr. Manager.

3:40:05>> Yeah. Through the council to to the to

3:40:08the ch to the council. One of the things

3:40:10that we've tried to do is um we've made

3:40:13some changes um assignments in uh the

3:40:16police department um in terms of the

3:40:18oversight and enforcement in downtown.

3:40:20Um, we've also tried to make sure that

3:40:23our officers are more visible uh in the

3:40:26areas of uh uh of the uh downtown. I've

3:40:30asked the captain that's assigned to

3:40:32this area to introduce himself to the

3:40:34businesses. Um I myself have had

3:40:36conversations with business owners as

3:40:38well to understand what are some of the

3:40:40concerns. Um some of the activity that

3:40:42we've seen in the area um has been just

3:40:45you know behaviors that are unacceptable

3:40:47in this area. So, we want to make sure

3:40:48that we're paying attention. Uh the

3:40:51officers are aware. Um we temporarily

3:40:54have had officers stationed in the

3:40:55common and different uh pockets of the

3:40:58downtown in their vehicles or outside

3:41:00the vehicles so that they're visible to

3:41:02the public. So, we're looking at many

3:41:04different fronts to make sure that

3:41:05they're they're visible and um and and

3:41:08this uh uh activity is deterred in the

3:41:10downtown.

3:41:11>> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Man. I wasn't

3:41:13trying to uh just for the record too, I

3:41:15wasn't trying to take anything away from

3:41:17council Bada here. This is his district.

3:41:19I just had a number of residents who

3:41:21work down here reach out to me with

3:41:24concern. Um and that's why I ended up

3:41:27bringing this forward. So other than

3:41:30that, we could

3:41:30>> we can file it.

3:41:32>> Motions to file. Roll call.

3:41:35>> Dr. Bergman.

3:41:36>> Yeah.

3:41:36>> That's Bada.

3:41:38>> Hey, Mr. Chair. Yeah. I just want to go

3:41:39on the record say I appreciate councelor

3:41:40Conu's uh mo motion here or concern with

3:41:44what's going on. Thank you. Yes.

3:41:47>> Council Okono.

3:41:48>> Yes.

3:41:48>> Solo.

3:41:49>> Yes.

3:41:49>> King.

3:41:50>> Yes.

3:41:51>> Mitra.

3:41:51>> Yes.

3:41:52>> Mr. O'Hada.

3:41:53>> Yes.

3:41:53>> Rivera.

3:41:54>> Yes.

3:41:54>> Rosen.

3:41:55>> Yes.

3:41:56>> Try recusel. And mayor petty.

3:41:58>> Yes. Next. Request a stand committee on

3:42:01public safety. He invite all social

3:42:02service agencies working with the

3:42:04homeless and addiction treatment program

3:42:06to discuss the efforts uh in uh

3:42:09assisting the city and the public safety

3:42:12issues occurring over the past few

3:42:13months.

3:42:15>> Motion to withdraw.

3:42:16>> Same thing. Yeah. Okay. Motion to

3:42:17withdraw. Roll call.

3:42:20>> Councelor Bergman. Mr. Chairman, I have

3:42:22my hand up.

3:42:23>> What's that?

3:42:24>> I have my hand up.

3:42:25>> Oh, you did? I didn't see it. Okay.

3:42:26Council King,

3:42:29>> thank you. Um,

3:42:33Mr. Chairman, this is an important

3:42:35matter um, as it relates to where we

3:42:39are, what's going on with the council,

3:42:41uh, the report from the administration,

3:42:43the dialogue and debate that's

3:42:44occurring. Mr. Chairman, I'm going to

3:42:47oppose a motion to file. Um this

3:42:49particular order asks for an invitation

3:42:52to a committee um to the public safety

3:42:56committee to invite all social service

3:42:58agencies working with the homeless and

3:42:59addiction treatment programs to discuss

3:43:01their efforts in assisting the city in

3:43:03ameliating the public safety issues over

3:43:06the past few months. Mr. Chairman, um

3:43:09I'm going to make a motion to amend

3:43:11that. Uh my motion would be um that that

3:43:14request go to the committee of public

3:43:17health. Um I would also amend it um to

3:43:21include um where it says assisting the

3:43:24city in emilerating the public safety. I

3:43:26would ask in public health issues over

3:43:28the last few months um to file this at

3:43:31this time um in this environment and in

3:43:34the context of the legislation

3:43:37um work that's pending with the council

3:43:40um in light of the realities in the

3:43:42community um in light of the work of the

3:43:45city administration. Mr. chairman um

3:43:47would be irresponsible in my opinion.

3:43:49Mr. Chairman, that's my motion to amend.

3:43:52Thank you.

3:43:53>> Okay, so we have a motion to amend the

3:43:54first item is motion to file or withdraw

3:43:59the same.

3:44:01>> Yeah. Well, yeah.

3:44:04>> Motion to withdraw. Roll call.

3:44:05>> Councelor Bergman.

3:44:06>> Yes.

3:44:07>> Councelor Bada.

3:44:10>> Councilor Economo.

3:44:11>> Yes.

3:44:11>> Councelor Bzolo.

3:44:12>> Yes.

3:44:13>> Councelor King.

3:44:14>> Yes. Council Mitra,

3:44:16>> yes. Council,

3:44:18>> yes. Council

3:44:19>> Rivera,

3:44:19>> yes. Council

3:44:20>> Rosen,

3:44:21>> yes. Council

3:44:21>> Tumi,

3:44:23>> yes. And

3:44:23>> Mayor Petty,

3:44:24>> yes.

3:44:28See,

3:44:28>> was withdrawn. So there's nothing else

3:44:30to

3:44:31>> What do you mean? I amended it.

3:44:35>> She was still a motion to file.

3:44:37>> All right. So it'll be a separate

3:44:38motion. Mine's a separate motion, Mr.

3:44:40Chairman, with the language change.

3:44:41Thank you.

3:44:42>> Okay. Council King's motion for public

3:44:44health to have a regional meeting. I

3:44:46know before doing that, Mr. Mayor, you

3:44:48have reg you have all the social service

3:44:50agencies in a regular basis, but we do

3:44:52have a committee anyways.

3:44:54>> Okay.

3:44:55>> Mr. Chairman,

3:44:56>> council clarification is the language

3:44:58which says public safety issues. Has

3:45:01that been changed?

3:45:02>> It's it's yes changes the public health.

3:45:05>> No, I understand the request where it's

3:45:07going, but my my question is a little

3:45:09different. Is the line

3:45:11>> public? Yes. public health issues.

3:45:13Correct.

3:45:13>> No, it's it's public health and public

3:45:15safety. It was addition the it was

3:45:18changing committee. The the language

3:45:20towards the end of the item, Mr.

3:45:22Chairman, for a point of clarification

3:45:24um was that it would read um ailerating

3:45:28the public health and public safety

3:45:31issues.

3:45:33>> Okay. Roll call.

3:45:36>> I need to recuse myself.

3:45:38>> Okay. Council Tommy has recused herself.

3:45:40Roll call. Councelor Bergman.

3:45:42>> Yes.

3:45:42>> Councelor Bada.

3:45:44>> Yes.

3:45:44>> Councelor Econom.

3:45:45>> Yes.

3:45:45>> Council,

3:45:46>> yes.

3:45:46>> Councelor King,

3:45:47>> yes.

3:45:47>> Council Mitra,

3:45:48>> yes.

3:45:49>> Oh,

3:45:50>> yes.

3:45:50>> Rivera,

3:45:51>> yes.

3:45:51>> To Rosen.

3:45:52>> Yes.

3:45:53>> And mayor Petty.

3:45:55>> Yes. Councelor Oko request the city

3:45:58manage request the commission of public

3:45:59works ensure various subpar street and

3:46:01sidewalk projects throughout the city

3:46:03reviewed and addressed by reinstalling

3:46:05improved materials and or redesigning uh

3:46:08reinstalling work done below acceptable

3:46:10standards. Said installations support

3:46:13should include the installation of more

3:46:15suitable loan and hydro seating for new

3:46:18grass along Florida A and Park A from

3:46:20Salsbury Street to Highland Street.

3:46:22improving the driveway installations

3:46:24that were worked on last year along for

3:46:26a removal of sand between the the bricks

3:46:30on Germaine Street and the sand being

3:46:33installed in its place.

3:46:36I get that right. the uh installation of

3:46:39more than

3:46:40suitable loom in hydro steing along the

3:46:44grass strip of Germaine Street and

3:46:46removing replacement of the section of

3:46:48sidewalk that has heaved and cracked on

3:46:50Bronco Street the vicinity of the

3:46:51opposite of Vutus Road and Rollson Road

3:46:54and the redesign and in reinstallation

3:46:57of the grade change grade work and

3:46:59approach to the Thondike Road along

3:47:01Bronco Street from North Street from the

3:47:03north. Council Okono has a [laughter]

3:47:06read

3:47:09and not so quick. Um thank you uh Mr.

3:47:12Chairman. So this is this is again when

3:47:15as I've been saying quite a along this

3:47:18whole entire um year is there's

3:47:22something wrong with that process and

3:47:24it's and it I'm very curious to better

3:47:27understand the language in the contracts

3:47:30to when it comes to the finishes that

3:47:33are being provided to [snorts]

3:47:35the city of Worcester and its residents.

3:47:39And for instance,

3:47:41I have pictures from the type of soil

3:47:46that was used on Germaine Street in

3:47:48Florida. A Now you look at those

3:47:52pictures and you would say it is gravel.

3:47:56Gravel, it's not organic material for

3:47:59for any kind of grass growth. Um, all

3:48:03the streets that I just outlined here

3:48:05were finished with that kind of

3:48:06material. grass does not grow in that

3:48:09material. It just it's a it's a another

3:48:13weed bed. Um so again,

3:48:18somebody in our system is responsible

3:48:22to make sure that this work is getting

3:48:24done properly. On Germaine Street,

3:48:28they put down the bricks um for the

3:48:32sidewalk.

3:48:34They used sand to fill that in. Not not

3:48:38a polymeric sand, not a stone dust.

3:48:41Sand. And what how's that look today?

3:48:44How did it look eight months uh

3:48:48three months ago when I was there with

3:48:50um assistant commissioner Melo and

3:48:52assistant commissioner Ghart. Terrible.

3:48:54Looks terrible. All of it looks

3:48:56terrible. It's it's it's disgusting

3:48:59quite frankly. Um and that's when I say

3:49:02even again Salsbury Street, S um Park A

3:49:05from Salsbury to Highland was just done.

3:49:08Go look at the material that was used

3:49:10there. Um we have to tighten up what

3:49:14we're asking for. And in these areas

3:49:17here, I expect

3:49:20these to be corrected because that's

3:49:22what we owe our taxpayers. I'm very

3:49:26disappointed that these are not done

3:49:29yet. I will give credit where credit is

3:49:32due. Um

3:49:36David Dick was here last night.

3:49:39They did his sidewalk at the end of

3:49:41Thornike Road. They did it about a week

3:49:44and a half ago. It came out excellent. I

3:49:46called him to let him let him know it

3:49:48was done. He called me back thanking me.

3:49:51That grade went down probably just 2%

3:49:54but it made all the difference in the

3:49:55world for a gentleman who's in a in a

3:49:57wheelchair. Um the sidewalk along Berno

3:50:01Street by Quincig College opposite our

3:50:03beautus and Rollinsson Road. A section

3:50:05of that has been has been finished in

3:50:08talking with the assistant commissioner

3:50:10and the contractor that I saw on site.

3:50:13They will be back to do the rest um the

3:50:16rest of that area that heaved almost

3:50:18three inches this past winter. So, it's

3:50:21important for us as the municipality

3:50:25doing the work for ourselves to make

3:50:28sure we're getting what we're paying

3:50:29for. And that's that's my frustration.

3:50:32And that's where I feel somewhere in the

3:50:35process there is a breakdown of what is

3:50:38[snorts] what is being asked for and

3:50:40who's inspecting that work for

3:50:42completion.

3:50:44Thank you, Mr. Chair.

3:50:45>> You'll send that to the manager. Roll

3:50:47call.

3:50:48>> Dr. Bergman.

3:50:49>> Yes. Yes. Bada.

3:50:51>> Yes.

3:50:51>> Mr. Economo.

3:50:52>> Yes.

3:50:53>> Zolo.

3:50:54>> Yes.

3:50:54>> Mr. King.

3:50:55>> Yes.

3:50:56>> Zitra.

3:50:57>> Yes.

3:50:57>> Toa.

3:50:58>> Yes.

3:50:58>> Rivera.

3:50:59>> Yes.

3:51:00>> Rosa.

3:51:00>> Yes.

3:51:01>> Tumi.

3:51:03>> Yes.

3:51:04>> And mayor Petty.

3:51:05>> Yes. Request city manager install two

3:51:07Wuben trash recept uh receptacles on

3:51:10South Street in the vicinity of 1148

3:51:12Sford Street. Council Mitra.

3:51:17>> Thank you.

3:51:18[clears throat] Mr. um

3:51:21I think I had brought in the brought up

3:51:23the issues with this uh Southbury Street

3:51:25near Gutton Graphics and Coney Island in

3:51:28the past as well. But I uh had a chance

3:51:31to walk with Mr. Girtton the other day

3:51:34and seems like there are a lot of trash

3:51:36and garbage that being put in front of

3:51:39his office doesn't look good and u

3:51:42there's issue of many unhoused people

3:51:44there that you and Mr. manager would

3:51:47like to meet with them as we have

3:51:49discussed about it to resolve their

3:51:51issues. But they wanted they requested

3:51:53two u beans to be installed there if

3:51:56that could be possible because uh that

3:51:58will probably help them at least to keep

3:51:59it cleaner in front of their office to

3:52:01do their business properly. That's the

3:52:04request. Thank you.

3:52:05>> Send that to the manager. Roll call.

3:52:07>> Councelor Bergman.

3:52:08>> Yes.

3:52:08>> Bada.

3:52:12>> Yes.

3:52:13>> Councelor Economo.

3:52:14>> Yes.

3:52:15>> Zolo.

3:52:15>> Yes. Council King,

3:52:17>> yes.

3:52:17>> Mr. Mitra,

3:52:18>> yes.

3:52:18>> Council,

3:52:20>> yes.

3:52:20>> Mr. Rivera,

3:52:21>> yes.

3:52:21>> Mr. Rosen,

3:52:22>> yes.

3:52:22>> Mr. Tumi,

3:52:24>> yes.

3:52:25>> And Mayor Petty,

3:52:26>> yes. We had uh council meet request

3:52:30manager request commission public works

3:52:31ensure sanitation staff do not use

3:52:34private driveways to turn the vehicles

3:52:36around when collecting trash on city

3:52:37streets. request. City manager request

3:52:39commission public works also ensure

3:52:41sanitation staff do not leave garbage

3:52:43debris including glass on city streets

3:52:46when they compress trash within their

3:52:47collection trucks. Council Mitra,

3:52:51>> thank you Mr. Chair. Uh again the the

3:52:54residents of Artmore Street Amy and Chad

3:52:58Thibido they were she was here last

3:53:01meeting. She expressed her grievances

3:53:04and disappointment with the way the

3:53:06trash has been collected and the our

3:53:09trucks they try to compress the trash

3:53:12and move into her driveway and then all

3:53:14the trash that falls into the driveway

3:53:17and then she has to clean it, wash it.

3:53:20There are some glasses. So, it's kind of

3:53:22a very ugly situation that they have to

3:53:24face. So, she came in here last time to

3:53:27express that. Uh I just wanted to make

3:53:29sure that uh our DPW department is kind

3:53:34of takes care of this not entering into

3:53:36the private driveway with their trucks

3:53:38and not doing the compression of the

3:53:40trashes in inside the on the driveway

3:53:43and makes these uh debris be falling

3:53:46there and that they have to clean and

3:53:48wash. So she even mentioned that she

3:53:51talked to the driver and wasn't very

3:53:53cooperative. So I think uh let's take

3:53:55care of uh this issue so that it doesn't

3:53:57happen again and give them some relief

3:54:00because there are children also in that

3:54:02area. So just wanted to make sure that

3:54:04we are giving them what they a comfort

3:54:07zone. Thank you.

3:54:08>> Okay. So that's the manager roll call.

3:54:12>> Councelor Bergman.

3:54:13>> Yes.

3:54:13>> Bada.

3:54:14>> Yes.

3:54:15>> Econom.

3:54:16>> Yes.

3:54:16>> Zolo.

3:54:17>> Yes.

3:54:17>> Mr. King.

3:54:19>> Yes.

3:54:19>> Mitra.

3:54:20>> Yes.

3:54:20>> Oa.

3:54:21>> Yes.

3:54:22>> Rivera.

3:54:23>> Yes.

3:54:23>> Mr. Rosen.

3:54:24>> Yes.

3:54:25>> Tatumi.

3:54:26>> Yes.

3:54:26>> Hey, Mayor Petty.

3:54:28>> Yes. Brings us to the end of the

3:54:29meeting. Anything under

3:54:33council, you want suspend the rules?

3:54:36>> Yes. Mr. Mayor.

3:54:37>> Okay. Roll call. Councelor Bergman.

3:54:40>> Yes.

3:54:40>> Councelor Bada.

3:54:42>> Yes.

3:54:42>> Council Economo.

3:54:43>> Yes.

3:54:44>> Zolo.

3:54:45>> Yes.

3:54:46>> Councelor King.

3:54:48>> Yes.

3:54:49>> Mitra.

3:54:51>> Yes.

3:54:52>> Rivera.

3:54:52>> Yes.

3:54:53>> Mr. Rosen.

3:54:53>> Yes.

3:54:54>> Tumi.

3:54:55>> Yes.

3:54:56>> Mayor Pvy,

3:54:56>> yes. Council Fol,

3:54:59>> thank you, Mr. Mayor. I asked to suspend

3:55:02the rules because I need to correct the

3:55:04record on a vote I took at our last

3:55:07meeting.

3:55:09When the Civilian Review Board came

3:55:11before us, the motion on the floor was a

3:55:13motion to file.

3:55:15I understood that to mean the item was

3:55:18being held and it would be it would come

3:55:21back to this body for an up or down vote

3:55:24at a later date. That is not what a

3:55:27motion to file does. Filing ends the

3:55:30matter. A yes vote killed the proposal.

3:55:34A no vote kept it alive. I voted yes. I

3:55:38should have voted no.

3:55:41I spoke in favor of the board that night

3:55:43and then cast a vote that did not did

3:55:46the opposite of what I had just said.

3:55:49And I understand exactly how that looked

3:55:52to people watching. Nobody tricked me or

3:55:55nobody misled me. I misread the motion.

3:55:58That's on me and I own it. So with that

3:56:02said,

3:56:04let me explain why I got there.

3:56:07I want to start where I always start on

3:56:09this subject. I support the Worester

3:56:11Police Department. I've supported the

3:56:13men and women of this department my

3:56:15entire career in public life. And

3:56:18nothing I say tonight changes that. The

3:56:21overwhelming majority of our officers do

3:56:24a hard, dangerous job with integrity,

3:56:27and they have my unwavering gratitude.

3:56:30But supporting the police has never

3:56:32meant pretending nothing ever goes

3:56:34wrong. In fact, supporting the police

3:56:37means holding accountable those who step

3:56:39out of line.

3:56:41That's how you protect the good name of

3:56:43the officers who do the job the right

3:56:45way every single day.

3:56:48When misconduct gets a pass, good cops

3:56:51pay for it. And that's why I must

3:56:54respond to what's been said since our

3:56:56last meeting. At that meeting, I

3:57:00described how an onduty sergeant came to

3:57:02my home, photographed a political odd

3:57:05sign on my lawn,

3:57:08and how that photo ended up on social

3:57:10media with that particular member of the

3:57:13Whistle Police Department commenting

3:57:15that I was supporting an anti- police

3:57:17candidate and therefore against our law

3:57:20enforcement community.

3:57:23I did not name him. I did not want

3:57:26anyone to think the department was

3:57:28covering something up. Since then,

3:57:32Sergeant Anthony Patroni has come

3:57:35forward publicly and said he's the

3:57:37person I was talking about. He's spoken

3:57:41about his 30-year career.

3:57:43>> We got to be careful on the personnel

3:57:45issues. So,

3:57:46>> okay.

3:57:46>> Public statement, Mr. Chairman, is

3:57:48responding to

3:57:49>> just I'm just stating facts, Mr.

3:57:50Chairman.

3:57:53Let's

3:57:56get a let's get an opinion from the

3:57:57solicitor. Mr.

3:57:59>> Chairman point,

3:58:00>> I'm finishing this.

3:58:01>> I won't mention his name again. I'm

3:58:03finishing this.

3:58:04>> Okay.

3:58:06It's not nonsense.

3:58:08>> He's spoken about his 30-year career,

3:58:11about his integrity being questioned,

3:58:14and about what his family is going

3:58:16through.

3:58:18>> I understand that. I have a family, too.

3:58:21And that's why I have to share something

3:58:23I held back.

3:58:25Mr. Chairman, my daughter was home that

3:58:27day. She was in our driveway cleaning

3:58:30her car when the unmarked cruiser pulled

3:58:33up on our block. She saw him and he saw

3:58:37her. In her words, their eyes locked.

3:58:41She watched him take the picture and she

3:58:43called me right away to tell me what had

3:58:45just happened. When Eternal Affairs

3:58:48looked into this, my daughter spoke with

3:58:51them and told them everything she saw.

3:58:54In the end, they found there wasn't

3:58:56enough to act on. No discipline, not so

3:59:00much as a note in his file that a

3:59:02complaint had ever been made. So, let me

3:59:05be very clear.

3:59:07My daughter and I did not wake up that

3:59:09morning looking for a fight with anyone.

3:59:12We didn't go looking for this. It pulled

3:59:14into my driveway.

3:59:17I didn't put his name on this. The

3:59:19sergeant did. If his family is carrying

3:59:21a burden right now, I'm sorry for that.

3:59:24But I didn't create it. And my daughter

3:59:26didn't either. It was created by the

3:59:29decision he made to drive a department

3:59:31vehicle to my home on the clock and take

3:59:35that picture. I'm sorry, but that is

3:59:38brazen.

3:59:40And that is exactly why it belongs in

3:59:42this debate.

3:59:44If a city councelor, someone with with a

3:59:47microphone and a seat at this table, can

3:59:49have his home photographed by an onduty

3:59:52officer, have an eyewitness give a

3:59:55firhand account to internal affairs and

3:59:58watch the whole thing end up with

4:00:01nothing on paper. What is the ordinary

4:00:04resident supposed to expect when they

4:00:06file a complaint?

4:00:08It's not a question about one sergeant.

4:00:10It's a question about whether the system

4:00:12we have works. It matters for residents

4:00:16and it matters for the good officers,

4:00:18too, who deserve a process the public

4:00:21trusts when it clears them. I'll end

4:00:24with this. I reiterate that I didn't

4:00:27come here tonight to attack anyone's

4:00:29career. I came here to set the record

4:00:31straight about what happened at my home

4:00:33and to my family. We all make mistakes.

4:00:37Life happens. I've made my share. But

4:00:41but what matters is what you do next.

4:00:44You take accountability. You apologize

4:00:47and you move forward. That's what we ask

4:00:49of our kids and it's what we ask of

4:00:51ourselves.

4:00:53So I'd ask the sergeant to do just that.

4:00:57Be honest about what happened with your

4:00:59family, with your supporters, and with

4:01:02this city. If that day comes, you won't

4:01:05hear another word about it from me. I'll

4:01:07accept it and we'll move on. But it must

4:01:10start with the truth. Thank you very

4:01:12much, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me to

4:01:14bring forth the truth.

4:01:17>> Thank

4:01:18Council King.

4:01:21>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to

4:01:23speak on this particular matter and I

4:01:25have my own um

4:01:27issue that I'd like to discuss since

4:01:29we're under suspension of rules. Um,

4:01:31that being said, I'd like to thank

4:01:33Council Folo for

4:01:36the integrity of the moment to admit

4:01:38that

4:01:41you messed up on a vote and taking full

4:01:43accountability for it. So, I appreciate

4:01:44that, Mr. Chairman.

4:01:47I'm a Tupac fan.

4:01:50There was a recent trial. Keep D said,

4:01:52"I did it."

4:01:54Was convicted.

4:01:57We just heard testimony that um an

4:02:00officer in Worester Police Department

4:02:02did a QPD.

4:02:04Mr. Chairman, I'm going to make a motion

4:02:07um that this body convene an executive

4:02:10session um to review any internal

4:02:13affairs matters pertaining to the issue

4:02:16that was just broached about um conduct

4:02:20that is was perhaps

4:02:23um in um during working hours. Um

4:02:29I don't know if such a report exists. I

4:02:32don't know if there was an internal

4:02:33process, but to sit here and listen to

4:02:35that um and not request an executive

4:02:37session um to determine uh what the

4:02:40administration has or hasn't done um

4:02:43would not be responsible. Mr. Chairman,

4:02:46that would be my motion. Mr. Chairman,

4:02:50um on the suspension of rules, I'd also

4:02:52um on a separate matter

4:02:55like to ask

4:02:57uh and make a a point. Um

4:03:05Mr. Chairman,

4:03:07in this particular form of government

4:03:10plan,

4:03:12we have a a mayor with limited duties.

4:03:15And one of the most important duties as

4:03:18important as anything else um is the

4:03:21appointment of committees that falls

4:03:23under rule 48 that the mayor should

4:03:26appoint members of city council city

4:03:28council meetings uh committees in

4:03:30accordance with the requirements of

4:03:32these rules. Mr. Chairman, rule 49

4:03:35offers for temporary appointments to

4:03:37fill vacancies under a number of uh

4:03:42situations. One is due to a vacancy seat

4:03:45on the council, meaning we have nine

4:03:48instead of 10, including the mayor, 10

4:03:51instead of 11. Um, that's one. Um, two,

4:03:55the inability of a member to attend a

4:03:57particular meeting of a committee upon

4:03:59which he or she serves. And that happens

4:04:01at times the mayor assigns someone to a

4:04:03committee um if they can't get a quorum

4:04:06or what have you or if there's an

4:04:08absence and they want a full committee.

4:04:10Um the third aspect of rule 39, Mr.

4:04:14Chairman, um is that um in the event of

4:04:19a vacancy um or and this is the quote

4:04:23the third way for some other reason

4:04:26deemed sufficient by the mayor, the

4:04:30mayor may appoint a member prom. Um and

4:04:33it goes on in addition, Mr. chairman.

4:04:37Part of this assignment of committees um

4:04:40recognizes the mayor shall be, and this

4:04:42is a quote from rule 48, an exofficial

4:04:45chair of any committee of which he or

4:04:48she is a member and on all other

4:04:50committees. And it goes on, Mr.

4:04:53chairman. Um when a mayor serves as an

4:04:56ex official member or chair, um my

4:04:59experience has been um when we were

4:05:01negotiating the interim contract with

4:05:03the city manager, we had a discussion

4:05:05around the fact that the mayor has the

4:05:08ability to come into a subcommittee and

4:05:11chair it um even when he's assigned

4:05:14others to it. Um so as an ex official

4:05:16the mayor serves it means that it that

4:05:19he is a member of any subcommittee

4:05:21automatically by virtue of being the

4:05:24mayor. Um and that this the purpose of

4:05:27this um is that even though he selects

4:05:30and appoints counselors to the

4:05:31subcommittee he can be a full

4:05:33participant make motions vote um and

4:05:37chair the committee. And we had a

4:05:39discussion Mr. Chairman back when we

4:05:40were doing the interim contract around

4:05:43um Mr. Mayor, if you want to come in and

4:05:45chair, feel free. Um, I understand the

4:05:48rules. I will be differential. Um, and

4:05:51our discussion was you'd come into the

4:05:52first couple of uh negotiations and see

4:05:55how it goes. Um, but we both recognize

4:05:59the authority you had to chair that

4:06:01committee if you were so inclined. Now,

4:06:04uh that could have been invoked um when

4:06:06two new yen was not in her committee. Um

4:06:09it was not um in instance,

4:06:13Mr. chairman. Um, in the media, we've

4:06:16had a public uh temporary pause um

4:06:20invoked by a counselor who's on this

4:06:23call, and I've heard nothing from the

4:06:26mayor as it relates to any formal uh

4:06:30response for that committee. We also

4:06:32know as part of the rules is that you

4:06:33can go with two instead of three

4:06:35committee members and the vice chair can

4:06:37serve as the chair. Um, I say all that,

4:06:41Mr. Chair, I'm going to say this. um

4:06:43with full sensitivity to this matter. Uh

4:06:46I would just like a report back on rules

4:06:4948 and 49 uh for the committee to go to

4:06:52to uh this council um so we can have um

4:06:56clarity on any uh potential rules um

4:07:02that could come into play for this body

4:07:05in like circumstances. I think it's

4:07:08perhaps a discussion that we should have

4:07:09had. I've had off the record with folks

4:07:12um last session um perhaps it's an on

4:07:15record discussion we should have now uh

4:07:17Mr. Chairman that be the way of my

4:07:18motion. Thank you.

4:07:21>> Okay. I don't really understand the

4:07:23motion but you just want to for what

4:07:28you not understand the motion Mr. Just

4:07:30want the clarification on 4849.

4:07:32>> Want to report back on the actual 4849

4:07:36to the council

4:07:37>> um and any related charter language um

4:07:42for the council and the public's

4:07:44edification.

4:07:46>> Okay. Roll call.

4:07:50>> Councelor Bergman.

4:07:51>> Yes.

4:07:52>> Councelor Bada.

4:07:53>> Yes.

4:07:54>> Economo.

4:07:55>> Yes.

4:07:56>> Yes.

4:07:57>> Councor King.

4:07:58>> Yes.

4:07:58Mitra,

4:07:59>> yes.

4:08:00>> Oh,

4:08:01>> yes.

4:08:01>> Mr. Rivera,

4:08:02>> yes.

4:08:03>> Dr. Rosen,

4:08:04>> yes.

4:08:04>> Tumi,

4:08:05>> abstain.

4:08:07>> Mayor Petty,

4:08:08>> yes.

4:08:09>> A motion to go in executive session.

4:08:13>> See, Celesta give us an opinion on that.

4:08:24through the mayor to the council. Uh you

4:08:26cannot enter into executive session for

4:08:28personnel matters um for any employees

4:08:31who are appointed by the city manager.

4:08:33It can't be an executive session or uh

4:08:35spoken about in open meeting.

4:08:38>> And say that again. I'm sorry.

4:08:39>> You cannot you cannot discuss any

4:08:41matters that are not within the city

4:08:43council's jurisdiction which appointment

4:08:44of an employee a police department

4:08:47employee is either an open session or an

4:08:49executive session. Yeah,

4:08:51>> it's a personnel matter.

4:08:52>> Okay,

4:08:53>> Mr. Chairman, thank you. Um, this is

4:08:55about this is a request for process, Mr.

4:08:58Chairman. Um, and we have every right to

4:09:01request um an executive session

4:09:03pertaining to matters of employees of

4:09:06this uh city um as it relates to that.

4:09:10This is not about um requesting

4:09:13discipline. It's requesting what was

4:09:15done in this instance. Um and you know I

4:09:19have pending requests similarly on um

4:09:23issues um that this council and prior

4:09:25council of support unanimously related

4:09:27to BOPS um related to um um and I'm

4:09:32going to be refiling them actually next

4:09:34week. um related to um

4:09:38taking a look at um

4:09:42Bob's decisions um policy changes um

4:09:47contrast with um settlements and

4:09:50settlement agreements. Um so we do have

4:09:54an ability the way it's being painted um

4:09:56is not what the motion was, Mr.

4:09:58Chairman. Um, but we we certainly can

4:10:01have oversight as relates to personal

4:10:03matters as a legislative inquiry. Um, if

4:10:07they don't want to do that, I'll I'll

4:10:08send one um another way. Um, but that's

4:10:11my motion. Um, and I I don't agree with

4:10:15how the motion's being categorized, Mr.

4:10:18Chairman. And if that's going to be

4:10:20stood on by the um

4:10:23uh legal department um you know I would

4:10:27like that to be read into the record as

4:10:30we sit here um for public purposes.

4:10:35>> Okay. So I guess I'll do a motion. So

4:10:37you're saying it's uh madam solicitor is

4:10:40that we don't have the authority to do

4:10:41that?

4:10:41>> Yes. So it's no participation in any

4:10:44manner uh regarding the appointment

4:10:46removal possible discipline which this

4:10:48would

4:10:49>> that's not that's not the motion Mr.

4:10:50Chairman I checkate

4:10:52that's not the motion

4:10:53>> so roll call on it

4:10:56>> can you just phrase the [snorts] motion

4:10:59I ask him repeat the motion now

4:11:02>> it's a motion to go into executive

4:11:04session that the motion

4:11:06>> yes

4:11:06>> okay

4:11:07>> no

4:11:08Mr. Mr. Chair also for this to to state

4:11:10for the record uh through the chairs and

4:11:12council. Usually with executive sessions

4:11:15the item has to be listed on the agenda

4:11:16for the council to enter tonight.

4:11:20Okay.

4:11:22>> So this came in just under suspension.

4:11:25It was not listed on the agenda for an

4:11:27executive session take place tonight.

4:11:29>> Oh okay.

4:11:29>> We're not going into tonight any

4:11:32>> go on next. If it passes it will go on

4:11:35next week's calendar.

4:11:36>> If it passes it goes on to next week's

4:11:37calendar. Yep.

4:11:39>> Okay.

4:11:41>> Councelor Bergman,

4:11:42>> no.

4:11:42>> Councilor Bada,

4:11:44>> yes.

4:11:44>> Council Cono,

4:11:46>> no.

4:11:46>> Councelor Fazo,

4:11:47>> yes.

4:11:48>> Councilor King,

4:11:49>> yes.

4:11:49>> Council Mitra,

4:11:50>> no.

4:11:51>> Council,

4:11:52>> yes.

4:11:52>> Councilor Rivera,

4:11:53>> no.

4:11:54>> Councelor Broen,

4:11:55>> no.

4:11:56>> Council Tumi,

4:11:57>> abstain.

4:11:58>> And Mayor Petty,

4:11:59>> no. Mayor,

4:12:01>> Motion to reconsider so we don't have to

4:12:02do this again. Mr. Chairman,

4:12:05>> Motion to reconsider.

4:12:07Roll call.

4:12:10>> Councelor Bergman,

4:12:11>> no.

4:12:12>> Councilor Bada,

4:12:13>> yes.

4:12:14>> Councilor Cono,

4:12:15>> no.

4:12:16>> Council,

4:12:17>> no.

4:12:18>> Councelor King,

4:12:19>> no.

4:12:20>> Council Mitra,

4:12:21>> no.

4:12:21>> Council,

4:12:22>> no.

4:12:23>> Councelor Rivera,

4:12:24>> no.

4:12:24>> Councor Rosen,

4:12:25>> no.

4:12:26>> Counc.

4:12:28And Mayor Petty,

4:12:29>> no. The motion is to adjourn. Roll call.

4:12:37Councelor Bergman.

4:12:38>> Yes.

4:12:38>> Bada.

4:12:40>> Yes.

4:12:40>> Economo.

4:12:41>> Yes.

4:12:42>> Zolo.

4:12:42>> Yes.

4:12:43>> King.

4:12:44>> Yes.

4:12:44>> Mitra.

4:12:45>> Yes.

4:12:46>> Oh,

4:12:46>> yes.

4:12:47>> Rivera.

4:12:48>> Yes.

4:12:49>> Rosen. To tumi.

4:12:52>> Mayor.

4:12:54Yes.