[0:13] All right.
[0:23] » Well, good evening everyone. Um, thank
[0:25] you all. Everyone just really got very
[0:27] quiet all on Q. Thank you for that. That
[0:29] made it very easy. Didn't even need
[0:31] this. Um, thank you for joining us this
[0:33] evening in council chambers or if you're
[0:35] joining us on Bevcam, our thanks as
[0:37] always to Kim and the Bevcam booth for
[0:39] keeping our meetings accessible. Thank
[0:40] you so much. Um, it's a pleasure to have
[0:43] folks here with us in the council
[0:45] chamber. I imagine there may be other
[0:47] folks who are planning on coming. We
[0:48] have some uh public hearings that are
[0:50] posted starting at 7:30 today, but I'll
[0:53] mention now and you'll hear me mention
[0:54] again as we get closer. If you are here
[0:56] and interested in speaking in any one of
[0:58] those public hearings, there are signup
[1:00] sheets on the table under the window uh
[1:02] over to my right. You can get up and add
[1:05] your name to the one for the hearing or
[1:07] hearings that you're interested in
[1:08] speaking in. And we will take public
[1:10] speakers in the order that they're
[1:11] signed up when we come to that portion
[1:13] of the meeting. Um as is our usual
[1:17] practice, I'll just run through briefly
[1:19] what's on our agenda before officially
[1:21] calling the meeting to order so that we
[1:22] can all know what's in front of us this
[1:24] evening. We do have a very full agenda
[1:26] this evening. We have a lot going on. Um
[1:29] at the top of the agenda, we have two
[1:31] presentations. Um one that I'll be
[1:33] making and one that Mayor Cahill will be
[1:35] making with an update on city projects.
[1:37] We do have those public hearings as I as
[1:39] I mentioned. Those are posted beginning
[1:40] at 7:30 and we do need to take those at
[1:43] the times they're posted. Depending on
[1:44] how they're running into each other, we
[1:46] may need to open and recess one of them,
[1:48] but you'll you'll see us open those at
[1:50] their posted times. We do have two folks
[1:52] who have signed up as um comments from
[1:55] residents and so we will take those as
[1:58] we can in the order um with those public
[2:01] hearings making allowance for the public
[2:02] hearings and thank you to those two
[2:04] folks who have signed up and thank you
[2:05] also for your flexibility with the
[2:07] schedule. Um and then we've got some
[2:09] routine business that we need to take
[2:11] care of. We'll take a break for some
[2:12] subcommittee work and we'll come back to
[2:14] finish it all up. So with that, I'll
[2:16] officially call to order this regular
[2:18] meeting of the Beverly City Council,
[2:20] Tuesday, January 20th, 2026, 7 o'clock
[2:23] p.m. Miss Kent, will you please call the
[2:25] role? Crowley
[2:26] >> here.
[2:26] >> Feldman
[2:27] >> here.
[2:27] >> Houseman
[2:28] >> here.
[2:28] >> Mady
[2:29] >> here.
[2:29] >> Matundo
[2:30] >> here.
[2:30] >> Sonia
[2:31] >> here.
[2:32] >> Spang
[2:32] >> here.
[2:32] >> St. Helier
[2:33] >> here.
[2:34] >> And Flowers
[2:35] >> here. Thank you, Miss Kent. Councelor
[2:36] Ratundo, will you lead us in the pledge
[2:38] of allegiance, please?
[2:42] I aliance to the flag of the United
[2:45] States of America and to the republic
[2:47] for which it stands. One nation under
[2:51] God, indivisible, with liberty and
[2:54] justice for all.
[2:58] » Thank you very much, Councelor Retundo.
[3:01] I just wanted to mention that uh his
[3:03] honor the mayor is here with us this
[3:04] evening as well. Thank you very much,
[3:06] Mr. Mayor. I know we'll be hearing a
[3:07] presentation from you shortly. Um we
[3:09] have me many members of our city staff
[3:11] are here. Thank you all as well for
[3:12] joining us this evening. Uh so the very
[3:15] first presentation this evening is one
[3:17] that I intended to give at the
[3:19] inauguration and was not there due to
[3:21] illness. Um my thanks to councilors
[3:23] Carly and Vice President St. Helair for
[3:26] your work in leading that meeting in my
[3:28] absence. Thank you very much to both of
[3:30] you. Um particularly finding out that
[3:32] morning that you were going to be doing
[3:33] it. So thank you. And thank you also to
[3:36] our city clerk of course, Miss Kent, for leading in that as well. Um, so I'm
[3:40] going to go to the podium and share some
[3:42] of the remarks that I would have shared
[3:44] that evening that morning.
[4:03] So, it is of course somewhat unusual to
[4:05] be offering these remarks at a city
[4:07] council meeting, a regular meeting like
[4:09] this one rather than at the
[4:11] inauguration.
[4:13] And thank you council colleagues and to
[4:15] all those here in attendance, as well as
[4:18] to Bev Cam for affording me this time to
[4:20] share these remarks that I had prepared
[4:22] for that occasion but was unable to
[4:24] share and offer due to illness. I share
[4:27] them now, however, with the hope that
[4:28] they might still help us to open this
[4:31] our new term of office together and this
[4:34] new year as we enter into this first
[4:36] regular meeting of this city council
[4:39] term. And so, fellow city councilors,
[4:42] Mr. Mr. Mayor, school committee members
[4:45] who may be watching this at another
[4:46] time, city staff, and members of the
[4:48] Beverly community. As we enter into this
[4:50] new year and this new term, I begin by
[4:54] sharing words of poetry, written by
[4:56] Amanda Gorman from her book, Call Us
[4:58] What We Carry. I invite you to hear
[5:01] these words, slightly excerpted for
[5:03] time, from the poem with nearly the same
[5:05] name as the book, her poem entitled What
[5:08] We Carry.
[5:10] As kids, we sat in grass, fished our
[5:14] hands into the dirt. We felt that damp
[5:17] brown universe writhe, alert and alive.
[5:20] Earth cuped in the boat of our palms.
[5:24] Our eyes waxed wide with wonder.
[5:27] Children understand. Even grime is a
[5:30] gift. Even what is mired is miraculous.
[5:34] What is marred is still marvelous.
[5:37] We continue speaking, writing, hoping,
[5:39] living, loving, fighting. That is to
[5:42] say, we believe beyond disaster.
[5:46] Even endings end at the lip of land.
[5:49] Time arcs into itself. It is not a
[5:52] repeat, but a reckoning. Days can't help
[5:56] but walk two by two. The past and
[5:58] present, paired and paralleled. It is
[6:00] the future we save from ourselves, for
[6:04] ourselves.
[6:06] Words matter for language is an ark.
[6:09] Yes, language is an art, an articulate
[6:12] artifact. Language is a life craft. Yes,
[6:17] language is a life raft. We have
[6:20] recalled how to touch each other and how
[6:21] to trust all that is good and all right.
[6:24] We have learned our true names, not what
[6:26] we are called, but what we are called to
[6:29] carry forth from here.
[6:31] What do we carry? If not, what and who
[6:35] we care most for? The truth is one globe
[6:39] wonder flawed here to the preservation
[6:42] of a light so terrific
[6:44] in discarding. The truth is there is joy
[6:46] in discarding almost everything. Our
[6:49] rage, our wreckage, our hubris, our
[6:51] hate, our ghosts, our greed, our wrath,
[6:54] our wars on the beating shore. We
[6:57] haven't any haven for them here.
[7:00] Rejoice for what we have left behind
[7:02] will not free us, but what we have left
[7:04] is all we need. We are enough. Armed
[7:09] only with our hands, open but unied,
[7:12] just like a blooming thing. We walk into
[7:16] tomorrow, carrying nothing but the
[7:19] world.
[7:21] Now, it might seem at first glance like
[7:23] poetry and municipal governance have
[7:25] very little to do with one another. like
[7:28] these words of Gorman's the first young
[7:30] poet ever to be named America's national
[7:32] youth poet laurate back in 2017 paving
[7:35] the way for those who followed her
[7:37] including our current national youth
[7:39] poet laurate Evan Wang the first East
[7:42] Asian male poet to hold the title feel
[7:45] out of place in these council chambers a
[7:48] place where we come to engage in the
[7:49] serious business of the city
[7:52] but I would suggest however that poetry
[7:55] and municipal governance have everything
[7:57] to do with one another that these words
[8:00] of Gorman's call us with a seriousness
[8:02] of purpose that belongs in this space
[8:04] and in this place.
[8:07] Poets understand that the space between
[8:09] the words is as important as the words
[8:11] on the page. That deep meaning comes not
[8:14] just from what is said, but what is left
[8:18] unsaid.
[8:19] That building connections and bridges in
[8:21] creative, unusual, or unlikely ways
[8:24] matters deeply.
[8:27] And we who are called to local
[8:28] leadership here in this city, the city
[8:31] that we love and care for, and we who
[8:33] live in and care about this city, we are
[8:36] called to understand the same. The
[8:39] business of local government is the
[8:42] space between. Working to seek out and
[8:45] strengthen relationships with our
[8:47] residents and with one another. Working
[8:50] to solve problems that have gone without
[8:52] solutions.
[8:54] working to meet needs and fill gaps in
[8:56] funding, in service provision, in food
[8:59] access, in housing access. Working to
[9:02] bridge the space between where our
[9:03] community is now and where together we
[9:07] believe it can be. Taking this charge
[9:10] seriously means that we understand the
[9:13] power of what we say or the deafening
[9:16] silence that can be left by what we lack
[9:18] the courage to say. It means we
[9:20] understand the importance of recognizing
[9:22] what we carry and what others carry, of
[9:26] honoring the stories that our residents
[9:28] bring to us, and of working creatively
[9:31] to create connections and to find
[9:33] solutions.
[9:35] People sometimes like to say of politics
[9:38] that it's the campaigning that's done in
[9:40] poetry and then the governing has to be
[9:42] done in pros. A way of suggesting
[9:45] perhaps that campaigns are about
[9:46] creativity and aspiration. But then the
[9:49] real everyday work requires
[9:51] steadfastness, seriousness of purpose,
[9:54] justified margins, and serious
[9:56] structure.
[9:58] And the work of local leadership and
[9:59] governance does indeed require our
[10:02] steadfastness, our seriousness of
[10:04] purpose, and a thoughtful attention to
[10:06] detail. But as we set out on the work of
[10:09] this new term together, I offer us this
[10:12] reminder to let this work also be filled
[10:15] with creativity and aspiration,
[10:18] flexibility and playfulness, unexpected
[10:21] connections, and enough joy, dedication,
[10:25] passion, and compassion for the people
[10:28] and for this city to help fill the
[10:30] spaces between us.
[10:33] We will need all those tools in our
[10:35] toolbox to tackle the very real
[10:37] challenges we know are ahead of us this
[10:39] term. A more difficult financial
[10:42] environment than we have seen in recent
[10:44] years. A known projected shortfall for
[10:47] fiscal year 27 that demands our hard
[10:50] work, creative problem solving, and
[10:52] diligent attention.
[10:55] Infrastructure needs on both the
[10:56] municipal and school sides of our
[10:58] budget. our desire to continue to invest
[11:01] in our public schools, in our
[11:03] outstanding educators, and our
[11:05] incredible young people. Rising
[11:08] sanitation costs and a new sanitation
[11:10] contract to be negotiated.
[11:12] Continuing our steadfast dedication to
[11:15] addressing the affordability crisis in
[11:17] our region and the need for more
[11:19] workforce housing, senior housing,
[11:21] family housing, and deeply affordable
[11:24] housing with dignity for all people of
[11:27] all ages.
[11:28] meeting the needs of our most vulnerable
[11:30] neighbors. From those who are currently
[11:32] unhoused to those who are food and
[11:35] housing insecure to our immigrant
[11:38] neighbors living in fear in the current
[11:39] national climate. To our LGBTQIA plus
[11:43] neighbors and especially our trans
[11:45] community whose very right to safety and
[11:48] existence is under attack on the
[11:49] national level.
[11:52] All of these things carried by our
[11:55] neighbors in this community must matter
[11:57] deeply to us because they matter deeply
[12:00] to those who have entrusted us with
[12:02] these leadership roles in this
[12:04] community. In the words of the opening
[12:07] poem, what do we carry if not what and
[12:10] who we care most for?
[12:13] We are called to carry them with
[12:15] seriousness and care and then to dig in
[12:17] and to do the work of continued
[12:19] community building together.
[12:22] And there is another reason for my
[12:23] choice of Amanda Gorman's poem, What We
[12:26] Carry, to share with you at the outset
[12:28] of this new term.
[12:30] Because we know that as a community, we
[12:32] come to this new term and this new year
[12:35] having come through challenging moments
[12:37] together over the last one. And we carry
[12:40] each one of us the experiences, the
[12:43] hurts and the joys, the challenges and
[12:46] the worries, the upset and the
[12:48] disappointment, the achievements and the
[12:50] connections, the wonder and the learning
[12:53] of that year and those moments and those
[12:57] experiences become part of our stories.
[13:00] Recognizing what it is that we are
[13:02] carrying and what it is that we are
[13:04] ready to heal or put down. And then
[13:06] recognizing and honoring the same in
[13:08] others is an important part of how we
[13:10] now work to move forward as a community
[13:14] together.
[13:16] This is how I believe together we create
[13:18] the future we dream.
[13:20] In closing, I invite you to hear once
[13:23] more those closing words from Amanda
[13:25] Gorman's poem.
[13:27] Here's to the preservation of a light so
[13:29] terrific. The truth is there is joy in
[13:32] discarding almost everything. Our rage,
[13:35] our wreckage, our hubris, our hate, our
[13:38] ghosts, our greed, our wrath, our wars
[13:40] on the beating shore. We haven't any
[13:43] haven for them here. Rejoice for what we
[13:46] have left behind will not free us. But
[13:48] what we have left is all we need. We are
[13:53] enough. Armed only with our hands open
[13:56] but unimpied just like a blooming thing,
[13:59] we walk into tomorrow carrying nothing
[14:02] but the world.
[14:04] Fellow counselors,
[14:06] Mr. Mayor, fellow elected officials,
[14:08] city staff, and residents of Beverly,
[14:11] what a privilege, honor, and gift it is
[14:14] to carry one another's stories, hopes,
[14:16] aspirations, and dreams for this city
[14:18] that we love. What a privilege, honor,
[14:21] and gift it is to be able to work to
[14:23] create connections in the space between
[14:25] and to work for creative solutions
[14:27] together. So may we take seriously now
[14:30] the work that lies before us. Thank you.
[14:35] [applause]
[14:53] Thank you very much everyone for the
[14:55] opportunity to share those remarks that
[14:56] would have been inauguration remarks
[14:58] that are now regular meeting remarks. So
[15:01] thank you.
[15:02] The second presentation on our agenda
[15:05] this evening comes from Mayor Cahill and
[15:08] that will be an update on city projects.
[15:11] And so Mr. Mayor, we'll turn the podium
[15:14] over to you and thank you for being here
[15:17] with us.
[15:19] >> Thanks, Madam President. Good to see
[15:20] everybody. Um, so I'm going to walk us
[15:24] through a number of slides that are just
[15:28] um updates on where different projects
[15:30] are at. I want to share with you that
[15:32] [clears throat]
[15:33] um some months when I when we come to do
[15:36] this I'll make sure to bring uh given
[15:39] department heads who are running point
[15:41] on specific projects tonight in part
[15:44] because it's January and in part because
[15:45] the agenda is so full and in part
[15:48] because after talking with some of you
[15:50] recently um it seems that you all as a
[15:54] body would like more frequent updates.
[15:57] Uh now that's really up to you uh in the
[16:00] sense that your agendas get full and I
[16:02] don't want to try to put these in front
[16:04] of you too often but if you want to
[16:06] rather than quarterly do these every
[16:08] other month for the time being uh you
[16:10] know we can we can try that. Um I know
[16:13] that one of our biggest
[16:16] just having kicked off projects is the
[16:17] water meter replacements. There's a
[16:19] slide in here on that probably worth a
[16:21] deeper dive at an upcoming meeting for
[16:23] example. Um, but at any rate, let me uh
[16:26] let me just jump right in with you here.
[16:28] Uh, the youth center project, as you
[16:31] know, it's well under construction. It
[16:34] should be open. It's not quite open yet,
[16:37] but the good news is, um,
[16:41] there's a there's a typo in the
[16:44] construction timeline. Um the plan right
[16:47] now is that we hope to have the youth
[16:50] center, the you know the young folks and
[16:52] the staff moving in there by mid-Marchch
[16:56] with an early April dedication ceremony
[16:58] that we're we're going to try to time up
[17:00] right so that people can um participate
[17:03] and enjoy. Uh but again the goal right
[17:06] now is that they'll be in by mid-March.
[17:10] And I think yeah the rest of the words
[17:12] there yep that's all just supportive of
[17:14] that. Next,
[17:17] Central Fire Station. The construction
[17:20] completed this past summer of the
[17:22] building envelope work including new
[17:23] roof, new windows, new doors,
[17:25] insulation, and repointing. Uh on the
[17:28] HVAC side of the project, heat pumps
[17:31] have been installed. There's a long lead
[17:34] time on electrical equipment that we
[17:36] ordered last year um due in March. And
[17:39] so the plan is hopefully that's all
[17:41] installed late winter suggests late
[17:44] March. So that's really the key month
[17:46] right now for finishing the HVAC work at
[17:49] Central Fire Station.
[17:52] The public library main branch work uh
[17:56] conigly construction. Those of you who
[17:59] were on last term you remember meeting
[18:00] them during the conversations about the
[18:03] project. Uh they mobilized on site
[18:05] beginning today. completion of work by
[18:08] early June. The scope of the work we
[18:10] have about well we have $2.2 million of
[18:14] budget on that project and the scope of
[18:16] work includes insulating the building,
[18:19] refurbishment of the rooftop air
[18:21] handling units. There are two air
[18:23] handling units or numerous components to
[18:27] make up each one. Uh they're all being
[18:29] replaced. Um the insulation involved is
[18:35] the the focus there is the fact that the
[18:38] where the addition from the early to the
[18:41] mid 90s meets the original building
[18:44] there is a leakage there is air that
[18:46] gets in and there the air that gets out
[18:47] every day. Um so that's been one of the
[18:50] key priorities on top of replacing the
[18:53] air handling unit components so that
[18:56] they'll work better going forward for a
[18:57] number of years. The other big piece of
[19:00] this is doing as much insulation as we
[19:02] can afford to do. We have a couple of um
[19:05] uh alternate pieces of scope that both
[19:07] have to do with additional insulation.
[19:10] And as we work through the project over
[19:12] the next few months, we will uh include
[19:15] additional insulation in a couple key
[19:16] points if the uh if the budget allows
[19:19] between now and and completion.
[19:23] Water meter replacement. You've heard a
[19:25] lot about this. 250 meters have been
[19:27] installed to date. Uh the full ramp up
[19:30] should begin in February. Right now,
[19:33] there's one installer working with the
[19:34] city. Starting in February, there'll be
[19:36] four installers working daily. Customers
[19:40] receiving estimated bills should
[19:43] continue to provide readings and the
[19:45] city will prioritize these replacements
[19:47] when possible. I'll say more about that
[19:48] in a minute. Um customers will receive
[19:51] instructions to make an official
[19:54] replacement appointment. Some of you may
[19:56] have already had that happen. The early
[19:58] install work has gone on around Prospect
[20:01] Hill and Monserat. Um target substantial
[20:05] completion date is a year from this
[20:06] summer.
[20:08] So everything's on track. Uh, one of the
[20:11] things that I asked our team was I
[20:13] thought more meters would have been
[20:14] installed by now. But what I got back
[20:17] was the mindset of really um
[20:22] starting right so as not to trip over
[20:24] our own feet. Um, the concept of
[20:27] measuring twice to cut once. The whole
[20:29] idea of getting it getting everything
[20:30] teed up and kicked off the right way.
[20:33] And that's why they've had one installer
[20:35] to date and are getting ready to ramp it
[20:37] up. Um there are, as I think we all
[20:41] know, we all get our water sewer bills
[20:44] quarterly in the city. A third of our uh
[20:48] third of our residents get those bills
[20:52] on the 1 of say January, the other third
[20:55] February, the other third March. So it
[20:56] rolls and the work similar similarly is
[21:00] going to roll in sections of the city.
[21:03] We're going to be meeting uh the week
[21:05] after next with the team to see how much
[21:09] more we can uh prioritize those whose
[21:13] meters are currently not working. Um it
[21:17] would it would not work to just
[21:21] chase those broken meters around the
[21:23] community. There's efficiencies lost on
[21:26] how many that a given installer can get
[21:28] done in a day. But what we're going to
[21:30] try to do is by by different
[21:34] parts of the city try to prioritize
[21:37] those whose meters aren't working now
[21:39] within a given part. Um we'll we'll
[21:41] learn more about that because that's a
[21:43] question we've posed to the install
[21:45] team. Uh it's one we've been carrying as
[21:47] a as a talking point with them all along
[21:49] and we'll we'll try to um
[21:52] really kind of parse through that with
[21:54] them and see how much more uh specific
[21:57] they can be in sharing with you at an
[21:59] upcoming update. For any of you whose
[22:02] constituents reach out who are
[22:03] frustrated with bills, make sure you
[22:05] continue to, you know, um pass them over
[22:08] to to my office and to um where's Glenn?
[22:12] Glennice is in engineering. engineering
[22:13] that we're so you know between our two
[22:16] offices we try to run them down and and
[22:18] help people with those. Uh, next, Bridge
[22:22] Street. The Bridge Street project
[22:23] mileide, which is, you know, it's what
[22:25] you call a tip project, right? It's one
[22:28] of those road construction projects
[22:30] that's too expensive for city or town to
[22:32] handle on its own. We did the design
[22:34] work on it years ago, got in line on the
[22:37] state list for uh federal and state
[22:40] funding several years ago, about eight
[22:42] years um ago, eight, nine years ago. the
[22:45] project was started counselor started
[22:48] two years ago and and it's it's pretty
[22:51] much it's complete but for the fact that
[22:54] the temporary bridge construction over
[22:56] the Bass River has meant that you know
[22:59] the limits of that project couldn't be
[23:01] finished but from the Damvers line down
[23:04] to Fulier A so close down to the to the
[23:06] Bass River it was all completed this
[23:09] past year um
[23:12] lots of hard work by councelor Ratundo
[23:16] um folks in my office to to try to stay
[23:18] up with um neighbors concerns during the
[23:21] construction. Uh and I think I think all
[23:24] in all it's been a fantastic I mean that road is now solid for
[23:30] what should we say 50 60 years and it
[23:33] and it's it's a great great improvement.
[23:38] these the rapid flashing beacons. Some
[23:41] of you have one in your ward uh or more
[23:43] than one. We were made aware a little
[23:46] over a year ago of a grant program that
[23:48] Massd was offering and it was a quick
[23:51] turnaround. We had to meet um warrants
[23:54] or requirements for the uh for the sites
[23:57] that we would look to and we were able
[23:59] to get a grant to install and and this
[24:03] was the full cost was covered by the
[24:05] state. um these rapid flashing beacons,
[24:07] we already had a few of them in town, so
[24:09] we've added five at some high um high
[24:12] pedestrian traffic uh places in town.
[24:14] You can see Sawyer Road right at the
[24:16] bottom of the hill, right by the high
[24:18] school entrance. Brimble at Palmer Road
[24:21] where a lot of people walk um to and
[24:23] from Hannah School and and the train as
[24:26] well as other for other reasons. Dodge
[24:27] Street at Putnham is particularly a
[24:30] place where a lot of students, a lot of
[24:32] children go back and forth to uh North
[24:34] Beverly School. Essex Street at Gro
[24:36] Street is right by Centerville Market.
[24:38] Uh if you lived in Centerville long
[24:41] enough ago, Paul Mills store, but uh
[24:43] it's it's the Richdale right there. And
[24:45] so that's a very heavily pedestrian
[24:47] trafficked area. And then McKay near
[24:49] Sturdivan is by Shoe Pond. Uh it's it's
[24:52] a way for neighbors in the Shingleville
[24:54] neighborhood to cross the street safely.
[24:56] So, I think it I think it's fantastic
[25:00] that we got them. Uh, let's keep track
[25:02] on where else in the community these
[25:04] might make sense. Um, and uh, you know,
[25:07] always looking for opportunity. They're
[25:09] not prohibitively expensive.
[25:11] Of course, if we can get the state to
[25:13] fund them, all the better.
[25:16] Brimble Avenue project um, projects,
[25:19] both the Dunham roundabout and phase
[25:21] two. So, the Dunham Road at Brimble A
[25:24] roundabout, as you know, we got state
[25:27] grant money a few years ago to design a
[25:30] roundabout there. Then we got state
[25:32] grant money two years in a row to build
[25:34] it. Um, so it's it's a total of $7.4
[25:39] million in construction money, all
[25:41] provided by the state. And we were able
[25:43] to make a very strong case with the
[25:45] state because most of the property is
[25:47] owned by the Mass Department of
[25:49] Transportation. Uh it's not most of it's
[25:51] not city property. [snorts] Um and then
[25:54] we have pending a quarter of a million
[25:56] dollar earmark that Senator Lovely and
[25:58] Representative Bowen were able to help
[26:00] us or secure for us and that should come
[26:03] forward to help and that bumps up the
[26:05] cushion on the project budget which is
[26:07] you know that's helpful. So that project
[26:11] is just about ready for final approval
[26:14] by the state and the ex expectation is
[26:16] we'll be kicking off construction early
[26:19] summer this year about a year and a half
[26:20] construction process. We will spend a
[26:23] lot of time with the uh with PHP, the
[26:27] architectural design firm, and whoever
[26:30] we bring on board to build it. We'll
[26:32] spend a lot of time with just how
[26:35] they're going to construct and keep
[26:37] traffic moving and, you know, meet
[26:39] people's daily needs during the
[26:40] construction. Um phase two is the other
[26:43] big piece of the long-term effort around
[26:46] the Brimble A neighborhood. Um, Dunham
[26:49] Roundabout is separate. When you think
[26:52] of phase two, phase one for the Brimble
[26:54] Avenue project was the double roundabout
[26:56] project where you get off at Sawyer Road
[26:59] northbound and you come up to Brimlab by
[27:01] the old Victoria Rocky. Um, so that pro
[27:04] that project was built
[27:07] 2015 16. Um and and phase two is
[27:13] it's long been challenging to figure out
[27:15] whether phase two could be a full
[27:17] highway interchange across the highway
[27:20] to the music theater or uh an overpass.
[27:23] And we've landed back on an overpass
[27:25] because it was ultimately made clear uh
[27:28] by the federal highway folks that they
[27:32] weren't going to approve a full
[27:33] interchange so proximate so close to the
[27:36] Centerville and the Brimble
[27:38] interchanges. So, we are and and some of
[27:41] you remember any of you who were on the
[27:43] council when you approved this, you
[27:45] approved uh money to take us to 10%
[27:48] design on a an overpass
[27:52] from Brimble A. So, what what you can
[27:56] what you think of is that you know that
[27:58] um Otis Road Otis Road right by Cycles
[28:01] 128 that is a private road that the
[28:04] state is going to have to purchase uh as
[28:07] a part of this project. So, Otis Road
[28:09] over to an overpass connecting to the um
[28:12] music theater and the uh Cummings Park
[28:15] over there, Dunham Ridge.
[28:18] Um so the next step with that and the
[28:20] goal and the goal of getting the um
[28:23] [music] design to 10% is to get on the
[28:26] state's transportation improvement plan
[28:28] and we are teeing up with with the uh
[28:30] engineering firm we're working with to
[28:32] try to get that approved at the at the m
[28:35] um metropolitan planning organization
[28:37] level in the next couple of months. The
[28:40] goal is they they annually update the
[28:42] tip and our goal and that's been our
[28:44] goal going back a couple years is to get
[28:46] on the tip this this round. So fingers
[28:50] crossed we're working on it and we'll be making our best case to the MO
[28:54] in the next couple months.
[28:56] By the way that getting on the tip means
[28:58] that you can start um pushing to get
[29:01] funded and it's as I said with the with
[29:04] the Bridge Street project um Bridge
[29:06] Street was about a $16 million
[29:08] construction project. this would be um
[29:11] maybe double or more that uh it takes
[29:14] several years once you're on the list to
[29:15] move through the line. You got to take
[29:18] care of all of your own design work. And
[29:22] they evaluate readiness for funding on
[29:25] an annual basis and, you know, try to
[29:27] move up that that list without too many
[29:29] years getting in the way of of um and getting to where when we're ready
[29:34] when we've done the full design and
[29:35] we're ready for the state to fund that
[29:38] they're ready to to program us in and identify the funds and make them
[29:42] available. Uh the three bridges project
[29:47] Also in Riyle side, as we all well know,
[29:50] uh the state closed forever the Hall
[29:52] Whitaker Bridge in June of 2022.
[29:55] Um we now are in the process of I say we
[29:59] but you know working with the state and
[30:01] they they finally got through the
[30:03] permitting and the temporary bridge is
[30:05] now under construction. You can see that
[30:08] pier zero, I don't know why it's called
[30:10] zero has been completed and piles for
[30:12] peers one and two are being installed.
[30:14] That work is all in that circle. It's
[30:17] the top left within the circle. It's the
[30:20] platform area from which they're going
[30:22] to be able to stage the rest of the work
[30:25] because the bridge is coming in prefab
[30:28] pre-fabricated 10-in segments. And so
[30:31] they're going to be they're staging to
[30:32] be able to then kind of install and move the bridge right across
[30:38] from the rile side or west side of the
[30:41] river over towards where the old bowl
[30:43] was. The expectation is that that bridge
[30:46] will be open to traffic by summer of a
[30:48] year from now, summer of 2027. However,
[30:51] in working with the construction team,
[30:54] we've made a priority with them to find
[30:56] ways to accelerate the process and
[30:58] they're working with us and with Masdot
[31:01] to figure out whether they can start to
[31:03] drive piles on both sides of the river.
[31:07] Um, and if they're able to do that, that
[31:09] will be a way to accelerate the job by
[31:11] some period of months. So that's an
[31:13] inprocess effort to get the uh to
[31:16] identify with the state um more staging
[31:19] area than they currently have. So some
[31:21] off-site staging area and a couple of
[31:23] other uh issues they're working through
[31:25] and hopefully that's successful and and
[31:27] then we can we can see a much more
[31:29] accelerated um effort on construction
[31:32] there.
[31:34] Ober Park.
[31:38] I'd say the big difference from the last
[31:39] time I spoke with you about this in
[31:41] October is that we we thought we were
[31:45] ready to move through the rest of
[31:48] permitting towards construction until
[31:50] the Mass Historic Commission decided
[31:52] that there was historical significance
[31:54] and there is some record of of uh
[31:57] historical artifacts having been found
[31:59] there. So they came out and did some
[32:01] review and they actually found some
[32:04] extremely old ceramics. Um and at the
[32:06] same time u at the same time the
[32:09] consultant who did the review under Mass
[32:12] Historic guidelines um was able to come
[32:16] to recommendations that there was not
[32:18] any further uh not any further delay
[32:21] needed or any further involvement from
[32:23] Mass Historic. Um, so we're waiting for
[32:26] Mass Historic to make their final uh
[32:29] statement on that and in the meantime
[32:31] and and and the goal is to get our MEPA
[32:34] packet submitted. Um,
[32:37] environmental review has to happen with any project that is going to impact
[32:43] the the coastal wetlands. Um, so we're
[32:48] we were really kind of stopped in our
[32:50] tracks by the mass historic work and we
[32:52] think we're just about ready to move
[32:53] forward again.
[32:56] >> Mr. Mayor, I'm so sorry to interrupt
[32:57] you. I just need to
[32:58] >> Oh, no. 7:30. Sorry.
[33:00] >> Just pause so we can open it and then
[33:02] we'll recess it so we can hear the rest
[33:03] of your presentation. Um, so I'm sorry
[33:05] about that. So, as I mentioned, if you
[33:08] were with us at the beginning, we do
[33:09] have public hearings posted at certain
[33:11] times. They need to legally we need to
[33:12] open them at those times. So, I'm going
[33:15] to open the posted public hearing for
[33:17] 7:30. This is on order 9ine. Um, this is
[33:20] the community preservation committee out
[33:22] of cycle CPA funding request. Uh, Miss
[33:25] Kent. Order number nine, city of Beverly
[33:28] ordered that the city council of the
[33:29] city of Beverly hold a public hearing on
[33:31] Tuesday, January 20th at 2025 at 7:30
[33:34] p.m. 191 Cab Street, third floor.
[33:36] Council chambers relative to the
[33:38] community preservation committee out of
[33:40] cycle CPA funding recommendations.
[33:42] requests for CPA funding for
[33:44] Independence Park renovations and this
[33:46] was in the newspaper on January 9th.
[33:48] >> Thank you, Miss Kent. Councilors, I
[33:50] would entertain a motion to recess this
[33:51] hearing to 7:40.
[33:53] >> All those in favor?
[33:55] >> That carries 90. So, we'll pick that
[33:57] back up at 7:40. And if there are folks
[34:00] here who wish to speak in this public
[34:01] hearing or the two to follow, those
[34:03] signup sheets are on the table uh by the
[34:05] window over to my right, and you can get
[34:07] up at any point and add your name to
[34:09] those for public comment. Um, thank you,
[34:11] Mr. Mayor. I apologize. Thank you, Madam
[34:12] President. So, like Ober Park, Lynch
[34:15] Park is is kind of in the same space on
[34:17] permitting. Uh, as as those of you who
[34:20] have been kind of working this with us
[34:21] know, um, these are two two of our
[34:24] coastal parks, two of our gems that have
[34:29] erosion in the case of Ober and flooding
[34:32] in the case of Lynch Park concerns. Um
[34:35] we in each case we got initial grants
[34:38] from the state to assess the
[34:40] vulnerability and the feasibility of
[34:42] certain treatments or certain solutions.
[34:45] We have gone after additional grant
[34:47] funding for each a couple of times and
[34:50] we have not secured funding on either of
[34:53] those rounds. And what has hurt us in
[34:55] each instance is that while these well
[34:58] while they're valuable to us and they're
[35:00] valuable to a lot of people, neither of
[35:03] these parks has an adjacent residential
[35:06] neighborhood that has been recently
[35:07] flooded in an awful storm like a lot of
[35:10] other places both coastal and inland in
[35:12] the state. So that you know the the
[35:14] money that's been available has gone to
[35:15] other applicants who need it as well.
[35:17] Um, but we've been working with state
[35:19] officials and we're hoping this next
[35:22] goround on grant funds uh we'll have
[35:24] some some better luck. You folks have
[35:27] supported and CPA has supported some
[35:29] combination of of CPA funds and um um
[35:35] free cash at various points to keep
[35:37] these projects going. Uh and as you can
[35:40] see we're we're also with Lynch Park
[35:42] right at the point of uh of MEPA filing.
[35:45] We had our pre-filing meeting with uh
[35:47] with the MEEPA team last about a week
[35:49] and a half ago. Uh and moving forward
[35:51] with that and I that's that was the last
[35:54] one anyway. So sorry that it's taken
[35:56] this long.
[35:57] >> Happy to try to answer a question or
[35:59] two.
[36:00] >> Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor. Uh so
[36:02] counselors, we do have about five
[36:03] minutes for some questions. Obviously,
[36:05] these updates from the mayor do not
[36:07] constitute the end of the conversations
[36:09] on these projects. And so, uh, if we
[36:12] don't get to all of our questions today,
[36:14] there can be further conversation. Um,
[36:17] so before our hearing at 7:40, are there
[36:19] comments or questions in the time that
[36:21] we have?
[36:25] » All right. Well, I guess not. Thank you
[36:28] very much, Mr. Mayor, for that update.
[36:30] And as you mentioned, we'll look forward
[36:31] to having you and your team back
[36:33] regularly for those updates. Uh, they
[36:35] are both helpful and appreciated. So, we
[36:38] do have five minutes before we pick up
[36:40] that hearing. So, uh, Miss Kent, let's
[36:42] go into our agenda and, um,
[36:49] actually
[36:51] have at least one of our two speakers.
[36:53] Um, I know that there are two speakers
[36:55] waiting. Uh, each speaker, this is the,
[36:58] um, comments from residents. You can
[37:00] sign up at a regular meeting to be able
[37:01] to speak. There are up to five spots
[37:03] available for three minutes each. And so
[37:06] we could I think get at least our first
[37:08] speaker in um Mitchell Serovvic. And if
[37:12] I'm saying your name wrong, I do. I
[37:13] really apologize. Um I'll invite you to
[37:15] come to the podium if you would begin
[37:17] with your name and address for the
[37:18] record. And
[37:21] council vice vice president St. Hillary,
[37:24] do you have the timer now?
[37:26] >> All right. Um so if you hear the timer
[37:28] go off, that will be the signal that the
[37:30] three minutes is is coming to an end. So
[37:32] if you could just draw your remarks to a
[37:33] close at that point. Thank you so much.
[37:36] >> Thank you. My name is Mitchell Serovvic.
[37:38] I live at 42 Pratt Avenue.
[37:42] U Madame President, counselors, um I
[37:45] guess the mayor has left. Uh good
[37:47] evening. Uh before I start, I do want to
[37:49] apologize if this subject has already
[37:51] been addressed in a previous meeting. I
[37:52] wasn't able to find uh in the past
[37:55] meeting minutes that this was or when it
[37:58] had been uh addressed. So, just let me
[38:00] start by saying that
[38:02] uh recently I noticed a flock
[38:05] surveillance camera on Brimble Avenue
[38:08] that apparently has been there for
[38:10] several months. Uh subsequently I
[38:13] learned per uh an online surveillance
[38:16] application dlock.me
[38:18] that there are now at least two more at
[38:21] least two more of these cameras. one on
[38:24] Elliot Street at the intersection of
[38:26] McKay Street and the other on Ran Tulle
[38:29] just before the Cabbat Street
[38:30] intersection um before the Salem Bridge.
[38:34] Uh for those in attendance who are not
[38:36] familiar uh with uh the company that
[38:39] controls these cameras, Flock [snorts]
[38:41] Safety is its name. It's one of the
[38:43] largest so-called automated license
[38:45] plate reader or LPR vendors uh in the
[38:49] United States. LPRs are AI powered
[38:52] cameras that capture and analyze images
[38:55] of all passing vehicles, uh, people, or
[38:58] whatever the camera is programmed to
[39:00] recognize. For cars, the camera creates
[39:03] a digital fingerprint of the vehicle,
[39:06] including license plate, make, model,
[39:08] color, identifi identifying features
[39:11] such as dents, bumper stickers, roof
[39:13] racks, uh, and of course, photos of the
[39:16] passengers.
[39:18] Uh vehicle features are then sent to
[39:21] Flock and stored in a searchable
[39:23] database.
[39:25] Um essentially creating a digital uh
[39:29] dossier of the car and its owner
[39:33] which is updated constantly as the the
[39:35] system receives updates. All these data
[39:38] are collected on millions of people
[39:41] every day across the country regardless
[39:44] of whether the driver is suspected of a
[39:47] crime.
[39:49] There are many reported examples of
[39:51] these cameras being hacked, people being
[39:54] accused of crimes they didn't commit
[39:57] because of flock data, and of police
[40:01] extensively
[40:02] misusing the data to just spy on people
[40:06] that they don't like or to track the
[40:09] goings of their ex-spouses, for example.
[40:13] Um, these examples of abuse are beside
[40:16] the point.
[40:18] which is that these surveillance cameras
[40:22] are manifest violations of our
[40:25] constitutional fourth amendment
[40:27] protection against unreasonable search.
[40:32] Every single photo taken by a flock
[40:36] camera amounts to an illegal
[40:39] warrantless search by the police. Got
[40:42] it. Thank you. Uh, these cameras have no
[40:45] place in our community and should be
[40:47] removed immediately. Thank you very
[40:50] much.
[40:54] [applause]
[40:56] >> Thank you very much, Mr. Servic. And I
[40:58] should have mentioned at the beginning,
[40:59] too, that for those who are not as
[41:01] familiar with this portion of our
[41:02] meeting, um, it is not a part of the
[41:04] meeting where we're having conversation
[41:06] or asking questions back and forth with
[41:08] our speakers. But as I always like to
[41:10] say, um it's it's always extremely
[41:12] important still to hear from folks
[41:14] during this time and even if we're not
[41:16] able to have back and forth or ask
[41:17] questions, what we hear is something
[41:20] that we we consider, we take in and
[41:21] often informs future conversation of the
[41:23] council. So, um I appreciate our
[41:25] speakers today and other speakers who
[41:27] have come before and will come after.
[41:30] Um, if you are interested in speaking at
[41:31] a regular meeting in one of these spots,
[41:33] you can sign up for these spots by
[41:35] contacting the city clerk no later than
[41:37] 9:30 the morning of the meeting and they
[41:39] are first come, first serve. Um, we do
[41:41] have another speaker and I know uh she's
[41:43] waiting very patiently. We need to open
[41:45] our public hearing now and so we'll come
[41:47] around to our second speaker as soon as
[41:49] we have another moment in our agenda.
[41:51] Um, it is 7:40 so I will reopen our
[41:54] public hearing on order number nine.
[41:56] Miss Kenda's already read the order and
[41:58] we do have uh Gene Delios and Derek
[42:01] Beckwith here from the CPC. And Mr.
[42:03] Beckwith, I see you're at the podium
[42:05] ready to go. So, I'll turn that uh floor
[42:07] over to you. Thank you.
[42:08] >> Thank Thank you very much, Madame
[42:10] President and counselors, including our
[42:13] newest counselors. Um the uh hopefully
[42:16] over time um you'll uh get to know a lot
[42:20] of what the CPC is all about and what
[42:22] we're doing. And tonight um I'm very
[42:24] proud to represent the committee um with
[42:27] an outofcycle um application um that we
[42:31] received. We reviewed it very carefully
[42:34] over two different meetings um explored
[42:36] the budget um the uh all the different
[42:40] particulars and logistics and
[42:42] unanimously approved it at our December
[42:44] meeting um for your review. In a
[42:47] nutshell, the [clears throat] uh the
[42:50] project is for the independent park
[42:53] renovations. Um the applicant being the
[42:55] city of Beverly itself.
[42:58] um provides overall the project costs
[43:01] $346,000
[43:03] and we voted for 200 to recommend
[43:06] $200,000
[43:07] in CPC um budget for the purpose of
[43:11] recre under the category of recreation
[43:13] for rehabilitation and restoration of
[43:17] Independence Park. Um the project
[43:20] includes
[43:21] uh I'm going to just quickly go through
[43:25] uh the uh um the pieces here. Um we'll
[43:28] add adjacent to the sidewalk walk on
[43:31] Lother Street an overlook terrace
[43:34] approximately 48 ft long and 8 1/2 ft
[43:37] wide. um leading to a new stairway with
[43:40] wider stairs and railings and added uh
[43:43] landscaping um that will lead to um the
[43:46] place uh right now where the cannons,
[43:48] the existing stone and monument um
[43:50] remain. Um the uh an ADA accessible path
[43:57] um which is new for this u this park
[43:59] will be added uh to connect the regraded
[44:02] half of the walkway um from
[44:06] uh Wilson Avenue um to uh to provide uh
[44:11] ADA access to uh the monument itself.
[44:14] Additionally, um 14 new benches uh with
[44:18] new pads and um that will include that
[44:21] are ADA accessible will allow um every
[44:25] um person who would like to visit and
[44:27] spend time at the park the opportunity
[44:29] to be there and overlook this historic
[44:31] site. Um so um the uh the vote was
[44:36] unanimous. Um the other uh sources of
[44:39] funding for the project include a
[44:41] Massachusetts Office of Travel and
[44:43] Tourism grant of $60,000 which has a
[44:47] deadline um for use of the money um in
[44:51] uh I think it's by June 30th which is
[44:54] the reason for this being an outofcycle
[44:56] grant so that the project could be built
[44:59] using these funds the the M funds um we
[45:03] need to accelerate the regular timing of
[45:06] our funding ing cycle um to enable this
[45:09] to happen. Additionally, the Rotary um
[45:11] Club of Beverly um is uh donating
[45:15] $20,000 to the cause and the Beverly 400
[45:19] um uh organization has put in another
[45:23] $5,000. So, funding comes from multiple
[45:25] sources. CPA funds um only make up
[45:29] 57.72%
[45:31] um which is a really good ratio um for
[45:34] use. Uh, so we strongly recommend the
[45:37] project. We hope you approve it and if
[45:40] you have any questions here to try to
[45:41] answer.
[45:42] >> Thank you very much, Mr. Beckwith. Uh,
[45:45] councilors, are there any questions for
[45:47] Mr. Beckwith at this time?
[45:55] Council Husman, you looked thoughtful,
[45:56] so I didn't know if you were conjuring
[45:58] up a question. You're you are not. Okay.
[46:00] Uh there are no members of the public
[46:02] signed up on the on the sheet to speak
[46:04] in this public hearing, but are there
[46:05] members of the public here who wish to
[46:07] speak in the public hearing on the um
[46:09] community preservation committee's out
[46:11] of cycle CPA funding recommendation
[46:13] which you just heard Mr. Beckwith speak
[46:15] about.
[46:18] Okay. Thank you. Uh thank you Mr.
[46:20] Beckwith. Seeing no other comments, I'm
[46:23] going to close that public hearing and
[46:24] we'll refer that back to the committee
[46:26] on finance and property for further
[46:28] action this evening. Um, we do have time
[46:32] before our next hearing posted at 7:50.
[46:34] So, let's have our next resident
[46:36] speaker. Um, and for both of our
[46:38] resident speakers, of course, you're
[46:40] welcome to remain with us for the
[46:41] entirety of the meeting, but this way
[46:42] also you have flexibility to leave and
[46:45] not be with us all evening if you don't
[46:47] wish to. Um if you also begin name and
[46:50] address for the record and then if you
[46:52] hear Vice President St. Hillary's timer
[46:54] go off if you would drag your remarks to
[46:56] a close at that time. Thank you. Good
[46:58] evening counselors and happy new term.
[47:02] Um my name is Aisha Sadiki. I live in
[47:04] Ward 3. My address is on file. Tonight I
[47:07] have two requests in my three minutes.
[47:10] Request number one. This is a continuing
[47:13] petition from 2025. I asked the council
[47:16] to adopt reading a land acknowledgement
[47:18] at the start of council meetings and
[47:20] until that happens I and other members
[47:22] of the Beverly Social Justice Book Club
[47:24] will be happy to do so.
[47:27] This meeting takes place on unseated
[47:30] ancestral lands of the of the nomagg and
[47:33] potucket bands of the Massachusetts
[47:34] tribe from whom the Commonwealth of
[47:36] Massachusetts took its name. With deep
[47:39] respect and gratitude, we acknowledge
[47:41] the indigenous caretakers of these lands
[47:43] and waters who have lived here for
[47:45] thousands of years and who live here in diverse indigenous communities today.
[47:52] Fun fact, that statement is what the
[47:55] city's human rights committee reads at
[47:56] their meetings, and it's also what our
[47:58] book club read at the city's Martin
[48:00] Luther King Jr. breakfast yesterday
[48:02] morning.
[48:04] Request number two,
[48:07] I ask the city council to take local
[48:09] initiative while our state legislators
[48:12] consider the safe safe communities act,
[48:15] which is House Bill H.2580
[48:18] and Senate Bill S.1681.
[48:22] The council could formally state its
[48:24] opposition to any potential agreements
[48:27] between the Beverly Police Department
[48:29] and ICE.
[48:31] Beverly could follow in the footsteps of
[48:33] the Worcester City Council, who on
[48:35] September 30th of 2025 voted on
[48:38] resolution 13B, which reads
[48:43] that the city council of the city of
[48:44] Worcester does hereby oppose the
[48:47] pursuit, exploration, or or entering
[48:50] into a 287G task force model agreement
[48:53] with US Immigration and Customs
[48:55] Enforcement or any other agreement or
[48:58] arrangement that gives federal
[48:59] immigration powers to Worcester
[49:01] officials.
[49:04] Tonight, I ask the council to stand with
[49:07] immigrants,
[49:09] with people of color,
[49:11] with everyone being targeted and
[49:13] profiled, and make it known that Beverly
[49:16] is a welcoming and inclusive city where
[49:19] all me
[49:22] [panting and gasps]
[49:23] [snorts]
[49:24] where all members of our community feel
[49:27] safe.
[49:34] You should all have an email from me
[49:36] that hit your inboxes just moments ago.
[49:40] It includes resource links for you to
[49:42] learn more about the ICE 287G program,
[49:46] the states the state's legisl state
[49:48] legislators safe communities act and the
[49:51] Worcester city council's resolution.
[49:53] Thank you for your service, your
[49:55] commitment and good evening.
[50:05] Thank you very much and thank you also
[50:06] for your patience and your flexibility.
[50:08] I know for speakers when you sign up it can always be a variable when you'll
[50:13] get to speak and um thank you to both of
[50:15] you for being here with us and for your
[50:18] words as well.
[50:21] Um we are at 7:50 so we will open our
[50:26] next public hearing. Uh this is a public
[50:29] hearing posted for order number 10 a
[50:32] loan authorization that we'll be
[50:34] considering. U Miss Kent if you would
[50:36] read the order.
[50:37] >> Order number 10. City of Beverly ordered
[50:39] that the city council of the city of
[50:40] Beverly hold a public hearing on
[50:41] Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 at 7:50 p.m.
[50:45] at 191 Cabin Street, 3rd floor, council
[50:47] chambers relative to the city
[50:49] appropriates the sum of $25,895,000
[50:54] to pay costs of renovating the city hall
[50:56] and former police station annex,
[50:57] including the cost of tempor temporary
[51:00] relocation of city hall during
[51:02] construction and all the costs
[51:03] incidental and related there too. and
[51:05] that to meet this appropriation, the
[51:07] treasurer with the approval of the mayor
[51:08] is authorized to borrow set amount and
[51:11] pursuant to general law chapter 44
[51:13] section 71 or any other enabling
[51:16] authority and to issue bonds or notes of
[51:18] the city. Therefore, the mayor is
[51:20] authorized to take any other action
[51:22] necessary to carry out this project,
[51:24] including but not limited to applying
[51:25] for, accepting, and expending any and
[51:27] all grants that may be available for the
[51:29] project. And this is published in the
[51:31] newspaper on January 9th.
[51:34] Thank you very much, Miss Kent. Um,
[51:37] Mr. Mayor, I know that you're at the
[51:39] podium ready to go. I will just mention
[51:41] that for those who may have uh been
[51:43] joining us or are perhaps watching on
[51:45] Bevcam but are interested in this public
[51:47] hearing and are um heading down here,
[51:50] there is a signup sheet for those
[51:51] members of the public who wish to speak
[51:52] in this public hearing. It can be found
[51:54] on the table um over to my right by the
[51:57] window by the the other door of the
[51:59] council chamber. you are welcome to get
[52:01] up at any point and go over and add your
[52:03] name to that. You don't have to wait for
[52:05] a certain time if you are member of the
[52:07] public here waiting to speak. And we
[52:08] will take public comment um in [snorts]
[52:11] the order that folks are signed up when
[52:12] we come to that part of this public
[52:14] hearing. I did want to mention at the
[52:16] beginning of the meeting, I was uh
[52:17] remissed in not mentioning that our
[52:19] state representative Hannah Bowen is
[52:21] also here with us this evening. Thank
[52:22] you very much, Representative Bowen.
[52:24] It's nice to see you. Um and Mr. Mayor,
[52:26] we'll turn things over to you. Thank
[52:28] you. Thanks, Madam President. Thank you,
[52:30] members of the council. Tonight's public
[52:32] hearing is on my administration's
[52:34] request for project budget approval for
[52:37] the Beverly City Hall renovation and
[52:39] addition project. This is a project on
[52:42] which we have presented to the city
[52:44] council several times over the past
[52:46] nearly four years. This is a project for
[52:49] which the city council appropriated $1.5
[52:52] million in March of 2022
[52:55] so that we could hire a an owner's
[52:57] project management firm and
[52:59] architectural design firm and work
[53:01] through a feasibility study, needs
[53:04] assessment, and schematic design phases
[53:06] of this project.
[53:09] We have successfully stretched this
[53:11] initial appropriation greatly and
[53:13] achieved significantly more work hiring
[53:15] on the construction management firm and
[53:18] working through both the earlier project
[53:19] phase phases as well as through the
[53:22] design development phase. This project
[53:25] will represent city hall's first major
[53:28] renovations since 1935
[53:31] almost 100 years. The existing city hall
[53:34] building will undergo si significant
[53:37] renovations. The former police station
[53:39] annex will be demolished and a new
[53:41] two-story building constructed on the
[53:44] existing foundation. A second Americans
[53:47] with Disabilities Act compliant building
[53:49] entrance will be added from the parking
[53:51] lot. A second elevator will be installed
[53:53] and the whole building will be made ADA
[53:56] compliant. Three city departments will
[53:58] be brought back to city hall. Two of
[54:01] these public health and inspectional
[54:03] services will be brought back for the
[54:05] first time in many years. Bringing these
[54:08] departments back to city hall will help
[54:09] in many ways, including giving back
[54:12] greatly needed space at the senior
[54:14] center to our council on aging for the
[54:16] benefit of Beverly's fast growing senior
[54:19] population.
[54:21] This city hall project will bring vast
[54:23] improvements to the working conditions
[54:25] for our city staff. Today in city hall,
[54:28] we have two meeting rooms. When the
[54:30] project is complete, we will have seven.
[54:33] Today, we have seven toilets in four
[54:35] bathrooms. When the project is complete,
[54:38] we will have 14 bathrooms. All handicap
[54:41] accessible, all single use, meaning one
[54:43] toilet, one sink, and a lockable door.
[54:47] Today, we have no mother's room
[54:49] available at city hall. When this
[54:51] project is complete, we will have a
[54:52] dedicated mother's room. Today, we have
[54:55] no small individual private rooms for
[54:57] staff needs. When this project is
[55:00] complete, we will have four small phone
[55:02] or Zoom meeting rooms available to our
[55:04] staff when their office suite workspaces
[55:07] cannot provide the quiet and
[55:09] confidentiality a phone conversation or
[55:11] remote meeting requires. This project
[55:14] will replace very substandard HVAC
[55:17] systems throughout the existing city
[55:19] hall building with highquality air
[55:21] source electric heating and cooling
[55:23] systems in both the existing city hall
[55:25] and the new annex.
[55:27] This project will create climate
[55:30] controlled storage space in the basement
[55:32] of the former police station annex. We
[55:35] have spoken many times about the
[55:37] importance of dedicating a percentage of
[55:39] our annual operating budget to debt
[55:41] service. A healthy, well-managed
[55:44] community needs to maintain, improve,
[55:47] and replace its assets on a schedule. It
[55:50] needs to issue debt, make regular
[55:52] payments to service and eventually
[55:54] retire that debt, and then issue new
[55:56] debt for the next capital project. The
[55:59] city of Beverly owns eight schools, 16
[56:02] municipal buildings, two water tanks, a
[56:05] whole inventory of storm water, drinking
[56:08] water, and sewage pump stations and
[56:10] pipes, over 150 miles of roads, many
[56:13] signalized intersections, and over two
[56:16] dozen parks and beaches. We maintain and
[56:19] update a draft capital plan annually. We
[56:22] plan carefully and we need to make the
[56:24] investments our city's assets require.
[56:29] Tonight's city hall project budget
[56:31] proposal asks the city council to
[56:33] approve a project budget that will
[56:36] require 5% of our city's operating
[56:38] budget be spent to service debt
[56:41] prospectively.
[56:42] And while best practices would likely
[56:44] have us spend a higher percentage on
[56:46] debt service, and in the past we have
[56:48] spent a higher percentage, as many of
[56:50] you well know, we are very mindful
[56:52] tonight of budget challenges that both
[56:54] the city and our taxpayers are facing.
[56:57] To those who are concerned with our
[56:59] reported operating budget challenges,
[57:01] let me share with you an excerpt from my
[57:03] inaugural address this past January 5th.
[57:07] These are challenging times. We the
[57:09] elected officials in this great city
[57:11] have been chosen to lead during these
[57:14] challenging times. Our job is
[57:16] straightforward and that is to deliver
[57:18] highquality city services and
[57:21] outstanding publication, public
[57:23] education for our residents to maintain,
[57:26] protect and improve our infrastructure,
[57:29] our buildings, vehicles, water, storm
[57:32] water, sewer, roads and sidewalks. And
[57:35] while our job is straightforward, it is
[57:37] not easy. Yet, this is the job and we
[57:40] will succeed at it. The city's recent
[57:42] annual financial forecasting process
[57:45] highlighted some financial challenges as
[57:47] we move forward. When we look ahead to
[57:50] next fiscal year's city operating
[57:51] budget, which will start six months from
[57:54] now on July 1st, our projected revenues
[57:57] fall well short of our projected
[57:58] expenditures. I will note that this is
[58:02] what happens every year, every year that
[58:05] I've been around when the financial
[58:07] forecasting process is undertaken and
[58:09] it's undertaken early so that we all
[58:12] have the the time and the wherewithal to
[58:15] really dig into our budget efforts and
[58:17] make sure that we balance our budget
[58:19] which is our obligation under under the
[58:21] charter and the state constitution and
[58:22] one that we meet every year.
[58:28] So, it is our responsibility to build
[58:30] and pass a balanced budget, and we will.
[58:32] Every year together, we balance the many
[58:34] needs and challenges our city faces, and
[58:37] we pass a budget that delivers
[58:38] outstanding, highquality services, that
[58:41] invests in our infrastructure needs, and
[58:44] that sets aside money for our future
[58:45] needs. Together, again this year, we
[58:48] will pass a balanced budget, and we will
[58:50] move our community forward by delivering
[58:52] outstanding highquality education and
[58:54] city services.
[58:56] Since nothing we do is likely to cost
[58:58] less next year, this will require us to
[59:01] find and implement additional
[59:03] efficiencies and how we deliver
[59:04] services, something that we work at
[59:06] every day. This will also require more
[59:09] money. Money we will secure through
[59:11] grants, through more state aid, through
[59:14] economic investment and growth, and
[59:16] through local taxes. We will continue to
[59:19] deliver on our responsibilities to our
[59:21] residents and taxpayers through strong
[59:24] and thoughtful management. And we will
[59:26] continue to be measured in the burden we
[59:28] ask all of us as homeowners and business
[59:31] owners to carry to ensure delivery of
[59:33] these critical local services and
[59:36] protection of our city's assets. In the
[59:39] next half hour, you will hear from the
[59:40] incredibly strong project team for this
[59:43] city hall project. Collier's project
[59:45] leaders, fineold Alexander Architects,
[59:48] and WTri Company construction manager at
[59:51] risk. [snorts] This talented team has
[59:54] worked incredibly hard together with our
[59:56] own internal city team to keep costs
[59:59] down and to ensure a project that we can
[1:00:02] afford. This is what is being presented
[1:00:04] this evening. Eight years ago, the city
[1:00:08] council approved a new police station
[1:00:09] project budget for about $29 million.
[1:00:12] Now, eight years after our new police
[1:00:14] station, we are asking for the same
[1:00:16] amount of money for this project. The
[1:00:19] police station in city hall would be
[1:00:21] comparablesiz buildings. The police
[1:00:23] station was all new construction built
[1:00:26] at precoid costs. And while it required
[1:00:29] no budget for temporary office space, it
[1:00:31] invested more money up front for
[1:00:33] geothermal infrastructure.
[1:00:35] City Hall proposes a combination of
[1:00:37] renovation and new construction. It will
[1:00:40] be built at postcoid 2026 and 27 costs
[1:00:44] and it does require temporary office
[1:00:46] space. And while there are differences,
[1:00:48] I think this is a relevant data point to
[1:00:51] consider. We can preserve and vastly
[1:00:55] improve Beverly City Hall as our home of
[1:00:57] local government for both our community
[1:00:59] and our city staff for the next century
[1:01:02] for the same price that we built our new
[1:01:04] police station eight years and a
[1:01:06] pandemic ago. We know this proposed city
[1:01:09] hall renovation addition is greatly
[1:01:11] needed and we know it is both responsive
[1:01:14] and responsible
[1:01:16] and responsive to our community's needs.
[1:01:18] Thank you for listening. Now I'll turn
[1:01:20] over to Joe Riley with our owners
[1:01:22] project manager collers.
[1:01:34] Good evening. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
[1:01:36] Thank you for the introduction as well
[1:01:40] as the opportunity to be here with all
[1:01:42] of you here this evening. My name is Joe
[1:01:45] Riley. I am with Kier's project leaders.
[1:01:48] We are an owners project management
[1:01:50] firm. I'm a senior director for the
[1:01:53] organization. I have here with me today
[1:01:56] my colleague Maria Anna Hateliatus, our
[1:01:59] project manager sitting in the front
[1:02:01] row. We are also going to introduce you
[1:02:04] to uh Fineold Alexander Architects as
[1:02:08] well as uh our construction manager at
[1:02:10] risk WT Rich. This team as the mayor had
[1:02:14] indicated is a great team. We have been
[1:02:17] working diligently for the last several
[1:02:19] years with the introduction of the
[1:02:21] construction manager over the last six
[1:02:24] to eight months.
[1:02:26] We have a relationship with all of our
[1:02:29] team members have worked on other
[1:02:31] projects together. We are currently
[1:02:33] supporting the city, the mayor and the
[1:02:35] mayor's team on the McFersonen Youth
[1:02:38] Center project. So with that, I'm going
[1:02:41] to ask the architect to move forward
[1:02:44] with the design presentation.
[1:02:51] » Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
[1:02:52] And thank you, members of the city
[1:02:54] council. My name is David Lightiteman.
[1:02:57] I'm an
[1:02:58] architect with Fineold Alexander. Um
[1:03:00] we've had the privilege of uh presenting
[1:03:02] to you numerous times um in the past
[1:03:03] several years. And so I'm happy to um
[1:03:06] give you an update of where the project
[1:03:08] currently stands. Um and but first I
[1:03:10] want to talk about really why this
[1:03:12] project is happening. Um the mayor made
[1:03:15] a couple of points about this, but but
[1:03:17] I'll I'll I'll um reiterate some some of
[1:03:19] these. First of all, the building hasn't
[1:03:22] u been renovated in over 90 years. Um
[1:03:25] with that, there are failing systems and
[1:03:27] infrastructure. Um first, there is um
[1:03:29] inefficient heating and there is no
[1:03:31] cooling through the building. Um there
[1:03:33] is some structural beams that are
[1:03:34] rotting from previous insect infestation
[1:03:37] throughout the building. We see life
[1:03:38] safety and code comp um compliance
[1:03:40] issues such as no proper fire
[1:03:43] suppression system and the building is
[1:03:45] not fully accessible for those who need
[1:03:46] it. Um, furthermore, there's numerous
[1:03:49] inefficiencies of of use of the space um
[1:03:52] that doesn't meet the needs of of a 21st
[1:03:54] century city hall. And one um benefit of
[1:03:59] being being that we have the abandoned
[1:04:01] police station next door is that we can
[1:04:03] utilize that space to um accommodate the
[1:04:06] needs of city hall.
[1:04:08] And when we think about the annex, one
[1:04:10] major um issue currently is that where
[1:04:13] the two buildings meet, the floor levels
[1:04:16] do not align. Um and with that, we think
[1:04:19] that by reconstructing the building, we
[1:04:21] can ensure that there's equal levels at
[1:04:23] each floor. Uh furthermore, we want to
[1:04:27] retain the existing foundation and that
[1:04:29] does three things for us. One is it
[1:04:32] minimizes parking loss, which we know is
[1:04:34] really important to the city. Second is
[1:04:36] it limits disturbances to the historic
[1:04:38] cemetery just north of of the property.
[1:04:41] And third, it saves on value of the work
[1:04:44] of the new foundation.
[1:04:46] [clears throat] Now, I'm going to um go
[1:04:48] over some of the project benefits. Some
[1:04:49] of these again um the mayor has
[1:04:52] highlighted. Um there are numerous
[1:04:54] departments that are not within city
[1:04:55] hall. Three of which are the retirement
[1:04:58] inspectional services and the health uh
[1:05:00] health department. Um, by expanding city
[1:05:03] hall and renovating, we can accommodate
[1:05:05] them within this roof. Um, and that
[1:05:07] would bring about a 25% more staff
[1:05:09] seats. Furthermore, the building is not
[1:05:11] fully accessible. The historic entrance
[1:05:14] along Cabbat Street is, but the rear
[1:05:16] entrance is not. So, in this um
[1:05:19] proposal, the rear entrance would be
[1:05:21] fully accessible. Currently, none of the
[1:05:24] um service counters where the public can
[1:05:26] engage with departments are fully
[1:05:28] accessible. In this case, every
[1:05:30] department that has a service counter
[1:05:32] would be. Furthermore, uh there's only
[1:05:34] seven um toilets throughout the the
[1:05:36] building of which there are none no
[1:05:39] public restrooms on the third floor. Um
[1:05:41] our proposal provides 14. So there's
[1:05:43] restrooms on every single floor of which
[1:05:46] 50% of those would be fully accessible.
[1:05:49] Furthermore, there's only two meeting
[1:05:51] spaces. We're in one of them. Um and
[1:05:53] this proposal, there'll be seven. Again,
[1:05:55] there'll be one on every floor. There's
[1:05:57] numerous other u benefits but one thing
[1:05:59] I do want to highlight is that the
[1:06:00] mechanical systems as stated the
[1:06:03] mechanical systems currently are are
[1:06:05] ineffective inefficient um and there'll
[1:06:07] be new systems for heating and cooling
[1:06:09] throughout the project um and all of
[1:06:12] those systems would be electric and
[1:06:14] working with our engineers uh we
[1:06:16] anticipate a energy use intensity
[1:06:18] reduction of about 40% per square foot
[1:06:20] of energy use.
[1:06:23] Uh taking a step back looking at the um
[1:06:26] proposed site plan. Um one element is
[1:06:28] that we are preserving the park space on
[1:06:30] the corner of Thorn Dyke and Cabat. Um
[1:06:33] and then as I mentioned, we're doing our
[1:06:35] best to minimize um parking um
[1:06:38] reductions. Um we will be reducing by
[1:06:40] three spaces to 30 parking spaces. Um,
[1:06:44] and I do want to highlight that in the
[1:06:45] reconstructed annex, we are um directly
[1:06:48] matching the existing footprint except
[1:06:50] for a small sliver, if I may,
[1:06:57] along the south side facing the parking
[1:06:59] lot. And that um is spec specifically
[1:07:02] intentional in terms of that that we'll
[1:07:04] be able to create a strong connection
[1:07:06] between the historic city hall and the
[1:07:08] annex. And without that um the building
[1:07:11] wouldn't be able to operate as a unified
[1:07:14] um cohesive space.
[1:07:16] Here on um as I go through the floor
[1:07:18] plans I want to identify that um the
[1:07:20] walls shown in gray are existing to
[1:07:23] remain while those shown in black are
[1:07:25] new so you have a sense of where the
[1:07:27] interventions are. Um one things a
[1:07:29] couple things I want to highlight is the
[1:07:31] new elevator and stair in the annex that
[1:07:35] will traverse all four levels including
[1:07:37] the basement. Um furthermore on this
[1:07:39] floor we'll have three meeting spaces um
[1:07:42] of which currently there are none on
[1:07:44] that level. Um additionally all the
[1:07:46] restrooms are individual lockable
[1:07:49] genderneutral restrooms on levels one
[1:07:51] and two. They'll be there'll be four
[1:07:53] respectively.
[1:07:54] And then um finally I want to call out
[1:07:56] the staff um call rooms. Again, these
[1:07:59] are individual rooms for staff to have
[1:08:02] private phone calls or virtual meetings
[1:08:04] when um the noise levels of their open
[1:08:06] office environment doesn't um allow them
[1:08:08] to do so.
[1:08:10] Moving up to the second floor, many
[1:08:12] elements of this floor are very similar
[1:08:14] to below. Um one thing I want to
[1:08:15] highlight is the staff break room.
[1:08:17] Currently, the staff have to go down to
[1:08:20] the basement to utilize the amenities of the break room. um by incorporating
[1:08:25] the staff break room on a floor where
[1:08:26] the staff are mostly present um will
[1:08:29] enable them to utilize these spaces more
[1:08:32] efficiently. And just off this break
[1:08:34] room, we will have the mother's room.
[1:08:37] And moving up to level three, I want to
[1:08:39] note that the annex here um is really
[1:08:41] just where the stair and elevator tower
[1:08:43] come up to meet this level. Um the space
[1:08:46] that we're in, the council chambers will
[1:08:48] very much remain in its footprint with
[1:08:50] um minor um finish improvements. Um also
[1:08:55] the same would apply to the mayor suite.
[1:08:57] On this level, we'll be providing six
[1:09:00] individual gender neutral neutral
[1:09:02] restrooms to accommodate the assembly
[1:09:04] needs of this space.
[1:09:07] Jumping down to the basement, I want to
[1:09:08] highlight the department storage space.
[1:09:10] This is a purpose-built department
[1:09:12] departmental storage for all the
[1:09:14] departments to house their documents,
[1:09:16] artifacts, important documents that need
[1:09:18] to be retained by state law etc. Um and
[1:09:21] this space will be properly conditioned
[1:09:23] as their current um storage space is not
[1:09:26] that means temperature and humidity
[1:09:28] control to ensure that the documents are
[1:09:30] properly preserved. Um, in the middle of
[1:09:31] the space there will be a um archival
[1:09:34] vault and that is specifically for
[1:09:36] sensitive public record storage as well
[1:09:39] as um some archival documents that the
[1:09:41] city has.
[1:09:43] Uh, taking another step back, the next
[1:09:45] few slides will be various images of the
[1:09:47] exterior of the building. Um, I want to
[1:09:49] highlight that in the annex there will
[1:09:51] be a three-story portion of where the
[1:09:53] elevator and stairs are to connect to
[1:09:55] the historic city hall. um the height of
[1:09:59] that um three-story portion will align
[1:10:01] with the historic city hall. So it will
[1:10:03] not be any taller than the existing
[1:10:05] building and then the remainder of the
[1:10:07] annex will be uh two floors. Um in this
[1:10:10] view I also want to um call attention to
[1:10:13] the ramp um adjacent to the parking lot.
[1:10:16] Again we will enable that the rear
[1:10:19] entrance is fully accessible for those
[1:10:20] who need it. And here's a view from the
[1:10:23] north from the cemetery side. Again,
[1:10:26] that footprint that footprint of the
[1:10:28] annex will not change to be respectful
[1:10:30] to the conditions of of the cemetery.
[1:10:34] Uh, and here's a view from the parking
[1:10:35] lot from Thorndikeke Street. Um, this is
[1:10:39] really an um a view of the materiality
[1:10:41] of the building. We'll be cladding the
[1:10:43] south facade in brick to harmonize it
[1:10:45] with the existing city hall. Um, this
[1:10:48] building will function and um operate as
[1:10:51] one building and so utilizing a similar
[1:10:53] material will enable that.
[1:10:55] However, on the south facade, uh I'm
[1:10:58] sorry, on the north facade facing the
[1:10:59] cemetery, um this will be clad in a
[1:11:01] fiber cement sighting, um this does two
[1:11:04] things. One is it connects its
[1:11:06] architectural materials with the
[1:11:08] neighboring uh residential community
[1:11:10] beyond. And then second, it's really for
[1:11:12] cost savings. Um by utilizing uh if we
[1:11:16] had gone with by utilizing fiberment
[1:11:18] sighting, we saved the project over
[1:11:20] $280,000.
[1:11:22] And then I want to leave you here with
[1:11:24] some views of the elevations showing the
[1:11:27] massing scale and proportions and how
[1:11:29] we're trying to harmonize the window
[1:11:31] pattern with the existing building.
[1:11:34] And here on the um the rear of the
[1:11:36] building where we fiberment sighting.
[1:11:38] Thank you. I'm now going to pass it over
[1:11:40] to uh the um the construction managers
[1:11:43] at the WTri team.
[1:11:45] >> Thank you. And this is a good
[1:11:46] opportunity as you're passing the baton.
[1:11:48] We just need to pause to open the 810
[1:11:51] hearing and then we'll recess that so we
[1:11:52] can continue here. Uh so we do have an
[1:11:54] 810 public hearing posted on order. Uh
[1:11:57] this is order 10A. It's connected to
[1:11:59] this public hearing. Um Miss Kent, if
[1:12:02] you read the order.
[1:12:03] >> Order 10A. City of Beverly ordered that
[1:12:05] the city council of the city of Beverly
[1:12:07] hold a public hearing on Tuesday,
[1:12:08] January 20th at 2026 at 8:10 p.m. 191
[1:12:11] Cabin Street, third floor council
[1:12:13] chambers relative to the city transfer
[1:12:15] the sum of $2 million from the city's
[1:12:17] depth stabilization fund to pay cost of
[1:12:20] renovating the city hall and former
[1:12:22] police station annex, including the cost
[1:12:24] of temporary relocation of city hall
[1:12:26] during construction and all other costs
[1:12:28] incidental and related there too. And
[1:12:30] this is in the newspaper on January 9th.
[1:12:32] Thank you very much, Miss Kent. Of
[1:12:34] course, order 10A is a another piece of
[1:12:37] the proposed funding mechanism for this
[1:12:39] project that we're hearing about. Uh,
[1:12:41] counselors, I would entertain a motion
[1:12:43] to recess the public hearing on order
[1:12:44] number 10A to 8:30.
[1:12:47] >> All those in favor? That carries 90. So,
[1:12:50] we'll pick that one back up at 8:30.
[1:12:52] Thank you very much. And we will resume
[1:12:54] the hearing that we were in the midst of
[1:12:56] on order number 10. This is the loan
[1:12:58] authorization. Thank you very much.
[1:13:00] >> Thank you.
[1:13:08] Good evening everyone. Uh, thank you for
[1:13:10] the opportunity to be here. Thank you,
[1:13:12] Mr. Mayor. And, uh, thank you the
[1:13:14] council. Uh, my name is John Rich. I'm
[1:13:16] the CEO of WT Rich Company. We're a
[1:13:18] construction manager. We've been in
[1:13:20] business since 1968.
[1:13:22] Uh, as you can Oh, I should click and go
[1:13:24] to the next slide. Um,
[1:13:27] I just wanted to tell you a little bit
[1:13:28] about WTri Company. Um, we're one of the
[1:13:32] leading construction managers in
[1:13:33] Massachusetts. We're 100% dedicated to
[1:13:35] public building construction in
[1:13:37] Massachusetts. Um, we have extensive
[1:13:40] experience with public safety buildings,
[1:13:41] town halls, municipal buildings. Uh,
[1:13:44] very deep experience uh with historic
[1:13:47] restorations and historic renovations
[1:13:49] similar to this project. Uh, and we
[1:13:51] really have great working relationships
[1:13:52] with uh with the project team here um
[1:13:55] with Fine Gold Alexander. We've done
[1:13:57] several projects and we're working with
[1:13:58] Collers on this and another project as
[1:14:00] well. Um, want to say just quickly about
[1:14:03] the team. We we uh most of our work is
[1:14:06] in eastern Massachusetts, east of
[1:14:08] Worcester. We have a very strong
[1:14:09] Northshore presence. Uh, we have a very
[1:14:12] strong team here including uh Dvita
[1:14:15] Flynn who's the project executive that
[1:14:17] you're going to hear from in a moment.
[1:14:19] Uh we also have as our lead project
[1:14:21] manager uh John McGonagal who's with us
[1:14:23] here tonight. Uh he's a Danvers
[1:14:26] resident. We won't hold that against him
[1:14:27] because his wife uh works in the uh
[1:14:30] Beverly Middle School as a counselor. Uh
[1:14:33] and we also our lead super who's not
[1:14:35] here
[1:14:37] uh lives a short walking distance from
[1:14:39] city hall here. So we really have a good
[1:14:40] strong uh nearby presence. I did want to
[1:14:43] also mention that um WT Rich was
[1:14:46] fortunate enough to be the construction
[1:14:48] manager on the Beverly police station
[1:14:50] project which the mayor spoke about. uh
[1:14:53] we really had a great developed a great
[1:14:54] working relationship with all aspects of
[1:14:56] the city, not only the city but also the police personnel as well. Um broke
[1:15:02] ground in in in February 2020 right at
[1:15:05] the beginning of COVID. Uh we navigated
[1:15:07] that project. We didn't have any bo
[1:15:09] budget overruns. We finished on
[1:15:10] schedule. Uh it was really a project
[1:15:13] that was uh deemed very successful. Very
[1:15:16] proud of that. And you know, we have the
[1:15:18] confidence in working with this team
[1:15:19] that we're going to deliver a great
[1:15:21] project for you. And I'm going to let
[1:15:22] Devita talk about project logistics,
[1:15:24] site logistics, and she was the um
[1:15:27] senior project manager, project
[1:15:29] executive on the Beverly Police Station
[1:15:31] project.
[1:15:32] >> Thank you, J.
[1:15:34] Keep that. I won't take too long with
[1:15:36] this because it's not really very fun,
[1:15:37] but I wanted to kind of walk everyone
[1:15:38] through it. So, as we really thought
[1:15:40] through the site logistics for this
[1:15:41] project, we wanted to prioritize safety
[1:15:43] and consistency. Uh so the site
[1:15:46] configuration that you see here today we
[1:15:47] will actually have from start to finish
[1:15:49] for the project really allowing
[1:15:50] residents, the local neighbors, the
[1:15:52] visitors to have consistency in how they
[1:15:54] operate around the site. Uh the sidewalk
[1:15:57] on Cabbat Street will remain open
[1:15:58] throughout construction. Again, to keep
[1:16:00] that open and usable space to them. Uh
[1:16:03] the public park will also remain open to
[1:16:05] the public throughout the entire
[1:16:06] duration of construction. Uh again,
[1:16:09] making sure you guys have the spaces
[1:16:10] that you're used to utilizing. Um, we
[1:16:12] will be protecting the historical
[1:16:14] cemetery. The what you see there right
[1:16:16] now will be the larger protection area
[1:16:18] in place during demolition of the annex
[1:16:20] building and construction at least of
[1:16:22] the exterior facade of the new building.
[1:16:24] Uh, but then we'll probably reduce that
[1:16:25] so that we don't impact too much the
[1:16:27] growth of the lawn and plantings around
[1:16:30] the the cemetery. Um, we will of course
[1:16:33] keep access to the IT server rooms um
[1:16:36] for the city so they can still access
[1:16:37] their equipment and their their needs.
[1:16:39] Um, and that is that is pretty much it.
[1:16:41] is very straightforward. Parking will
[1:16:43] be offsite. Uh, we do have specific
[1:16:45] trucking routes to minimize traffic
[1:16:47] through the neighborhoods. All things
[1:16:48] that we're happy to present in more
[1:16:50] detail if you guys have any questions,
[1:16:51] but just really trying to minimize the
[1:16:53] impact to the neighborhood and the
[1:16:55] surrounding community.
[1:16:57] >> Thank you.
[1:16:59] >> Mayor asked me to point out one thing, a
[1:17:01] point of confusion. Construction
[1:17:03] managers, we think in terms of
[1:17:05] construction cost. So that's why that
[1:17:06] says 21 million for the police station.
[1:17:09] Uh total project cost uh was 29 million
[1:17:12] on that includes architect OPM soft
[1:17:16] cost. There's a lot of other costs
[1:17:18] associated with it. Uh coincidentally
[1:17:21] our construction budget for the city
[1:17:23] hall project is also uh I believe right
[1:17:25] at uh 21 million as well.
[1:17:31] » Next up is back to Joe with Collier.
[1:17:34] >> Thank you. Thank you, John.
[1:17:38] » Thank you again, city council. Mr.
[1:17:40] Mayor, uh with respect to uh project
[1:17:43] timeline, as owners project managers,
[1:17:46] we're one of the early consultants uh
[1:17:48] that are engaged on city projects. We've
[1:17:51] been on the city hall project team for
[1:17:54] the last several years, working very
[1:17:56] closely with the mayor, with the mayor's
[1:17:58] team and staff. We have also been
[1:18:00] working very closely with our design
[1:18:02] professionals fineold Alexander through
[1:18:06] uh 2024
[1:18:08] wrapping up approximately in September
[1:18:10] of 2024. We concluded with the concept
[1:18:13] design package. That concept design
[1:18:16] package allowed us to establish uh a
[1:18:18] target budget. We have been working
[1:18:20] diligently since that point in time
[1:18:23] working towards a an acceptable project
[1:18:26] budget to the city uh of Beverly. To the
[1:18:29] left of the red line represents all the
[1:18:31] other design milestones as well as the
[1:18:34] milestone of engaging the construction
[1:18:36] manager WT Rich on the project in
[1:18:39] September of 2025.
[1:18:42] We have completed design development. We
[1:18:44] have completed uh value management. We
[1:18:47] have completed a number of of cost
[1:18:50] savings measure measures and
[1:18:52] introduction into the project budget
[1:18:54] since that point in time. To the right
[1:18:57] of the project line, you'll see that we
[1:18:59] are moving forward in time with what's
[1:19:02] called construction documents. From this
[1:19:04] point going forward,
[1:19:06] hopefully with the approval of of city
[1:19:09] council this evening, we'll be looking
[1:19:10] towards wrapping up construction
[1:19:12] documents in July of 2026. At that point
[1:19:16] in time, the construction manager will
[1:19:18] be accepting the construction documents
[1:19:20] and putting them out to bid. That will
[1:19:23] result in the development of a GMP,
[1:19:25] guaranteed maximum price.
[1:19:28] The anticipated construction schedule is
[1:19:31] September of 2026, leading us through
[1:19:34] construction into February of 2028 with
[1:19:39] an occupancy in March of 2028.
[1:19:42] Substantial completion will follow as
[1:19:45] well as the project close out for the
[1:19:48] overall project.
[1:19:52] Establishing the construction budget as
[1:19:54] the mayor has indicated uh John Rich has
[1:19:56] indicated the design team has indicated
[1:19:58] we've all been working closely
[1:20:01] towards establishing an acceptable total
[1:20:03] project budget. The costconscious
[1:20:06] mentality for the project team started
[1:20:08] with day one that is watching out for
[1:20:11] the taxpayers's uh interests as well as
[1:20:13] driving towards an acceptable design and
[1:20:16] an acceptable total project budget for
[1:20:19] the city hall renovation project. As we
[1:20:22] indicate uh as I indicated we've worked
[1:20:24] through several of the design phases
[1:20:26] where we are currently looking towards
[1:20:29] um completing construction documents.
[1:20:32] That costconscious mentality doesn't
[1:20:34] stop now because of an approval. It
[1:20:37] leads all the way through design and
[1:20:40] construction. We will always be looking
[1:20:42] at how to improve one the design, the
[1:20:45] facility as well as meeting the program
[1:20:47] and driving costs down as well as
[1:20:49] maintaining project schedule.
[1:20:53] The CM at risk WT Rich uh has been party
[1:20:56] to uh the project team since last
[1:20:58] September. They've developed a very
[1:21:00] detailed design development estimate.
[1:21:03] They have worked with the project team
[1:21:04] in developing a series of value
[1:21:07] management ideas, suggestions. We've
[1:21:10] brainstormed with the city hall staff,
[1:21:12] with the mayor, with the design
[1:21:15] professionals. We've had over 50 cost
[1:21:17] savings uh ideas that have been
[1:21:19] developed and evaluated and introduced
[1:21:22] into the project budget. Over a million
[1:21:24] dollars in cost savings. again that
[1:21:26] costconscious
[1:21:28] uh driving total project budget driving
[1:21:30] cost driving schedule will always be
[1:21:33] with the project team as uh Mr. Rich uh
[1:21:36] indicated the construction cost for uh
[1:21:39] the police station the total project
[1:21:42] budget right now the cost per square
[1:21:43] foot is at a very very aggressive $553
[1:21:47] per square foot complimentary of a
[1:21:50] renovation project as well as a new
[1:21:53] building program.
[1:21:55] The essential uh indications that uh the
[1:21:58] design team has indicated with regard to
[1:22:00] preserving a program for city hall is u
[1:22:04] presented in the documents that we've
[1:22:05] had uh in front of us this evening and
[1:22:08] um we uh if uh all goes well be looking
[1:22:12] for city hall approval, city council
[1:22:14] approval this evening. Thank you.
[1:22:19] Now, with respect to the overall total
[1:22:21] project budget,
[1:22:24] um the total project budget of $28.4
[1:22:26] million, that $28.4 million includes a
[1:22:31] number of different aspects that
[1:22:33] includes soft costs. Those are all the
[1:22:35] design professional services, the OPM
[1:22:37] services along with a series of uh other
[1:22:41] uh costs such as furniture, fixtures,
[1:22:43] and equipment technology. Uh there are
[1:22:45] hard costs that are incorporated into
[1:22:47] the total project budget. That's the WTR
[1:22:50] rich team, the construction
[1:22:51] professionals to put the bricks and
[1:22:54] sticks and the mortar in place, if you
[1:22:55] will, with an overall total project
[1:22:57] budget of $29.4 million. The budget
[1:23:01] allocation is uh with us uh on the
[1:23:04] screen. That budget allocation is
[1:23:06] roughly 72% is towards construction.
[1:23:10] There's roughly 16% uh is towards what
[1:23:13] we call soft costs and then 12% is
[1:23:16] towards owners project and construction
[1:23:19] contingencies.
[1:23:24] Thank you, Brian.
[1:23:32] Uh thank you, Joe. Um
[1:23:35] for those of you that don't know me at
[1:23:36] home, I'm Brian Als. I'm the finance
[1:23:38] director here with the city. Um, so it
[1:23:40] begs the question, uh, what is before
[1:23:42] you in terms of authorization that we're
[1:23:44] seeking tonight and how are we going to
[1:23:45] pay for it? Um, so as Joe mentioned, the
[1:23:48] overall project cost as illustrated on
[1:23:50] this slide. Um, in terms of
[1:23:53] construction, which is we call them hard
[1:23:55] costs and then soft costs associated
[1:23:56] with that, you've got your 28.395
[1:23:59] million. We are also carrying a budget
[1:24:01] allocation of $1 million for temporary
[1:24:04] space um, costs. So, when we vacate this
[1:24:08] building to do the rehabilitation,
[1:24:11] um, which the timeline shows about an
[1:24:13] 18-month period, uh, we know we're going
[1:24:15] to have to go somewhere. We're going to
[1:24:17] have to continue to operate as an
[1:24:18] organization, do all the things we do
[1:24:20] here. We're just going to have to do it
[1:24:21] at a different place. So, we've set
[1:24:23] aside a million dollars in this request
[1:24:25] to cover the costs associated with that,
[1:24:26] primarily the lease costs. Um, this
[1:24:30] number was uh, developed using a rough
[1:24:32] estimate of two-year um, time frame.
[1:24:35] However, the construction, as pointed
[1:24:36] out earlier, uh is closer to an 18-month
[1:24:39] period right now. Um, of that total
[1:24:42] amount needed, uh, 1.5 million has
[1:24:44] previously been appropriated in March of
[1:24:47] 2022, as the mayor noted earlier. Uh,
[1:24:50] and so the resulting appropriation that
[1:24:52] we're seeking this evening is
[1:24:53] 27,895,000.
[1:24:56] And that's broken down into two separate
[1:24:58] authorizations that are before you this
[1:25:00] evening. Order number 10 and order
[1:25:02] number 10 A. Is it, Mrs. Kent? Yeah, 10
[1:25:04] and 10 A. Um, so order number 10A is a
[1:25:07] transfer of $2 million from the debt
[1:25:10] stabilization fund. Uh, as you may
[1:25:12] recall for those of you that have been
[1:25:13] here, uh, or for those of you at home
[1:25:15] that watched, uh, earlier, uh, last
[1:25:17] year, um, we transferred some money into
[1:25:19] the debt stabilization fund. And we do
[1:25:21] that in anticipation of these types of
[1:25:23] large, uh, large capital, um, needs so
[1:25:27] that we can avoid, um, any spikes in in
[1:25:30] borrowing, um, schedules and things of
[1:25:32] that nature. So, we would look to
[1:25:33] transfer $2 million from that debt
[1:25:35] stabilization fund uh into the project
[1:25:38] and that results in the remaining bond
[1:25:40] authorization of 25,895
[1:25:44] uh,000 which is the other order before
[1:25:46] you this evening. I do want to note at
[1:25:49] the bottom of this um that even though
[1:25:52] the loan authorization is for 25,895
[1:25:56] um if approved um we would then seek to
[1:25:59] transfer an existing $525,000
[1:26:02] which is sitting in the FY26 budget
[1:26:05] right now and we would transfer that
[1:26:07] into the project and buy down the bond
[1:26:09] authorization. So the net maximum bond
[1:26:12] amount if approved would be 25,370,000.
[1:26:16] So, that's the amount that is the
[1:26:18] ceiling of what we could potentially
[1:26:20] borrow for if approved, and that's what
[1:26:22] we're building our debt schedules
[1:26:23] around. Um, the other thing I want to
[1:26:25] point out in terms of the potential
[1:26:26] lease costs um that I mentioned earlier
[1:26:29] is that we currently have an RFP that is
[1:26:32] uh open uh and soliciting responses uh
[1:26:34] from landlords throughout the city. Uh,
[1:26:37] and we just recently uh extended that uh
[1:26:40] through I believe it's the next uh it's
[1:26:42] due in two and a half weeks. uh and
[1:26:44] that'll close at three weeks. Um anyway,
[1:26:47] uh so that's it for this slide. The
[1:26:51] next slide I want to show you is uh more
[1:26:53] of an illustration. So in order to
[1:26:56] understand how we afford this, you've
[1:26:57] got to get an understanding of how we
[1:26:59] manage our debt service here in the
[1:27:01] city. And what we typically do for these
[1:27:03] larger projects is we borrow for them
[1:27:05] just like you would when you buy a house
[1:27:07] and you get a mortgage. We pay back the
[1:27:09] costs of these projects over time.
[1:27:12] Unlike a mortgage, we structure the debt
[1:27:14] differently. We structure it in a way
[1:27:16] where we we pay equal principal payments
[1:27:20] throughout the life of the borrowing.
[1:27:22] And what that does is it creates higher
[1:27:24] payments at the beginning of the
[1:27:25] borrowing and lower payments towards the
[1:27:27] end of the borrowing. This does a few
[1:27:29] things. First, it minimizes the interest
[1:27:31] you pay because you're paying equal
[1:27:33] principal payments. So, you're paying
[1:27:34] more of the principal upfront. The
[1:27:36] second thing it does in terms of a
[1:27:38] management ability is as the costs of
[1:27:41] the projects and the debt payments
[1:27:42] decline over time, you're able to layer
[1:27:46] in additional debt and new projects
[1:27:49] without spiking in terms of the the debt
[1:27:52] costs. So, we're able to maintain a
[1:27:54] consistent budget within our operating
[1:27:57] budget to service debt while still
[1:27:59] continuing to take on new projects and
[1:28:01] retire old projects like the mayor
[1:28:03] mentioned earlier. So this process
[1:28:07] allows us to um be predictable in how
[1:28:10] we're planning. So we don't take these
[1:28:12] projects lightly. We plan for them well
[1:28:14] in advance. We've been if you look back
[1:28:16] on historical capital expenditure plans,
[1:28:19] you'll see this project there with a
[1:28:21] with an earmark in our debt um schedules
[1:28:24] um back well four years ago was when we
[1:28:27] got the first initial appropriation, but
[1:28:29] it was on there even before that because
[1:28:30] we were beginning to plan. that's how
[1:28:32] long it takes to to plan these projects
[1:28:34] and make sure you're timing the debt
[1:28:36] authorizations at the appropriate time
[1:28:38] to not create unnecessary pressure in
[1:28:40] the budget. So, it provides
[1:28:42] predictability. Um, the other thing it
[1:28:44] does that's very important is because
[1:28:46] you maintain a certain level of debt
[1:28:48] capacity and the mayor mentioned this
[1:28:49] early earlier. It allows you the
[1:28:52] capacity in the future to deal with
[1:28:54] large capital projects if you time them
[1:28:57] up properly while the debt is expiring
[1:28:59] without having a major impact in your
[1:29:01] operating budget. So you layer it in as time goes by. Uh and it obviously I
[1:29:07] mentioned it avoids spikes in the annual
[1:29:09] budget. So that's kind of the
[1:29:11] illustration of kind of how we manage
[1:29:12] the debt here. And that method of
[1:29:14] managing our debt service has allowed us
[1:29:16] to do a number of things over the years.
[1:29:18] Um, and so we've been able to uh the
[1:29:20] mayor mentioned all our buildings in in
[1:29:22] the uh in the city. Uh we've provided
[1:29:26] renovations and additions to all of our
[1:29:27] elementary schools, capped landfills.
[1:29:30] We've done a number of drainage pro uh
[1:29:31] projects over the years to avoid
[1:29:33] flooding in neighborhoods uh and
[1:29:35] maintain proper runoff. Um we've done
[1:29:38] work, extensive work at the Beverly
[1:29:39] Farms Library. We built the high school.
[1:29:42] Uh we've acquired numerous parcels of
[1:29:44] land to preserve open space for
[1:29:45] recreation. We've purchased fire trucks.
[1:29:48] We've purchased large uh pieces of
[1:29:49] equipment, renovated the interior of the
[1:29:51] carriage house. Um three uh public
[1:29:54] parking lots in the downtown area had
[1:29:56] full renovations. Repairs to this
[1:29:59] building, the facade and the roof, as
[1:30:01] well as the main library was completed
[1:30:03] with this debt service um budget. We we
[1:30:06] built a uh a middle school. We built a
[1:30:08] new police station. Uh and we um
[1:30:11] acquired the uh the downtown parking
[1:30:13] behind the dollar dollar dollar store uh
[1:30:15] lot with this uh with this budget line.
[1:30:17] Uh in addition to that, as the mayor
[1:30:19] said in his earlier presentation, we've
[1:30:21] got ongoing work at the central fire
[1:30:23] station that was funded through this uh
[1:30:25] as well. So this method is allowing us
[1:30:28] to continue to improve uh and and repair
[1:30:31] and replenish our infrastructure and
[1:30:33] protect our assets.
[1:30:36] Uh I wanted to show uh everybody what
[1:30:39] our debt service looks like historically
[1:30:42] as a percentage of our operating budget.
[1:30:44] We historically have hovered around 7%
[1:30:46] of our operating budget. And you can see
[1:30:48] going back 15 years to 2010, that's
[1:30:51] right about where we are. So this is the
[1:30:53] amount of money we're paying in our debt
[1:30:55] payments every year compared to the
[1:30:58] overall operating budget for the city.
[1:31:00] And you can see uh in about 2019 there
[1:31:03] was a bit of a spike that has to do with
[1:31:04] the middle school and bringing on some
[1:31:06] debt aggressively initially to smooth
[1:31:08] out the payments in the later years. And
[1:31:10] then a couple years later you see
[1:31:12] another little jump and that has to do
[1:31:14] with the same strategy that we employed
[1:31:16] for the police station to smooth out the
[1:31:18] future year debt payments. But since uh
[1:31:20] 2022, you can see that the the debt
[1:31:23] payments in terms of a percentage of our
[1:31:25] budget has begun to decline to a level
[1:31:27] of in this uh in this budget year 2026,
[1:31:31] we're at 5% of our operating budget goes
[1:31:33] to debt and debt service. Um
[1:31:37] we want to make sure we maintain that
[1:31:39] level. um just as a matter of be best
[1:31:42] practice because as I said earlier it's
[1:31:44] important to maintain this so that you
[1:31:46] can layer in future projects without
[1:31:48] having to spike the budget and push the
[1:31:50] budget way out of control and have to
[1:31:52] cut cut other types of critical services
[1:31:54] and things of that nature. So um how
[1:31:57] does it look with the city hall project?
[1:31:59] So many of you have seen this schedule
[1:32:01] before. This is uh an excerpt uh revised
[1:32:04] from our capital expenditure plan. The
[1:32:06] top portion, the top half of this uh
[1:32:09] slide shows our existing debt service
[1:32:11] for all of our projects that we've
[1:32:13] already done and we're just basically
[1:32:15] paying the bonds uh on those projects.
[1:32:18] And you can see that in 2026 that number
[1:32:21] is about 6.9, but it begins to decline
[1:32:23] every year. It drops and drops and drops. And that's our opportunity to
[1:32:27] begin layering in these other projects
[1:32:30] which are represented in the second half
[1:32:32] of the of the sheet here down below.
[1:32:34] About 1 2 3 four lines down on the lower
[1:32:38] half you see the city hall um the city
[1:32:41] hall project and you see it in two
[1:32:42] tanches. You see a 15.37 million trunch
[1:32:46] and a $10 million trunch. those are
[1:32:48] treated differently because the timing
[1:32:50] of those bonds will be different because
[1:32:52] we we try to manage our cash flow uh at
[1:32:54] different points in time so that we're
[1:32:56] not sitting on money unnecessarily and
[1:32:58] paying interest. So we layer that out
[1:33:00] through the course of the project. But
[1:33:02] you can see and the critical part to
[1:33:04] this slide and this is my ending point
[1:33:06] is down below in the very bottom that's
[1:33:08] highlighted in yellow. The debt service
[1:33:11] is a percent of our estimated general
[1:33:13] fund budget right now this year is at
[1:33:15] 5.06. We can layer in this city hall
[1:33:18] refurbishment assuming and these are
[1:33:21] conservative assumptions a 25-year note.
[1:33:24] We can push that out further if we need
[1:33:26] to. And at 4.5% for the first offering,
[1:33:29] four and a quarter% for the second
[1:33:31] offering. Those are a bit higher than
[1:33:33] the current market right now. So these
[1:33:35] are probably a worst case scenario I
[1:33:38] would say in terms of our estimates
[1:33:40] here. but you still maintain um debt
[1:33:43] service at a percentage of 5% of the
[1:33:45] annual operating budget without spiking
[1:33:47] it and eating into other areas of the
[1:33:49] budget. And that's how we manage debt
[1:33:50] responsibly. Uh and I I believe you all
[1:33:54] got a chance to read uh Mr. Perry's
[1:33:56] memo. I won't steal his thunder, but um
[1:33:58] you know, it is considered responsible
[1:34:01] practice to do it this way. Um so I'll end there and uh I'll be here for
[1:34:05] any questions if you if you have any.
[1:34:08] >> Thank you, Mr. Als. I'm just going to
[1:34:10] pause again. I just need to reopen the
[1:34:13] order the public hearing on order 10A.
[1:34:15] Of course, as I mentioned and you heard
[1:34:17] Mr. Als allude to these are these are
[1:34:20] related to each other. Um councilors, I
[1:34:22] would entertain a motion to recess this
[1:34:24] one to 9:00.
[1:34:26] >> All those in favor?
[1:34:28] >> We'll pick up 10A at 9:00 and that will
[1:34:31] give us time then to come back around on
[1:34:35] our public hearing on order number 10.
[1:34:39] Um did you have further presentation or
[1:34:41] were you just
[1:34:42] >> so just wanted to say again thank you on
[1:34:44] behalf of the project team colleagues
[1:34:46] project leaders fine gold Alexander WT
[1:34:50] Rich and the support of the the mayor
[1:34:52] and the mayor's team at this point in
[1:34:54] time if there's any questions with uh
[1:34:56] here to uh answer whatever we can at
[1:34:58] this point. Thank you.
[1:35:00] >> Thank you very much. Thank you to
[1:35:01] everybody who uh presented. Thank you to
[1:35:03] the team for being here. I think um
[1:35:06] before we move into questions u Mr.
[1:35:08] Perry I'll invite you to come to the
[1:35:10] podium as well um if there's anything
[1:35:12] that you'd like to offer as we'll have
[1:35:16] sort of everything on the table as we
[1:35:17] begin to consider.
[1:35:18] >> Thank you Madam President. Good evening
[1:35:20] everybody. Uh for those who don't know
[1:35:22] me on TV, I'm Jerry Perry. I'm the
[1:35:24] budget analyst for the Beverly City
[1:35:26] Council. I wrote to [clears throat] you
[1:35:27] last week uh my memo um regarding this
[1:35:31] project and a lot of the comments I'm
[1:35:33] just going to reiterate that you heard
[1:35:34] from Mr. Als and a few others but I just
[1:35:36] want to go over briefly then give you my
[1:35:38] recommendation. Uh as as indicated
[1:35:40] earlier uh it's important for
[1:35:42] municipalities. It's it's not even best
[1:35:44] practice. It's really just standard
[1:35:46] practice to ensure that you have enough
[1:35:49] uh of your budget set aside for capital
[1:35:51] infrastructure needs as well as for
[1:35:53] operating costs. uh if you start to
[1:35:56] shrink the capital infrastructure side
[1:35:59] of the budget, you're starting to
[1:36:00] jeopardize the infrastructure of the
[1:36:01] community. I go back to uh even prior to
[1:36:04] me coming here, as you know, many of you
[1:36:07] uh it took a long time, 30 plus years or
[1:36:09] so, to figure out how to build a police
[1:36:12] station financially and we were able to
[1:36:14] fix that properly with good debt
[1:36:16] management. I commend the finance
[1:36:18] director, Mr. Als, uh who did a great
[1:36:20] job way back then. As many of you know,
[1:36:22] we did financial policies that helped uh
[1:36:25] us incorporate this stuff. To do these
[1:36:28] types of projects takes a long time.
[1:36:30] I've spent four years working on this
[1:36:32] personally with the administration. And
[1:36:34] it's important as city councilors and as
[1:36:37] policy makers that having a certain
[1:36:39] amount of the the budget set aside for
[1:36:42] capital cost is vital uh to the
[1:36:45] well-being of the community. It's been
[1:36:47] my professional opinion. I've been doing
[1:36:49] this an awful long time. As you know,
[1:36:50] I'm an advocate for 7%. You saw Mr.
[1:36:53] Als's uh uh data up there. We're down
[1:36:56] around 5%. I would argue we're not
[1:36:59] spending enough on capital costs. But
[1:37:01] then that's a policy decision between
[1:37:03] the mayor and the city council. You've
[1:37:05] chosen to go down to 5%. And if that's
[1:37:07] the direction you want to go, that's
[1:37:08] your policy decision. But I would
[1:37:10] caution you going even below that,
[1:37:12] you're going to jeopardize uh future
[1:37:14] projects. as an example, and you all
[1:37:16] have seen over the years the capital
[1:37:18] expenditure report presented by the
[1:37:19] administration, and I don't want to
[1:37:21] speak for the mayor, but I know we've
[1:37:22] had several conversations about future
[1:37:24] projects, specifically the school roofs,
[1:37:27] the HVAC systems at the schools, heating
[1:37:31] systems, etc. If you look carefully at
[1:37:32] your capital expenditure report, it's
[1:37:34] actually on the debt schedule that uh
[1:37:36] has been provided to you. We're looking
[1:37:38] over like I think four phases for those
[1:37:40] uh pieces of work to the tune of in the
[1:37:43] vicinity of $40 million to fix the
[1:37:46] schools. We've got to do that. But if
[1:37:48] you start shrinking
[1:37:50] your capital project uh your debt
[1:37:52] position here, you are going to
[1:37:54] jeopardize future projects and I
[1:37:56] specifically bring attention the school
[1:37:58] roofs, the HVCA systems and things of
[1:38:01] that nature. So it is of concern to me
[1:38:02] as your budget analyst. It's important
[1:38:04] to me at least and as I advise you to
[1:38:07] try to maintain a certain level of the
[1:38:09] debt as Mr. Als indicated so you don't
[1:38:11] spike things.
[1:38:13] It's been in the works as I said for
[1:38:15] four four plus years. We've been working
[1:38:16] on this hardly as you know and has been
[1:38:19] indicated already on March 7th 2022 the
[1:38:22] then city council voted to transfer 1.5
[1:38:25] million to begin the process to have all
[1:38:27] these folks here to do the work here and
[1:38:29] to bring things to our attention. I
[1:38:31] wrote to you at that time. I said the
[1:38:33] following. I recommend approval of this
[1:38:35] 1.5 million request with one caveat.
[1:38:38] Should the city council approve this
[1:38:39] transfer, it is with the understanding
[1:38:41] that future appropriations or transfers
[1:38:43] will be necessary over the next three to
[1:38:45] four years to successfully finance the
[1:38:48] overall project.
[1:38:50] If is the wish of uh the city council
[1:38:53] not to go forward with this, we will
[1:38:56] have wasted $ 1.5 million of hardearned
[1:38:58] taxpayer money. It's something I ask you
[1:39:01] to please consider.
[1:39:03] I think three of the counselors were not
[1:39:05] here at that time. So, I guess they get
[1:39:07] a pass on that. And certainly councilors
[1:39:09] have a right to change their opinion
[1:39:11] from what they voted for in 2022. But we
[1:39:14] put a down payment on this thing and it
[1:39:16] would be in my view as budget analyst.
[1:39:18] I'd be hardressed to justify losing that
[1:39:21] $ 1.5 million here if we don't go
[1:39:23] forward with this project. Um, it's been
[1:39:26] asked of me and I do want to talk
[1:39:27] briefly about uh, let's wait a year. We
[1:39:30] have budget problems going forward. It's
[1:39:32] not a secret. We all know that. And what
[1:39:34] would happen if we waited a year? Well,
[1:39:35] a couple of things as I wrote to you
[1:39:37] would be of concern to me. And I'm not
[1:39:39] the the folks here in the front seats
[1:39:40] could answer it better than I, but it's
[1:39:42] my understanding that we're looking at
[1:39:44] approximately an inflationary factor of
[1:39:46] 6% if we waited one more year. That
[1:39:48] would mean another $1.7 million we'd
[1:39:51] have to add to this project if we waited
[1:39:53] one year and try to uh try to save, you
[1:39:55] know, see if we can get through FY27.
[1:39:58] That would jeopardize the finances of
[1:40:00] this project yet. We'd have to come up
[1:40:02] with another 1.7 million if that uh
[1:40:05] figure is accurate. I don't know where
[1:40:06] that money would come from. Um and I
[1:40:09] just urge you to consider that in your
[1:40:11] final deliberations.
[1:40:14] Finally, uh Mr. is correct when he
[1:40:17] showed a lot of the debt stuff. This is
[1:40:19] an important thing that's not really
[1:40:20] been mentioned yet here. The
[1:40:22] administration working in concert with
[1:40:24] the nine of you have put together a
[1:40:26] financial package that does not require
[1:40:29] a debt exclusion override. That's very
[1:40:32] unusual for a project of this size in a
[1:40:34] city like this. Most of the other
[1:40:36] communities that I've worked with over
[1:40:37] the years almost invariably have to go
[1:40:39] for that debt exclusion. It
[1:40:41] [clears throat] shows that the
[1:40:42] administration working with the city
[1:40:43] council has done a great job in my
[1:40:45] opinion as your budget analyst planning
[1:40:48] for the future and planning for the
[1:40:49] present to make sure that the finances
[1:40:51] all work here and it's really uh I think
[1:40:54] uh commending to all of you people the
[1:40:56] fact that we did not need a debt
[1:40:58] exclusion to get this done. It's it's
[1:41:00] suggested to do it inside the levy limit
[1:41:02] and that's really important I think to suggest or at least to uh comment
[1:41:07] about. So finally, given the conditions
[1:41:09] of this building,
[1:41:12] our debt capacity, the city's long-range
[1:41:15] financial planning process, prior
[1:41:17] financial commitments to this city hall
[1:41:19] project made by this city coun or prior
[1:41:21] city council, and other factors. It is
[1:41:23] my recommendation to you as your budget
[1:41:25] analyst to approve the loan
[1:41:27] authorization for the city hall project.
[1:41:29] And further, it's also my recommendation
[1:41:31] when we get to it in the second one
[1:41:33] there uh to transfer the $2 million of
[1:41:35] the debt stabilization to do the
[1:41:37] project. Madame President, uh members of
[1:41:40] the council, I stand ready to answer
[1:41:41] questions now or anytime you wish. Thank
[1:41:43] you.
[1:41:44] >> Thank you very much, Mr. Perry. Uh I
[1:41:47] know that we do have uh many folks who
[1:41:49] are here ready to answer questions. I'm
[1:41:50] sure counselors do have questions. We do
[1:41:52] have two members of the public who
[1:41:54] signed up to [clears throat and snorts]
[1:41:54] speak in this hearing. And I am mindful
[1:41:56] that members of the public have been
[1:41:57] listening, sitting and listening
[1:41:58] attentively for quite a stretch now. So,
[1:42:01] I'd like to actually go to members of
[1:42:02] the public before I open it up for
[1:42:04] counselors. Um, so we can make sure we
[1:42:06] can hear from folks and then of course
[1:42:08] members of the public are welcome to
[1:42:09] stay, but I do recognize it's it's
[1:42:11] getting later and if you need to go, you
[1:42:13] also would be able to make your comment
[1:42:15] before doing so. So, um, the first, uh,
[1:42:18] member of the public who signed up to
[1:42:20] speak in this public hearing is UPLO
[1:42:22] Rick Marciano. Um, Mr. Marciano, if you
[1:42:24] would go to the podium, uh, begin with
[1:42:26] your name and address for the record,
[1:42:28] although I just gave away your name. Um,
[1:42:31] and again, Vice President St. Helier, if
[1:42:33] you would not mind keeping time for us.
[1:42:35] Um, similarly, u, Mr. Marciano, you have
[1:42:38] up to three minutes if you hear the
[1:42:39] timer go off, if you would just draw
[1:42:42] your remarks to a close. We do that just
[1:42:44] to make sure that all all public comment
[1:42:45] is equitable and we get to hear from
[1:42:47] everyone with the same amount of time.
[1:42:48] >> Yes. Thank you Rick Marciano 141 Mccay
[1:42:52] Street. Uh thank you. The finance
[1:42:54] forecast committee did a great job. A
[1:42:56] lot of detail. Uh the project group that
[1:42:58] was just here the presentation that was
[1:43:00] great. Um Mr. Perry smartest individual
[1:43:04] you can you can probably have. Um but in
[1:43:07] reference to this I I would not approve
[1:43:09] it this year. Maybe not next year. Um,
[1:43:13] we were just looking at laying off 82.5
[1:43:17] employees for the city of Beverly and
[1:43:20] they were talking about the finance
[1:43:22] committee trash fee could go up to $320.
[1:43:26] So things and there's other areas
[1:43:28] they're trying to raise taxes. If
[1:43:30] they're trying to do that, we're not
[1:43:31] going in the right direction. Uh what
[1:43:33] took place was they took the line item
[1:43:36] roads and sidewalks off of the general
[1:43:38] fund budget that went over to the free
[1:43:42] cash which may be up to 10 $5 million
[1:43:47] which can come up this it's going to be
[1:43:49] probably approved maybe around July 1st
[1:43:51] or after and pulled $2.7 million out of
[1:43:55] that. So that brought us down to after
[1:43:58] the overall amount is to lay off 50
[1:44:00] employees. I don't want to see no
[1:44:02] employees laid off. And Mr. Perry talked
[1:44:06] about not pulling out of those funds,
[1:44:07] which he's he's the expert. He's he's
[1:44:09] saved a lot of cities in the state with
[1:44:10] this job that he did. And the one thing
[1:44:13] I'm suggesting is that we do not do this
[1:44:16] project at all right now. We're going to
[1:44:18] have to wait till till we can prove
[1:44:20] we're not going to take any more taxes
[1:44:21] from the citizens because they're coming
[1:44:23] from everywhere. But I would just
[1:44:25] suggest that the two mil the
[1:44:29] $2 million you want to pull out of the
[1:44:31] stabilization fund or the rainy day
[1:44:33] fund, pull three
[1:44:38] approximately 3,000 out of that to make
[1:44:40] up for the $4,000 debt that you're
[1:44:42] looking to make up right now because
[1:44:44] something's going to happen with that.
[1:44:45] If we're 4 million in debt to be talking
[1:44:47] about this, it's very, very tough to me
[1:44:49] and a lot of other citizens. And then if
[1:44:51] that was three there, then we could pull
[1:44:53] an additional
[1:44:55] 1 million out of the the free cash fund,
[1:44:59] which is the extra money as we learned
[1:45:01] about and you can you can look at I'm
[1:45:04] not going to read the whole thing off,
[1:45:05] but that's the that's again $10.5
[1:45:08] million. So we'll go down to 7.5. we
[1:45:10] pull the um or a little bit more than
[1:45:13] that, but if we pull the 2.7 out of
[1:45:15] there, then 1 million more to go to
[1:45:17] cover the deficit, that should cover
[1:45:19] everything for this year. And let's just
[1:45:23] get this year over and done with and
[1:45:25] then next year you're going to have to
[1:45:27] figure out that hopefully we're not
[1:45:29] behind again, but it's looked like we're
[1:45:31] going to be behind. So that's one of the
[1:45:33] main reasons not to approve this
[1:45:35] project. Thank you very much.
[1:45:37] >> Thank you very much, Mr. Marciano.
[1:45:39] The other member of the public signed up
[1:45:41] here to speak is Paul Herrick.
[1:45:44] And Mr. Herrick, if you as well would
[1:45:46] begin with your name and address for the
[1:45:47] record. And if you do hear uh Vice
[1:45:49] President St. Heler's timer, if you
[1:45:50] would just draw your remarks to a close
[1:45:51] at that time.
[1:45:52] >> Hello, council. Um, thank you. I don't
[1:45:55] come to a lot of these public meetings.
[1:45:56] And as some of the councilors know, I
[1:45:58] have pretty strong opinions. In general,
[1:46:00] I came here actually thinking this was
[1:46:03] not a great idea. The presentation was
[1:46:06] excellent. understanding the financing
[1:46:08] was excellent. Knowing the size of the
[1:46:10] building kind of shocked me. It's about
[1:46:12] 50,000 feet roughly. Uh so I didn't
[1:46:15] realize how big the building was when I
[1:46:17] heard all the numbers of what it would
[1:46:18] cost. So actually I completely changed
[1:46:21] my mind on the thought. I think it's a
[1:46:23] great idea. The city needs a good place
[1:46:25] for meetings. Needs employees to have a
[1:46:27] good place to be. Obviously needs
[1:46:29] bathrooms because you guys have to
[1:46:30] travel through the whole building to use
[1:46:32] them. So obviously it needs to be done.
[1:46:34] I would offer as an aside the family
[1:46:37] dollar building across the street that's
[1:46:39] going to be sold at some point. There's
[1:46:40] going to be some kind of discussion.
[1:46:42] I have two general thoughts on that.
[1:46:44] Before you put an RFP out, get a zoning
[1:46:47] board of appeal to raise the height
[1:46:50] limit for someone to build there.
[1:46:52] Secondly, get a waiver to demol demolish
[1:46:54] the building. This will do two things.
[1:46:56] It'll get you more money. You could put
[1:46:59] in the RFP that they have to give a nod
[1:47:00] to that design so it looks historically
[1:47:03] significant and by allowing the building
[1:47:05] to go up, you'll get more money for it
[1:47:07] and you'll have more parking for the
[1:47:09] city.
[1:47:10] >> On that, I thought it was a great
[1:47:11] presentation by everybody. Thank you,
[1:47:13] >> Mr. Heric. Would you mind just stating
[1:47:15] your u your address for the record?
[1:47:17] >> Uh 18 Bayiew Beverly.
[1:47:18] >> Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr.
[1:47:20] Heric. Uh those were the only two
[1:47:23] members of the public signed up to speak
[1:47:24] in this public hearing. Were there other
[1:47:25] members of the public who hoped to speak
[1:47:27] in this public hearing?
[1:47:31] Okay. Uh counselors, I'd like to open it
[1:47:34] up. Oh, I'm sorry.
[1:47:36] >> Oh, yes. Sorry. Thank you, Miss Ken. Uh
[1:47:39] counselors, I'd like to open it up now
[1:47:40] for questions from the council.
[1:47:42] Questions um could be for any of the
[1:47:44] folks that we heard from. We of course
[1:47:46] heard presentation from the the team. We
[1:47:48] also heard from Mr. Als and from Mr.
[1:47:50] Perry. Um councelor Houseman, I saw your
[1:47:52] hand.
[1:47:56] Thank you, [clears throat] Madam
[1:47:57] President. Um, yeah, I have uh when the
[1:48:02] time comes to for the vote and consider
[1:48:04] and debate amongst the council, I have I
[1:48:06] have something to say, but I will uh
[1:48:08] limit myself at the moment to just two
[1:48:10] questions uh related to the
[1:48:12] architectural uh design matters. Uh, one
[1:48:16] is we've seen concept drawings and um
[1:48:20] there's been a nod to historic
[1:48:23] architecture, the value of historic
[1:48:25] architecture. Um, I believe this new
[1:48:29] design or this renovated design will uh
[1:48:32] use uh airsource heat pumps. And if I'm
[1:48:35] correct, the concept uh drawings don't
[1:48:39] really um uh depict where and how those
[1:48:45] would provide uh their uh their
[1:48:48] ventilation uh heating and cooling. And
[1:48:50] I know at least speaking as a lay
[1:48:52] person, you know, you see a lot of
[1:48:54] houses that have things going up the
[1:48:56] side of the building. I assume that this
[1:48:59] design, this renovation design would uh
[1:49:03] not would not include those kinds of
[1:49:07] exterior uh features but would provide
[1:49:11] uh you know their function uh in a
[1:49:13] different design. So if you could uh
[1:49:15] speak to that and then I have one other
[1:49:17] question about it.
[1:49:19] >> Thank you David.
[1:49:21] >> Yeah, I could take that. Just one
[1:49:23] second.
[1:49:30] » [clears throat]
[1:49:33] » So the um airsource heat pump that we'll
[1:49:35] be utilizing is not a typical as to like
[1:49:37] a residential unit. It's much larger to
[1:49:39] accommodate a uh a commercial building
[1:49:41] of this size. And there are two um you
[1:49:44] see two boxes on the top of the roof of
[1:49:46] the reconstructed annex. One of those is
[1:49:48] the airsource heat pump and the other is
[1:49:50] the dedicated outside air source. And so
[1:49:53] um there'll be mechanical systems um
[1:49:56] duct work that will go down from the
[1:49:58] roof and permeate through the building
[1:50:01] >> including the the the existing building
[1:50:04] here not the police station for both
[1:50:06] buildings.
[1:50:07] >> Yes. Yes. They they will operate for for
[1:50:08] the entire it it is going to be
[1:50:10] functioning mechanically as one building
[1:50:12] not not as two separate buildings.
[1:50:14] >> Okay. I rather assume that but again I
[1:50:16] wasn't going to assume. So thank you.
[1:50:18] Yep.
[1:50:18] >> Uh my second question has to do with a
[1:50:20] comment that was made about uh the IT
[1:50:23] department servers remaining in the
[1:50:25] basement and um I I I know I'll have a
[1:50:30] question uh later about uh the RFP and
[1:50:33] relocation, but just specific to uh this
[1:50:37] team um
[1:50:40] and I'm not sure exactly who's the best
[1:50:41] person to answer this question, but it
[1:50:44] was my understanding that the IT
[1:50:45] department itself would move off site
[1:50:49] and um but if the IT server is going to
[1:50:52] be down here to sort of uh harmonize how
[1:50:56] those two things would happen together.
[1:51:04] » I could take a stab at that one second.
[1:51:05] Let me change.
[1:51:12] So yes, the the IT um server room which
[1:51:15] is in it's the the in the purple space.
[1:51:17] It's the room farthest to the left. Um
[1:51:20] that has to remain operational through
[1:51:22] construction. Um our understanding is
[1:51:23] about 50% of the fiber optics of the
[1:51:25] city and the 911 call service kind of go
[1:51:27] through that. Staff won't be um there um
[1:51:32] permanently during the construction.
[1:51:34] they will be be able to access the space
[1:51:36] from time to time when they need to um
[1:51:39] accommodate the the IT server space. Um
[1:51:42] and we're working with WTri to ensure
[1:51:44] that during construction there would be
[1:51:47] um uh temporary power at times when
[1:51:50] electricity would need to be shut off
[1:51:51] from the building. So to ensure that
[1:51:52] there's no disruptions to that service.
[1:51:55] >> Okay. Thank you. Um those are my only
[1:51:57] two questions about the sort of the
[1:51:58] architectural construction
[1:52:01] features and components. Thank you.
[1:52:02] very much, Councelor Hostman.
[1:52:04] Councelor St. Heler.
[1:52:05] >> Thank you, Madam President. Um, so I
[1:52:08] guess I I have some questions about fun
[1:52:10] uh the budget, the FY27 budget. Uh, Mr.
[1:52:13] Mayor, you seem to suggest tonight that
[1:52:16] the challenges that we face are just
[1:52:17] like we face every year that we'll get
[1:52:19] through this. Um, that seems to be
[1:52:21] different than the message that we heard
[1:52:23] from the financial forecasting
[1:52:24] committee, which is made up of our
[1:52:26] finance director. It's made up of Mr.
[1:52:28] Perry. Um he was on those conversations
[1:52:30] of several of our colleagues and they
[1:52:33] were talking about the need for up to 54
[1:52:35] layoffs. They were talking about
[1:52:37] increases to the trash fee. Um they were
[1:52:40] talking about the need to go to the
[1:52:41] voters for a property tax override. And
[1:52:44] they suggested that this year was
[1:52:45] different than than years past. That we've already uh tapped the excess
[1:52:49] levy capacity that we had to zero out
[1:52:51] the budget on on roads and sidewalks
[1:52:53] that we don't have those same levers
[1:52:55] that we've had in the past. So, I guess,
[1:52:57] you know, before, you know, we all are
[1:52:59] asked to vote on on this, this will be
[1:53:01] $2 million of operating dollars from our
[1:53:04] operating budget for FY27.
[1:53:06] You know, could you speak to the
[1:53:09] strategies that that we have for the
[1:53:11] FY27 budget? Are we looking at layoffs?
[1:53:13] Are we looking to take a property tax
[1:53:15] override to the voters? You know, how do
[1:53:17] you square that the messaging there?
[1:53:20] So, like past years, [clears throat]
[1:53:23] and this is what I was getting at, like
[1:53:25] past years, the financial forecasting
[1:53:27] process has shown that our revenues
[1:53:29] would not meet our expenditures when you look at, you know, projected
[1:53:33] need. Um, and like past years, we will
[1:53:37] pass a balanced budget. We have to,
[1:53:40] right? Um, you just ticked off several
[1:53:43] things that were discussed in and found
[1:53:46] a place in the report. I think probably
[1:53:47] most to all of them of the process.
[1:53:51] We would not do all of the above, right?
[1:53:55] The the the several things you mentioned
[1:53:56] are all possible ways to meet our
[1:53:59] budgetary obligations. So, and when you
[1:54:02] asked me this question when we when we
[1:54:04] sat and talked a few weeks ago, I told
[1:54:06] you that on January 20th, I almost
[1:54:08] certainly would not have a budget
[1:54:10] proposal for you, and I don't. Uh but I
[1:54:12] you know everything that is being
[1:54:14] everything that was suggested
[1:54:17] is on the table. Things that probably
[1:54:20] didn't come up during during um
[1:54:22] financial forecasting may end up on the
[1:54:24] table as well.
[1:54:27] >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mhm. Do
[1:54:29] >> you mind if I
[1:54:29] >> Sure. Of course. Of course.
[1:54:32] >> One one point of reference um councelor
[1:54:35] and and for those that are familiar with
[1:54:36] the financial forecast work we did. Um
[1:54:39] this proposal as we laid it out here for
[1:54:42] the bond
[1:54:44] uh costs, let me get to that. [sighs]
[1:54:46] It's like the end here. Yeah. So you
[1:54:50] will note that the FY27
[1:54:53] total current plus proposed debt even
[1:54:56] with all of this authorization is about
[1:54:59] a quarter million less than what was
[1:55:02] contained in the financial forecast. And
[1:55:05] these assumptions of a 25-y year and a 4
[1:55:08] and a half four and a half% offering are
[1:55:11] somewhat conservative. So, it's likely
[1:55:14] that we'll come in even under what's
[1:55:16] presented here, which is a quarter
[1:55:19] million under what was presented in the
[1:55:21] financial forecast. So, case in point,
[1:55:24] as we get closer to the budget timeline,
[1:55:26] which the mayor was alluding to, some of
[1:55:28] these assumptions that are contained in
[1:55:30] the forecast will start materializing uh
[1:55:32] more. So, I just wanted to point that
[1:55:34] out.
[1:55:36] >> Council Ser, did you have a followup?
[1:55:39] Well, I you know, I would just say that
[1:55:40] some of those strategies would have a
[1:55:43] significant impact on a whole lot of
[1:55:44] people in this city. So, I you know, for
[1:55:46] me, I would want to know that at least
[1:55:47] some of those things were off the table
[1:55:49] uh before I was willing to commit $30
[1:55:51] million of taxpayer money. Um so, I you
[1:55:54] know, I don't know what the sense of
[1:55:56] urgency, you know, we approved the 1.5
[1:55:58] that Mr. Perry referenced four years
[1:56:01] ago. So, you know, a lot's changed since
[1:56:03] then and um you know, I don't know what
[1:56:05] waiting uh through this budget season
[1:56:07] might look like or even a little bit
[1:56:09] longer.
[1:56:11] So, that's all just that thought.
[1:56:14] >> Thank you, councelor uh councelor
[1:56:16] Feldman and then councelor Hosman.
[1:56:19] >> Yes. Um thank you and I I was I served
[1:56:23] as the chair of the financial
[1:56:24] forecasting committee. So I I can say
[1:56:26] that I I was a part of that report and
[1:56:30] that process and it did you know to some
[1:56:32] extent feel um looking at the future a
[1:56:37] lot more challenging long term without
[1:56:39] coming up with some of those solutions
[1:56:41] that we talked about in the meeting to
[1:56:42] try and make this work. But that being
[1:56:45] said and we can't say this enough
[1:56:49] operating costs are not the same as
[1:56:51] capital costs. We can't use things from
[1:56:54] the debt stabilization fund to bridge
[1:56:56] the gap this year or free cash to bridge
[1:56:58] the gap this year because it has a
[1:57:00] compounding effect. The price of
[1:57:02] everything goes up and so we have to
[1:57:04] stay consistent with money in money out
[1:57:08] on an annual basis every single year. So
[1:57:11] it's really I understand the optics of
[1:57:13] this is incredibly hard and it's taken
[1:57:16] me many years to even understand the
[1:57:19] concept fully myself. But
[1:57:22] there is a big difference between us
[1:57:25] saying there is a deficit on the
[1:57:29] operating side of the city budget and us
[1:57:32] also saying there are capital
[1:57:34] expenditures that we need to make that
[1:57:36] have been planned for that play a part
[1:57:39] to an extent in that budget but really
[1:57:41] are its own separate entity in itself.
[1:57:45] And I 100% understand how this is a very
[1:57:49] challenging unless you've been paying
[1:57:50] attention to all of the discussions.
[1:57:52] It's it's hard to like pick up on all of
[1:57:55] this and it's a lot of spreadsheets. Um
[1:57:58] and I think both things can be true that
[1:58:02] it doesn't sound great to say there's a
[1:58:04] deficit projected right now, which we
[1:58:06] will fix. But um this project is also
[1:58:10] really needed. Both things can be true
[1:58:12] at the same time. Um and if we didn't
[1:58:15] looking at this debt schedule in terms
[1:58:17] of best practices and we did discuss
[1:58:20] this at the financial forecasting
[1:58:22] committee of keeping at least a 5% debt
[1:58:25] service as part of a responsible best
[1:58:27] practices operating budget. If we did
[1:58:30] not borrow that 2 million in this first
[1:58:33] year that would drop us to 3.8
[1:58:37] 1% of the borrowing and and that would
[1:58:40] have a compounding effect just like
[1:58:42] that. the percentage would not be able
[1:58:44] to grow to what we're looking at to keep
[1:58:46] our projects on schedule. Those schools
[1:58:49] need roofs and this is part of that
[1:58:51] plan. I know it's hard to believe, but
[1:58:53] like that plan is up there to make sure
[1:58:55] we can responsibly fund with those
[1:58:58] capital projects that we know are coming
[1:59:00] down the pike. So, to that end, I do
[1:59:03] have a question. I promise. I swear
[1:59:06] [laughter]
[1:59:06] once you get me talking about the
[1:59:08] financial forecast, I just can't stop.
[1:59:09] Um, but one of the things I was hoping
[1:59:13] that maybe we had some numbers on, and I
[1:59:15] think I've asked about this before, but
[1:59:17] I'm not sure if we've ever gotten like
[1:59:19] some examples or tangible like numbers.
[1:59:22] Um, I was wondering what are some of the
[1:59:24] efficiencies that we think we'll be able
[1:59:26] to create by bringing like the staff all
[1:59:28] back together because I know we're all
[1:59:30] over the city. And I'm wondering too if
[1:59:33] anyone's looked at some of the current
[1:59:36] operating costs that it's taking to
[1:59:38] patch and mend and work with this
[1:59:41] building because those costs are already
[1:59:43] part of the operating budget in terms of
[1:59:47] inefficiencies that exist due to our
[1:59:50] spacing constraints. And and I know it's
[1:59:53] more expensive to like heat a building
[1:59:56] that is inefficient and it's more
[1:59:58] expensive to keep an old building vacant
[2:00:00] safe for the public. And so I'm
[2:00:03] wondering if we have any numbers of the
[2:00:05] cost savings long term that this will
[2:00:07] create in the operating budget to kind
[2:00:09] of help people understand how this plays
[2:00:13] a part.
[2:00:15] If you don't have one, I can we can
[2:00:17] follow up on that later.
[2:00:19] Um well, let's follow up. But but you
[2:00:22] know, just to give you some kind of an
[2:00:23] answer, um
[2:00:27] if if you folks approve this project and
[2:00:29] it gets built, we will have a
[2:00:33] far more energyefficient building when
[2:00:35] we're done. So that, you know, the cost
[2:00:37] of our um the cost of our heating and
[2:00:40] our cooling will be, you know, will be
[2:00:43] less than they would be if the project
[2:00:45] didn't happen, right?
[2:00:46] So that's one. Um I I I do want to
[2:00:52] you asked about efficiencies with
[2:00:53] departments. So as I mentioned in my
[2:00:56] remarks, one key thing is that the
[2:00:59] health department really needs to be out
[2:01:00] of the senior center, right? Baby
[2:01:03] boomers keep getting older, which is
[2:01:06] better than the alternative, right? So we're going to have our largest
[2:01:10] senior generation
[2:01:13] um that any of us have experienced. and so the the need for space for
[2:01:19] program for you know for people to be
[2:01:21] and to and to enjoy what the senior
[2:01:23] center offers is already there. Um the
[2:01:26] health department is occupying more
[2:01:28] space than they used to even in in the
[2:01:30] senior center. So there's a real need
[2:01:32] for them to be here not there.
[2:01:35] uh inspectional services is in the GI
[2:01:38] building which the GR building was
[2:01:40] available to the community for meetings
[2:01:42] and and you know and use for
[2:01:44] neighborhood needs etc. not been
[2:01:47] possible since inspectional services is
[2:01:49] there that would be we'd be able to
[2:01:51] resume holding that building out there
[2:01:53] as available. Um, having having these
[2:01:57] departments that have permitting,
[2:02:01] inspectional obligations all in one
[2:02:05] space
[2:02:07] makes it easier for members of the
[2:02:09] community
[2:02:10] who who, you know, currently now they
[2:02:13] may do what they're doing online, but if
[2:02:14] they do what they're doing in person,
[2:02:15] and you know, some of it needs to be um
[2:02:18] the ability to for the public to have
[2:02:21] access to multiple departments in one
[2:02:23] visit. it as opposed to driving to three
[2:02:25] different places in that instance. U and
[2:02:28] certainly we do a lot of cross
[2:02:29] department work and while we do you know
[2:02:32] while we do hybrid and remote meetings
[2:02:34] we also do a lot of inerson work and and
[2:02:36] oftentimes you need that to really get
[2:02:38] decisions um made quickly and well so
[2:02:41] just a number of you know I'm just you
[2:02:44] know kind of trying to speak to the way
[2:02:47] you asked the question. The one thing I
[2:02:48] do want to also do is echo what you said
[2:02:51] before. You know, we we we the city was
[2:02:55] before we were in our seats, but the
[2:02:57] city did renovation additions on five
[2:03:00] elementary schools and built a new
[2:03:01] elementary school between 1997 and 2003.
[2:03:05] All of those
[2:03:07] systems and and all of those roofs are
[2:03:10] coming up on end of life. So yes, we
[2:03:13] will need to be replacing roofs and HVAC
[2:03:15] systems for six school buildings in the
[2:03:18] coming years, which is planned for uh
[2:03:21] and and you know, I I understand
[2:03:25] and and and appreciate
[2:03:28] the challenging thinking we're all
[2:03:30] undergoing and will continue to, right?
[2:03:32] Um, but if anybody has got a thought
[2:03:36] that some of that debt service capacity
[2:03:39] that's in our operating budget might
[2:03:41] instead of going to this project go to
[2:03:44] meet operating needs, those recurring
[2:03:47] operating needs elsewhere, they're either going to continue on and
[2:03:51] then this debt service capability
[2:03:53] disappears or they're going to head over
[2:03:55] there and have to be pulled right back.
[2:03:57] And and so, you know, and and I think
[2:03:59] we, you know, we've heard the
[2:04:00] expression, and I think in in public
[2:04:02] budgeting, it's long been deemed
[2:04:06] it's it's incredibly hard to pull back
[2:04:09] something that is supporting a recurring
[2:04:11] cost on the service side of an operating
[2:04:14] budget when when it's a capital need.
[2:04:18] And so, you know, we've had the ability
[2:04:20] in Beverly to do incredibly needed and really high quality and wonderful
[2:04:26] projects. Um, and you know, Mr. Als went
[2:04:29] through a kind of a laundry list of the
[2:04:31] last 30 years of some of those projects.
[2:04:33] And that's really a big part of the, you
[2:04:35] know, the importance of not thinking of
[2:04:38] this
[2:04:40] 5% of our overall operating budget as
[2:04:43] being really flexible to move out of
[2:04:45] this area. Thanks.
[2:04:48] Thank you.
[2:04:48] >> Thank you, Councilman. Before you jump
[2:04:50] in with your question, you are next, but
[2:04:52] um it is nine o'clock just after. So, I
[2:04:54] realize these two hearings really do go
[2:04:56] together, but to be proper and not lose
[2:04:58] track, um let's reopen that public
[2:05:01] hearing on order 10A, which we had
[2:05:02] recessed to 9:00. I'd entertain a motion
[2:05:05] to recess this to 9:20.
[2:05:08] >> Second. All those in favor?
[2:05:10] >> Thank you. So, we'll pick that one back
[2:05:13] up at 9:20, which means that we'll
[2:05:15] circle back. Councelor Husseman, we were
[2:05:17] at your question.
[2:05:18] >> Thank you. Um, I guess my question is
[2:05:20] probably for the mayor, might be for Mr.
[2:05:22] Als, and then I have given that we
[2:05:25] jumped into the budget side, which I
[2:05:26] thought might wait a little bit on, I I
[2:05:29] want to address that a little bit. Um,
[2:05:31] my question has to do with um
[2:05:36] communication between the administration
[2:05:38] and the and the council. um uh
[2:05:41] [clears throat] we don't want to go back
[2:05:43] to previous experiences where that
[2:05:45] communication really wasn't optimal. Um
[2:05:50] and so it's important to me that the
[2:05:52] mayor this evening made a commitment to meet with us uh at least some of us
[2:05:57] if those those of us who are interested
[2:06:00] uh every other month rather than
[2:06:02] quarterly. Uh and for me that that means
[2:06:05] not just this project uh in particular
[2:06:09] um but also the budget as we as that
[2:06:12] budget is developed by the
[2:06:13] administration. Um
[2:06:16] my question relates to the RFPs.
[2:06:19] uh uh I believe you said that the
[2:06:22] they've been kicked off that the RFP
[2:06:24] reply deadline has been kicked off a
[2:06:25] couple of weeks and I wonder what you
[2:06:28] can share with us regarding um I don't
[2:06:32] want to get in the RFP you know mixed up
[2:06:36] going where we shouldn't go at this
[2:06:38] point but what you can share with us in
[2:06:40] terms of responses and at least whether
[2:06:44] the budget that you've uh presented for
[2:06:46] that um looks consistent with what kind
[2:06:50] of replies you're getting if you've
[2:06:51] gotten some.
[2:06:55] » So, um,
[2:06:58] so when when councelor Hman refers to
[2:07:01] the RFP and and wanting to stay on the
[2:07:03] right side of things, he's talking about
[2:07:04] state procurement law, right? So, the
[2:07:07] RFP is open. It didn't close. So, we
[2:07:10] haven't haven't received anything. Or
[2:07:13] should I say until it closes, we don't
[2:07:15] open anything that might have been
[2:07:17] received.
[2:07:17] >> Okay.
[2:07:18] >> Right. So I know that the purchasing
[2:07:20] agent is fielding questions and under
[2:07:23] the law if somebody asks him a question
[2:07:25] he can answer for that potential
[2:07:27] respondent and then he posts the answer
[2:07:28] on the on the website so that it's
[2:07:30] available to anybody. Um we know there
[2:07:32] has been been interest both downtown and
[2:07:34] away from the downtown and one of our
[2:07:37] values is to try to stay downtown. We
[2:07:39] also uh you know months ago we might
[2:07:42] have been thinking we could find all the
[2:07:44] space we needed in one respondent and I
[2:07:46] think it's it's become clear in really
[2:07:49] looking around to see what might be
[2:07:50] available and um that we need to be
[2:07:54] willing to go into multiple buildings to
[2:07:57] meet our space needs. Um and so that you
[2:08:00] know we we we may have somebody blow us
[2:08:02] away with an offer on all the all the
[2:08:04] space we need or we may find that it's a
[2:08:07] you know it's two or three even
[2:08:09] different respondents that we might be
[2:08:11] able to um
[2:08:14] sign leases with and go in and spend
[2:08:16] time. Um
[2:08:18] certainly our hope is we under the law
[2:08:21] we could not um sign a lease with
[2:08:25] anybody until we have project budget
[2:08:26] approval but we put the RFP out in the
[2:08:28] meantime to try to you know prepare in
[2:08:31] case um and in hopes. So that's where we
[2:08:33] are. Um I don't know the exact date. Um
[2:08:36] Mr. Gelano extended it out recently and
[2:08:39] I think you said about two and a half
[2:08:40] weeks. Mr. Als
[2:08:42] >> three weeks. Okay.
[2:08:44] >> February.
[2:08:44] >> Oh there you are.
[2:08:47] February 6th is the new date and and and
[2:08:50] so we hope we hope that we you know we
[2:08:52] have those kind of answers and that kind
[2:08:54] of information in the next few weeks.
[2:08:56] >> Okay. Thank you. I mean that kind of
[2:08:57] communication and updates uh at least
[2:09:00] for this counselor are are important for
[2:09:03] the council and having sort of an
[2:09:05] oversight role of what's going on with these capital projects. Uh so with
[2:09:09] that I just uh uh I want to follow up on
[2:09:14] my the comments of my colleagues to my
[2:09:17] right. Um uh like councelor Feldman um I
[2:09:21] was also on the financial forecasting
[2:09:23] committee and a past chair of the
[2:09:25] financial forecasting committee. And for
[2:09:27] those of you who are fascinated by uh
[2:09:30] municipal finance um uh I would
[2:09:34] encourage you I don't know why you
[2:09:35] wouldn't be but uh I'd encourage you to
[2:09:38] uh uh go under the city's website. The
[2:09:40] financial forecast uh is this document.
[2:09:43] you can find it online and you can learn
[2:09:45] an awful lot about the background of the
[2:09:47] kind of conversation we are having right
[2:09:49] now. Um so um with that I I think you
[2:09:54] know uh citizens who hear that we have a
[2:09:57] structural deficit
[2:10:00] and then hear that we want to spend $25
[2:10:02] million on uh a city hall renovation
[2:10:05] project uh might fairly say what is
[2:10:09] going on uh like Mr. Marciano mentioned
[2:10:12] uh earlier. Um you know I I think that's
[2:10:15] a very fair question. How do you
[2:10:17] reconcile those two things? So the
[2:10:20] question before the council and on these
[2:10:22] votes uh is whether the cost of regular
[2:10:25] maintenance should be considered a
[2:10:27] fundamental uh part of a sustainable
[2:10:30] budget. Uh like not changing the oil in
[2:10:32] your car. You can get away with not
[2:10:34] doing regular maintenance for a while,
[2:10:36] but in the long run it'll have bad
[2:10:38] consequences. It'll catch up with you.
[2:10:40] Uh if the cost of regular maintenance is
[2:10:42] not included in your household budget,
[2:10:45] eventually you'll be faced with large
[2:10:46] bills uh like buying a new car if you
[2:10:49] didn't change the oil. Uh that you might
[2:10:52] find uh difficult to to manage. Uh the
[2:10:56] same is essentially true for the city.
[2:10:58] It's important to keep the cost of
[2:11:00] regular maintenance of our
[2:11:01] infrastructure uh in our budget
[2:11:04] annually.
[2:11:05] Um the question is has been posed by
[2:11:08] some letters to the council uh and this
[2:11:11] evening uh by some of our speakers about
[2:11:14] why not take the money that we would
[2:11:16] spend on capital expenditure project
[2:11:18] like the city hall uh renovation and use
[2:11:21] it to close well the suggestion is use
[2:11:23] it to close the structural deficit in
[2:11:25] other words help close the gap that we
[2:11:28] are talking about. So why not why would
[2:11:30] we not do that? Um
[2:11:33] uh so in other words, the idea we would
[2:11:35] spend that those saved funds, funds we
[2:11:38] don't use for a capital expenditure, uh
[2:11:40] debt payment, uh and instead use them
[2:11:42] for ongoing operating expenses comprised
[2:11:45] for the city's budget mostly of labor
[2:11:47] costs for teachers, DPW workers, police,
[2:11:49] firefighters, etc. Um, and as councelor
[2:11:53] Feldman said, there's there's sort of an
[2:11:55] apples and an oranges aspect to this uh
[2:11:58] that is really specific to perhaps
[2:12:01] municipal finance that the lay person or
[2:12:04] someone who hasn't served on the council
[2:12:05] for a while uh might not really truly um
[2:12:08] understand. Um so um
[2:12:14] first the amount of debt. So the
[2:12:16] question the question is um what is the
[2:12:19] cause of our structural uh deficit? Uh
[2:12:23] is it the amount of debt that the city
[2:12:25] pays for its capital projects? Uh do we
[2:12:28] have too much debt? And the answer is
[2:12:30] no, we don't. In fact, we've seen in
[2:12:32] tonight's presentation uh and on the you
[2:12:34] know the charts that were in the
[2:12:36] PowerPoint uh that the percent of the
[2:12:38] city's debt burden carried in our
[2:12:40] operating budget in fact has gone down,
[2:12:42] not gone up in recent years. And Mr.
[2:12:45] Perry has suggested that that even is
[2:12:46] problematic for us and perhaps it would
[2:12:48] be healthier for the city to have a
[2:12:50] larger amount. But be that as it may.
[2:12:52] The second question we should ask is
[2:12:56] what is the cause of our structural
[2:12:58] deficit? Is it the debt that the city
[2:13:01] pays? And the answer is essentially it's
[2:13:06] inflation. It's the long tale uh in part
[2:13:09] the long tale of a fiscal response to to
[2:13:12] co 19. We all know, we have all the
[2:13:14] experienced that costs have been rising
[2:13:17] pretty much on everything since 2020,
[2:13:19] since the since co and they've been
[2:13:22] rising at a rate greater than 2 and a
[2:13:25] half% which is the annual limit on the
[2:13:28] amount of tax revenue that the city can
[2:13:30] raise to pay its expenses. So
[2:13:32] specifically, and this is taken uh these
[2:13:35] next three items are taken from the
[2:13:36] financial forecast which I encourage you
[2:13:39] to take a look at. Um so uh what is the
[2:13:43] cause of our structural deficit? Well,
[2:13:45] the city's budget can increase by 2 and
[2:13:48] a half% per year. Uh simplistically put
[2:13:52] uh but the municipal budget um
[2:13:56] anticipates this is what's coming up in this uh in this nest fiscal year. The
[2:14:02] municipal budget uh anticipates a 4.3%
[2:14:05] increase from the prior year.
[2:14:08] Um some of these re some of these
[2:14:10] reasons for this increase are
[2:14:12] attributable to legally binding fixed
[2:14:14] costs like pensions, collective
[2:14:16] bargaining unit agreements, health care.
[2:14:19] 80% in our case for the city, 80% of
[2:14:22] municipal employees uh health costs are
[2:14:25] paid by the city. That's a generous
[2:14:27] amount compared to the private sector.
[2:14:30] Another item is Beverly Public School uh
[2:14:33] district anticipates a 5.27 27 increase
[2:14:37] from the prior year. The main reason for
[2:14:40] this increase is attributable to um our
[2:14:43] recently um approved collective
[2:14:45] bargaining agreements. And the third is
[2:14:48] our vocational school assessment
[2:14:50] anticipates a [clears throat] 13.6
[2:14:53] uh% increase from the prior fiscal year
[2:14:57] due to enrollment increases, meaning we
[2:14:59] are sending more uh students to the
[2:15:02] voke, which is a terrific thing. But if
[2:15:05] you compare the 2 and a.5% revenue
[2:15:08] increase the city is limited to to the
[2:15:11] 4.3% on the municipal budget, the 5.27
[2:15:14] on the school budget, uh the 13.66
[2:15:18] increase for v vocational school
[2:15:20] enrollment, you can see that there's a
[2:15:22] problem and that is where our structural
[2:15:25] deficit is coming from. And without
[2:15:28] addressing those costs, the structural
[2:15:30] deficit will remain.
[2:15:33] um it will be a hard, challenging and
[2:15:37] probably painful exercise for us to do
[2:15:40] in this year's budget. But to avoid that
[2:15:43] task, those those components um uh uh
[2:15:48] but to avoid that task by objecting to a
[2:15:51] capital expenditure cost for the city
[2:15:53] renovation project is to miscast both
[2:15:57] the problem and its solution. The
[2:16:00] problem does not lie with a a debt pro,
[2:16:03] you know, taking on debt like uh the
[2:16:04] city hall renovation project is
[2:16:07] proposed. Um and um objecting to the
[2:16:12] using um uh using the capital
[2:16:15] expenditure problem uh excuse me, I
[2:16:17] misspoke. Uh objecting to that task um
[2:16:21] by objecting to the capital cost of the
[2:16:23] renovation project is to miscast both
[2:16:25] the problem and its solution. The
[2:16:27] solution is tackling those items that I
[2:16:29] just mentioned. Uh and not only that, if
[2:16:32] you remove the cost of the debt
[2:16:34] expenditure capital cost of the capital
[2:16:37] expenditure debt from our budget, it
[2:16:39] will create an additional problem. Our
[2:16:42] debt capacity is a measure of our
[2:16:44] municipal financial health. And if we do
[2:16:46] not include a sufficient level of debt
[2:16:48] payments in our annual budgets, our
[2:16:51] capacity to undertake ongoing
[2:16:53] infrastructure projects like we're
[2:16:54] listed that long list of things that
[2:16:56] we've been able to accomplish over the
[2:16:58] years um that ability including for
[2:17:02] example school roofs coming up uh that
[2:17:05] uh capacity will be will be deeply
[2:17:07] compromised. So for for the reason I say
[2:17:11] here, I encourage my colleagues to vote
[2:17:13] in favor of both of these projects um
[2:17:17] with the understanding that we'll have
[2:17:19] good communication from the
[2:17:20] administration on how they uh how they
[2:17:23] proceed.
[2:17:24] >> Thank you.
[2:17:25] councelor. Um I think what
[2:17:27] I'd like to do, I know councelor
[2:17:28] Sinclair, you're waiting. Um, it seems
[2:17:30] like if if we'll have time you as a
[2:17:32] council when this comes back for the
[2:17:34] final vote, if councilors have
[2:17:36] reflections or or reasons that you're
[2:17:38] voting the way you are that you want to
[2:17:38] offer, I think we'll go to those. I
[2:17:41] think if there's any further questions
[2:17:43] for the team in the context of the
[2:17:45] public hearing, let's do those now. Um,
[2:17:47] because it seems like we may be ready to
[2:17:49] move from the public hearing portion
[2:17:52] forward. So, um, councelor St. Hillary,
[2:17:54] you were waiting, so we'll go to you.
[2:17:56] >> So, I just want to follow up on a couple
[2:17:58] points. One is the capital versus
[2:18:00] operating budget discussion. Um, in the
[2:18:02] point from councelor Feldman, I
[2:18:04] [clears throat] just wanted to be clear,
[2:18:06] uh, Mr. Als, this is general fund money,
[2:18:09] $2 million in our general fund operating
[2:18:11] budget that we dedicate for for debt
[2:18:13] service. That's a policy choice. Those
[2:18:15] dollars could be used for something
[2:18:16] else. Correct.
[2:18:18] >> Is general fun.
[2:18:20] >> Okay. So, we could use this for anything
[2:18:22] then.
[2:18:26] » Correct.
[2:18:29] the debt service, correct? Comes out of
[2:18:31] the operating budget.
[2:18:33] >> Thank you. Uh to answer your question,
[2:18:35] councelor, legally, if you decide not to
[2:18:39] approve this project, you can use that
[2:18:42] $2 million in whatever manner that the
[2:18:45] mayor would present to you and then
[2:18:47] obviously you would have to vote upon.
[2:18:48] >> Of course,
[2:18:49] >> you have restrictions
[2:18:51] on the debt stabilization transfer
[2:18:54] though. That's a little bit different.
[2:18:56] But but if you were to decide not to do
[2:18:58] this, yes, you are correct. You have
[2:19:00] that legal authority to do uh what you
[2:19:04] want subject to the mayor giving you uh
[2:19:07] his budget.
[2:19:08] >> Okay. So, you know, I I guess what I'm
[2:19:10] struggling with is, you know, I all
[2:19:11] agree with best practice. You know, I'd
[2:19:14] love to be at 7%, too. Um but, you know,
[2:19:17] last year we zeroed out road and
[2:19:19] sidewalks in the budget. No money for
[2:19:21] road and sidewalks. So, next year we're
[2:19:23] going to have $2 million dedicated to
[2:19:25] the new city hall and no money for road
[2:19:27] and sidewalks. It seems like, you know,
[2:19:30] we're not in the in the right place
[2:19:31] there. And, you know, for me, again,
[2:19:35] some of these some of these financial
[2:19:37] challenges we're facing. I'm not sure,
[2:19:39] mayor, if they're if they're as easily
[2:19:41] uh, you know, handled as as you're
[2:19:43] suggesting or if the financial
[2:19:45] forecasting committee was on to to
[2:19:46] bigger challenges, but I'm going to have
[2:19:49] a hard time voting to approve this
[2:19:50] without understanding that further. That
[2:19:52] that's just where I'm at.
[2:19:55] >> Thank you, councelor.
[2:19:57] Are there any other questions from
[2:19:58] counselors at this point on this public
[2:20:01] hearing?
[2:20:04] Okay. Thank you. Thank you counselors
[2:20:06] for the questions and discussion. We'll
[2:20:08] close the public hearing on order number
[2:20:09] 10 and refer that back to the committee
[2:20:11] on finance and property. And that does
[2:20:13] bring us just right on time to where we
[2:20:16] had suggested we would pick up the
[2:20:18] public hearing on order 10A. And as
[2:20:20] we've said several times, of course,
[2:20:22] these are these are tied together.
[2:20:23] They're two different uh pieces of the
[2:20:26] funding proposed funding for the city
[2:20:29] hall project which we heard the team
[2:20:30] present about. Um Mr. Als or Mr. May I
[2:20:34] don't know if either of you had anything
[2:20:35] you want to say just by way of opening
[2:20:37] up 10A itself.
[2:20:41] >> Mr. Als, you should come up. I I just if
[2:20:43] I could, Madame President, I just want
[2:20:45] to be fair to Council St. Heler and fair
[2:20:47] to myself. Um I didn't mean to give you
[2:20:50] the impression that I thought it would
[2:20:52] be easy to pass our budget this coming
[2:20:54] June and balance it. I was just trying
[2:20:56] to say that's our job and so we will and
[2:21:00] it's going to be much of the work of the
[2:21:02] next several months. So I I didn't mean
[2:21:04] to give you the impression that I'm not
[2:21:05] mindful of the challenge that challenges
[2:21:07] that are coming with it this goound.
[2:21:10] Thanks.
[2:21:14] Uh so just to clarify this portion uh or
[2:21:18] this public hearing has to do with the
[2:21:20] $2 million uh debt stabilization
[2:21:22] transfer. Uh so right now we have not we
[2:21:26] have two stabilization funds. So don't
[2:21:28] confuse the two. We've got a general
[2:21:30] stabilization fund which receives money
[2:21:32] every uh year through the free cash
[2:21:34] certification process and requests from
[2:21:36] the mayor. We also have a debt
[2:21:38] stabilization transfer. It has $2
[2:21:40] million in it and it's designed to
[2:21:43] service future debt in lie of borrowing.
[2:21:46] And so that's why the request is to
[2:21:48] transfer that money into this project
[2:21:49] and reduce the amount we ultimately will
[2:21:52] borrow.
[2:21:53] >> Thank you. Mr. Als
[2:21:55] >> Mr. Perry, anything that you'd like to
[2:21:57] add as we're getting into um specific
[2:22:00] conversation on
[2:22:01] >> I'll try to be extremely brief. Uh as I
[2:22:03] wrote into my uh memo, uh I do recommend
[2:22:06] that you do this to refresh your memory.
[2:22:08] We made these transfers several years
[2:22:09] ago. I'm glad to see the state
[2:22:11] representative with us here. We had some
[2:22:12] debate with her on this issue. This is
[2:22:14] part of the long range planning. We set
[2:22:16] this money aside for this purpose.
[2:22:19] That's what we did two or three years
[2:22:20] ago, I think it was. Uh so there is $2
[2:22:22] million. you can do it. [clears throat]
[2:22:25] Uh under new uh new legislation in two
[2:22:28] 2023, the council uh on special uh
[2:22:32] stabilization funds, you're only
[2:22:34] required to do a majority vote, not a
[2:22:36] two-thirds vote. Uh the loan order does
[2:22:39] require two/3s, but this one is only a
[2:22:41] majority vote uh on special uh
[2:22:43] stabilization funds. And madam
[2:22:45] president, I know we spoke about this um in terms of the timing of which ones
[2:22:50] you bring up first. I'd recommend to the
[2:22:51] council that uh when you come back after
[2:22:54] your committee work or what have you, I
[2:22:56] would suggest that we do the loan order
[2:22:59] first. See if the council decides they
[2:23:02] want to uh approve that. That's
[2:23:04] certainly up to the nine of you. If you
[2:23:06] decide to do it, then it makes sense to
[2:23:08] as part of the package to look at the
[2:23:10] debt stabilization as your second vote.
[2:23:13] However, if the loan order does not meet
[2:23:16] the twothirds vote, it would be to me a
[2:23:18] moot. I would recommend not to transfer
[2:23:20] the funds at that time because it'd be
[2:23:22] kind of crazy to do that first and then
[2:23:24] not get the loan order. So, uh bottom
[2:23:26] line, madame uh president, members of
[2:23:28] council, there's sufficient funds there.
[2:23:30] I recommend that you transfer the funds.
[2:23:32] Thank you.
[2:23:32] >> Thank you, Mr. Perry. Uh again, I am
[2:23:36] aware that members of the public, you've
[2:23:37] been with us, you've been listening for
[2:23:38] a while. Uh no one had signed up to
[2:23:40] speak in this public hearing
[2:23:41] specifically. Were there any members of
[2:23:43] the public who hoped to speak in the
[2:23:45] public hearing on the debt stabilization
[2:23:47] transfer request?
[2:23:50] Okay, thank you. Thank you, Miss Kent.
[2:23:54] Councilors, are there any questions uh
[2:23:56] pertaining to 10A, which is, as we just
[2:23:59] heard, the request for a transfer from
[2:24:01] the debt stabilization fund?
[2:24:07] Okay. Um, thank you. I will close this
[2:24:10] public hearing as well. refer that back
[2:24:12] to the committee on finance and property
[2:24:13] for further action this evening. Thank
[2:24:15] you again to uh the team that came here
[2:24:17] and presented this evening. Thank you
[2:24:19] members of the public uh both those who
[2:24:21] spoke and also those who have been with
[2:24:23] us listening and engaging and thank you
[2:24:25] members of the council for the questions
[2:24:27] and conversation. I know we do have um
[2:24:30] our our regular business to get to um
[2:24:33] but I also am aware that everyone's been
[2:24:35] sitting for quite a while. So, I don't
[2:24:36] just need a motion just for a two-minute
[2:24:38] recess if people need to get up and move
[2:24:40] for a second.
[2:24:41] >> Second.
[2:24:41] >> All those in favor?
[2:24:43] >> Thank you. Take a quick recess and be
[2:24:45] back if you need a stretch or a bathroom
[2:24:46] break.
[2:25:33] Heat. Heat.
[2:28:38] So, we'll call the full council back to
[2:28:40] order.
[2:28:44] Thank you everyone
[2:28:47] and thank you for uh counselors for
[2:28:50] approving that little recess. It seemed
[2:28:51] like perhaps we all needed a chance to
[2:28:53] stretch our legs or um get some water.
[2:28:56] So, Miss Kent, we'll jump into the rest
[2:28:59] of our regular business on our agenda
[2:29:02] and move through that. Let's begin with
[2:29:04] acceptance of minutes of previous
[2:29:05] meetings. We have three sets of meeting
[2:29:08] minutes that we can approve this
[2:29:09] evening. The first is from our regular
[2:29:11] city council meeting December 1st, 2025.
[2:29:14] Then a set of minutes from our regular
[2:29:16] city council meeting December 15, 2025.
[2:29:19] And the third our regular city council
[2:29:21] meeting January 5th, 2026.
[2:29:25] Is there a motion to approve these three
[2:29:26] sets of minutes?
[2:29:28] >> All those in favor?
[2:29:30] >> Thank you. That carries 90 and those are
[2:29:32] approved.
[2:29:34] Let's go to communications from his
[2:29:35] honor the mayor. Please, Miss Kent.
[2:29:37] >> Order number 18, a donation of $3,000
[2:29:40] from the Beverly Female Charitable
[2:29:42] Society to support the Council on Aging.
[2:29:44] >> Please refer that to the Committee on
[2:29:45] Finance and Property.
[2:29:46] >> Order number 19, a donation of $10,000
[2:29:49] anonymous for anonymously for the
[2:29:52] Council on Aging.
[2:29:53] >> Please refer that to the Committee on
[2:29:54] Finance and Property.
[2:29:55] >> Order number 20, a 100 1,6und,00
[2:30:00] 63,964
[2:30:02] 911 EOPSS OGR support and incentive
[2:30:06] grant.
[2:30:06] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:30:07] finance and property.
[2:30:08] >> Order number 21 of 69,632
[2:30:11] and28 911 EOPSS OGR 911 training grant.
[2:30:17] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:30:18] finance and property.
[2:30:19] >> Order number 22, a mass D technical
[2:30:22] assistant grant.
[2:30:23] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:30:24] finance and property as well. Board
[2:30:26] number 23, a $2,500 Mass Executive
[2:30:29] Office, Office of Labor and Workforce
[2:30:32] Development, Workplace Safety and
[2:30:33] Education Grant.
[2:30:34] >> Please refer that to the Committee on
[2:30:36] Finance and Property.
[2:30:37] >> Order number 24, a Mass Tech
[2:30:39] collaborative mass broadband institute
[2:30:41] connected and online grant. Please refer
[2:30:45] that to the Committee on Finance and
[2:30:46] Property.
[2:30:47] >> Order number 25, a $15,000 Mass Cultural
[2:30:50] Council Cultural District Investment
[2:30:52] Grant. Please refer that as well to the
[2:30:54] committee on finance and property.
[2:30:56] >> Order number 26, a donation of $100 from
[2:30:58] David Mandanka to be used to purchase
[2:31:01] Shaw's gift cards for veterans.
[2:31:03] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:31:04] finance and property.
[2:31:05] >> Order number 27, a $550,000 grant, SEO
[2:31:10] economic council grant for commercial
[2:31:12] hoist pier reconstruction.
[2:31:15] >> Just to change things up, we'll send
[2:31:16] that to finance and property. [laughter]
[2:31:20] Order number 28, a reappointment for
[2:31:22] Corey Finanella, 30 Bow Street to serve
[2:31:25] on the zoning board of appeals.
[2:31:26] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:31:27] legal affairs.
[2:31:28] >> Order number 29, a reappointment for
[2:31:30] Chad Pendell, 59 Lup Street to serve on
[2:31:32] the Beverly Golf and Tennis Commission.
[2:31:34] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:31:35] public services.
[2:31:36] >> Order number 30, a reappointment for Kev
[2:31:38] Kevin as Lilo for Sherwood Lane to serve
[2:31:41] on the Beverly Golf and Tennis
[2:31:42] Commission.
[2:31:43] >> Please refer that to the Committee on
[2:31:44] Public Services. Order number 31, a
[2:31:46] reappointment for Arthur Athenius, 77
[2:31:49] Hail Street to serve on the Beverly Golf
[2:31:50] and Tennis Commission.
[2:31:51] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:31:52] public services as well.
[2:31:53] >> Order number 32, a $50 donation from
[2:31:56] John Lindal in memory of Daniel Beecher,
[2:31:59] the owner of Northshore Carpet to ser
[2:32:02] support the Beverly Police Department.
[2:32:03] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:32:04] finance and property. Let's go to
[2:32:06] communications from other city officers
[2:32:08] and boards. Please, Miss Kent.
[2:32:10] >> Order number 33 from the city clerk. A
[2:32:12] renewal application for taxi delivery
[2:32:14] license for Tri City Services 55 Rare
[2:32:16] Walnut Street PVD.
[2:32:18] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:32:19] legal affairs.
[2:32:20] >> Order number 34 from the city clerk. A
[2:32:22] renewal application for a class 2 motor
[2:32:24] vehicle license for AJ's mobile
[2:32:25] detailing at 453 rearr.
[2:32:28] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:32:29] legal affairs as well.
[2:32:31] >> Order number 35 from the city clerk. A
[2:32:32] renewal application for class 2 motor
[2:32:34] vehicle deal license for American
[2:32:36] petroleum at 586 Cat Street.
[2:32:38] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:32:40] legal affairs. Order number 36 from the
[2:32:42] city clerk. A renewal renewal
[2:32:44] application for class 2 motor vehicle
[2:32:45] deal license for bridto corp dva auto
[2:32:49] dine at 810 rare rav. Please refer that
[2:32:52] to the committee on legal
[2:32:53] [clears throat] affairs.
[2:32:54] >> Order number 37 from councelor retundo
[2:32:56] and spang the 2025 Beverly Harbor
[2:32:58] Management Authority annual report.
[2:33:01] >> Councilors Rattendo and Spang, thank you
[2:33:03] for filing this for us and updating us.
[2:33:06] Anything that you wanted to say about
[2:33:07] this report at this time? Uh counselors,
[2:33:10] I would entertain a motion to receive
[2:33:12] that report and place it on file.
[2:33:14] >> All those in favor?
[2:33:16] >> That carries 90. And so we'll place that
[2:33:18] on file. And thank you again counselors
[2:33:20] Ratundo and Spang for your order number
[2:33:23] 38 from the city clerk. A request for
[2:33:25] police officers at the polling locations
[2:33:26] for the 2026 elections. Councilors, I
[2:33:30] would entertain a motion to approve this
[2:33:32] on the floor.
[2:33:35] >> Is there any further discussion or
[2:33:36] questions? All those in favor
[2:33:40] carries 90 and that one is approved.
[2:33:42] Thank you.
[2:33:43] >> Order number 39 from the city clerk. A
[2:33:45] renewal application for a Hawkins and
[2:33:46] Pedals license for George Samson 22
[2:33:48] Fendle Street.
[2:33:49] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:33:50] legal affairs.
[2:33:51] >> Order number 40 from councelor Spang,
[2:33:53] public services committee priorities.
[2:33:56] >> Councelor Spang, anything you want to
[2:33:57] say about order number 40?
[2:34:00] >> Thank you. Please refer that to the
[2:34:01] committee on public services.
[2:34:03] >> Order 41 from the city clerk. a new
[2:34:05] application for a taxi delivery license
[2:34:06] for Bass River Day Activity Program,
[2:34:09] Inc. DBA, Bass River, Inc. 437 Essex
[2:34:12] Street.
[2:34:12] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:34:14] legal affairs. Order number 42 from
[2:34:16] President Flowers and Council St. Helier
[2:34:18] and Mady, a proposal to create a COVID
[2:34:21] memorial subcommittee.
[2:34:23] >> Councelor Mady or Councelor St. Helier,
[2:34:25] anything that you wanted to say about
[2:34:26] this one at this point?
[2:34:30] » Okay. Uh, thank you. Thank you both. So
[2:34:33] we'll refer that to the committee on
[2:34:34] legal affairs and thank you for your
[2:34:36] work on that one.
[2:34:38] >> Order number 43 from council Feldman and
[2:34:40] Mady, a proposal to create a temporary
[2:34:42] special committee to explore options for
[2:34:44] addressing the looming 2027 forecasted
[2:34:46] budget deficit.
[2:34:48] >> Councelor Feldman. Councelor Mady, same
[2:34:50] question for you. Anything you'd like to
[2:34:51] say at this point about this one?
[2:34:53] >> Um,
[2:34:56] but excited we got
[2:34:59] >> agenda. Uh, thank you councelor Felman.
[2:35:01] I'm only sorry that your microphone was
[2:35:03] on mute [laughter]
[2:35:05] so that people couldn't hear you
[2:35:06] celebrate the use of the word looming.
[2:35:08] Yes. Uh so we'll refer that to the
[2:35:09] committee on finance and property,
[2:35:11] please. Board number 44, the director of
[2:35:13] planning, Darlene Winn, approve a
[2:35:15] conservation restriction to the Essex
[2:35:16] County Green Belt Association on land
[2:35:18] owned by the city of Beverly, 14 and 34
[2:35:21] Simon Street.
[2:35:22] >> Thank you. And counselors, I just want
[2:35:24] to draw your attention to our uh
[2:35:26] planning director submitted a slightly
[2:35:28] changed version of order 44. Uh the
[2:35:30] change really was just to replace the
[2:35:32] signature lines to ensure that they were
[2:35:33] written as the registry of deeds would
[2:35:35] need them. Um and we'll refer that to
[2:35:37] the committee on legal affairs. Order
[2:35:39] number 45, the assistant city solicitor
[2:35:41] Jesse Dole proposed amendments to
[2:35:42] chapter 117-6 for dog kennel licensing.
[2:35:46] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:35:47] legal affairs. Order number 46 for
[2:35:50] president Flowers temporary appointment
[2:35:51] of clerk of committees. Councilors, I
[2:35:54] would entertain a motion also to approve
[2:35:56] this on the floor.
[2:35:58] >> Second. Uh, is there any further
[2:36:00] discussion or conversation?
[2:36:03] >> I would just like to say uh a word of
[2:36:05] congratulations to our current assistant
[2:36:07] city clerk, Miss Dupont. Um, the reason
[2:36:09] for this temporary appointment of Miss
[2:36:11] Kent to be the acting clerk of
[2:36:12] committees is because Miss Dupont is
[2:36:14] moving on to become a town clerk
[2:36:16] herself. And so, um, thank you, Miss
[2:36:19] Dupont, for the work that you've done
[2:36:20] here. And you'll be missed. And also,
[2:36:23] um, we are very confident that you are
[2:36:25] going to go on to continue doing great
[2:36:26] work. So, thank you.
[2:36:29] Uh so we have a motion and a second. All
[2:36:31] those in favor of approving order 46.
[2:36:35] >> Uh that carries 90.
[2:36:38] Thank you very much. Let's go to
[2:36:40] communications applications and
[2:36:42] petitions please.
[2:36:43] >> Order number 47 from National Grid
[2:36:45] petition 3123447
[2:36:48] to install underground facilities on Bow
[2:36:50] Street, Wall Street, Cabinet Street, and
[2:36:52] Abbott Street.
[2:36:53] >> Please refer that to the committee on
[2:36:54] public services to set a public hearing.
[2:36:56] Order number 48 from National Grid, a
[2:36:58] petition 31247668
[2:37:00] to install underground facilities on Cab
[2:37:02] Street.
[2:37:03] >> Please refer that to the Committee on
[2:37:04] Public Services to set that public
[2:37:06] hearing as well.
[2:37:07] >> Order number 49 from Gonet Speed, a
[2:37:10] petition to install and maintain
[2:37:11] underground facilities on Ashton Street.
[2:37:13] >> Please refer that to the Committee on
[2:37:14] Public Services to set a public hearing.
[2:37:16] >> Order number 50 from Go Net Speed, a
[2:37:18] petition to install maintain underground
[2:37:20] facilities on Friend Street. Please
[2:37:22] refer that to the committee on public
[2:37:23] services for setting a public hearing as
[2:37:25] well.
[2:37:26] >> Order number 51 from go net speed, a
[2:37:28] petition to install and maintain
[2:37:29] underground facilities on East Street.
[2:37:31] Please refer that to the committee on
[2:37:32] public services to set a public hearing.
[2:37:34] >> Order number 52, a notice of
[2:37:36] availability of from 150 Sawyer Road.
[2:37:40] >> I would entertain a motion to receive
[2:37:41] this and place it on file.
[2:37:44] >> All those in favor?
[2:37:45] >> That carries 90. And so we'll place
[2:37:47] [clears throat] that report on file.
[2:37:48] Thank you.
[2:37:50] Uh I would entertain a motion to take a
[2:37:53] break for some subcommittee work at this
[2:37:55] point.
[2:37:57] >> All those in favor? That carries 90. So
[2:38:00] uh we will have our subcommittees meet.
[2:38:02] Most of the subcommittees do have quite
[2:38:04] uh lengthy agendas and so subcommittee
[2:38:08] chairs just a reminder if there are more
[2:38:10] substantive matters before you that
[2:38:12] can't easily be taken care of in this
[2:38:14] briefer break. Um, you could schedule a
[2:38:16] meeting of your subcommittee for
[2:38:18] [snorts]
[2:38:18] next week or for the fourth week. Second
[2:38:21] and fourth weeks are subcommittee weeks
[2:38:23] if you need them. Um, we will have
[2:38:25] finance and property stay here in
[2:38:26] council chambers, legal affairs in the
[2:38:28] committee room, public services in the
[2:38:30] hall. Thank you very much.
[2:39:50] You can go whatever you want.
[2:39:52] >> Okay. I'm just going to go in order on
[2:39:54] here. Yeah. All right. Um I'd like to
[2:39:56] call to order the Committee on Finance
[2:39:59] and Property and
[2:40:03] um and it is What time is it? 9:39. All
[2:40:06] right. So, we've got a number of things
[2:40:09] we can vote on tonight. So, I'm going to
[2:40:10] kind of go through these
[2:40:13] as
[2:40:15] expediently as we can. Did you put me in
[2:40:17] charge of this committee because I can
[2:40:18] speak like the micro machines, ma'am?
[2:40:20] >> Yeah. So, [laughter]
[2:40:22] okay. So, we're going to start with um
[2:40:24] order number 11. Um and this is an
[2:40:26] appointment for Donna Metazaro, 47
[2:40:28] Elmrest Road, North Andover to serve as
[2:40:30] the city accountant. She will be
[2:40:33] replacing um Carol Department, Carol.
[2:40:38] So, um do we have any discussion on
[2:40:40] this? Do we have any questions from
[2:40:42] either of the committee members?
[2:40:45] Oh yes. Thanks.
[2:40:48] >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Very quickly,
[2:40:50] I've had the privilege of meeting Ms.
[2:40:52] Maz Materazzo. She comes from Saras. Uh
[2:40:54] we've had several meetings actually
[2:40:56] already. She's in the back here. Just if
[2:40:58] you don't know who she is. Uh I can
[2:41:00] share with you uh she is very well
[2:41:02] verssed in municipal finance. I think
[2:41:04] it's a great appointment and I would
[2:41:06] recommend you uh appoint her as your
[2:41:08] budget analyst.
[2:41:09] >> Thank you, Mr. P. Has anyone else had
[2:41:12] any questions?
[2:41:14] All right.
[2:41:15] >> I would make a motion to approve order
[2:41:17] number 11.
[2:41:18] >> All right. Second. Okay. All those in
[2:41:20] favor?
[2:41:21] >> I.
[2:41:22] >> All right. Motion passes. Three to zero.
[2:41:25] All right. Moving on. Order number 16.
[2:41:28] And welcome. Welcome to Thank you. Um,
[2:41:32] order number 16. This is a reappoint for
[2:41:35] Brian Als to serve as the director of
[2:41:37] municipal finance here. So again, do we
[2:41:39] have any questions? Subcommittee members
[2:41:41] have any questions?
[2:41:42] >> Is Mr. else here this evening.
[2:41:44] >> I don't know. I haven't heard from him
[2:41:45] yet.
[2:41:47] >> He's not around much. [laughter]
[2:41:51] » Does he want to?
[2:41:54] >> Madam Chair, I I've had a lot of
[2:41:56] experience uh with Mr. Als kind of a
[2:41:59] questionable appointment in my opinion.
[2:42:01] [laughter]
[2:42:02] Uh but no, it's my full fullthroated
[2:42:05] endorsement as an excellent choice.
[2:42:07] >> Great. All right.
[2:42:08] >> So, I'd make a motion to approve order
[2:42:11] 16.
[2:42:11] >> All right. All right. Do I have a
[2:42:12] second?
[2:42:12] >> Second.
[2:42:13] >> Okay. All those in favor?
[2:42:14] >> I.
[2:42:14] >> All right. Motion passes three to zero.
[2:42:17] >> All right. In order number 17, um this
[2:42:20] is to accept an $850,000
[2:42:23] grant from the Massachusetts Executive
[2:42:25] Office of Housing and Livable
[2:42:27] Communities to be used to support
[2:42:29] housing rehabilitation projects in the
[2:42:31] city of Beverly for low to moderate
[2:42:33] income residents that qualify.
[2:42:37] Do we have any questions or do we have
[2:42:38] anyone from the city that wants to speak
[2:42:40] on this? Miss uh Miss Win.
[2:42:47] » Uh yes, Darlene W, planning director. Um
[2:42:50] we actually well we've talked about this
[2:42:52] in a couple different things, but this
[2:42:53] is um the CDBG grant is um a program
[2:42:58] that the city participated in and
[2:43:00] received for about um 20 years, but the
[2:43:04] last time in 2006. Um we had tried a
[2:43:07] couple of times to apply into the
[2:43:08] program in the last decade. um
[2:43:10] unsuccessfully. Um but we were um able
[2:43:13] to secure a grant in the last round for
[2:43:15] a number of reasons, both thanks to all
[2:43:17] of our teamwork. Um uh and um because
[2:43:22] our our socioeconomic conditions have
[2:43:24] changed just enough to allow us to
[2:43:26] qualify. Um and so we will um be using
[2:43:31] this money to establish or reestablish a
[2:43:33] housing rehabilitation program um in the
[2:43:37] next 18 months. and we will be
[2:43:39] contracting with Habitat for Humanity to
[2:43:41] uh run that program for us with us.
[2:43:45] >> Great.
[2:43:47] Any questions?
[2:43:48] >> My only comment is this is terrific.
[2:43:50] >> Yeah, I agree.
[2:43:52] >> Thank you for your work on this and this
[2:43:54] is good for the city.
[2:43:55] >> I make a motion to approve order number
[2:43:57] 17.
[2:43:57] >> All right. Second. All right. All those
[2:43:59] in favor?
[2:44:00] >> I.
[2:44:01] >> Motion passes three to zero.
[2:44:04] Okay. Now we have um order number nine
[2:44:06] which is the public hearing one of the
[2:44:09] public hearings that we had tonight. Um
[2:44:11] the community community preservation
[2:44:13] committee out of cycle CPA funding
[2:44:15] recommendations request for CPA CPA
[2:44:18] funding for independence park
[2:44:19] renovations.
[2:44:21] Um, I know we didn't have any public
[2:44:23] speakers or any questions on that on the
[2:44:25] floor, but are there any further
[2:44:27] discussions or questions that
[2:44:30] >> I I I would just comment that I think
[2:44:31] that uh out of cycle um applications are
[2:44:36] uh uh appropriate in both this case and in general to provide flexibility
[2:44:41] for the CPC to to you know conduct its
[2:44:45] mission. So
[2:44:47] >> I would agree.
[2:44:49] This is just a brief comment just to say
[2:44:51] that I think one of the reasons that
[2:44:52] there were a few questions I I always
[2:44:54] appreciate I think our our CPC
[2:44:58] group comes very prepared. Mr. Beckwith
[2:45:00] I know is still with us um I feel like
[2:45:03] addresses a lot of the questions up
[2:45:04] front and so Mr. Beckwith I just want to
[2:45:05] say thank you to you and the committee
[2:45:08] um for the thorough the thorough vetting
[2:45:10] that you do of the grant applications
[2:45:12] that come to you and then the way that
[2:45:13] you help to um bring the information to
[2:45:16] the council. I I find it very helpful. I
[2:45:17] think that comes through too in in a an
[2:45:21] opportunity like this where there were
[2:45:22] not a lot of questions. I think in part
[2:45:24] because the materials that we received
[2:45:26] were were very thoroughly prepared. So
[2:45:28] thank you.
[2:45:31] >> Agreed. Very much appreciated.
[2:45:33] >> I would make a motion to approve over
[2:45:35] number nine.
[2:45:35] >> All right. Second.
[2:45:36] >> All right. All those in favor?
[2:45:37] >> I. All right. Motion passes 300. All
[2:45:40] right. Number 10.
[2:45:43] I will take 10 and 10. So, the next two
[2:45:46] are going to be about the the other two
[2:45:48] public hearings that we had today. And
[2:45:50] because this is these are both going to
[2:45:52] be going back out to the full committee.
[2:45:54] And I think it's appropriate to have any
[2:45:57] more discussion that we have there with
[2:45:58] the full council. Um I'm going to um
[2:46:03] entertain a motion to refer the orders
[2:46:07] unless there's additional questions that
[2:46:09] you wanted to ask in subcommittee.
[2:46:11] >> Both you and I have already commented on
[2:46:13] it. Um, so unless council president
[2:46:15] wants to weigh.
[2:46:16] >> Yes, we actually if you'd like an
[2:46:18] opportunity to
[2:46:19] >> Thank you.
[2:46:20] >> this committee to make any comments.
[2:46:22] >> Thank you. Um, thank you. I appreciate
[2:46:25] that. I I will be very brief. Um,
[2:46:27] because I think we did have really good
[2:46:28] conversation about it and we will, as
[2:46:30] you pointed out, have the chance for
[2:46:31] more. But I do appreciate the
[2:46:33] opportunity to just share a little tiny
[2:46:36] perspective because of course in the
[2:46:38] full council it's not as easy for the
[2:46:40] president to do so. Um I I too really
[2:46:43] appreciated both the presentation. I
[2:46:45] also appreciated the points that the two
[2:46:48] of you helped to draw out. I think it is
[2:46:50] I I think it is hard um to look from the
[2:46:54] outside in and sometimes to make sense
[2:46:56] of for folks how it can be that we can
[2:46:59] be talking about a challenge to our
[2:47:00] operating budget and the need for a
[2:47:04] project that looks like we're going to
[2:47:05] be we we are deciding to take on debt.
[2:47:08] Um and I thought the comments that you
[2:47:11] both offered along with other counselors
[2:47:12] in the presentation helped to to make
[2:47:15] clearer the point that as you said
[2:47:18] counselor um two things can be true at
[2:47:20] once. We can understand that we have a
[2:47:22] challenge in our operating budget. We
[2:47:23] can also understand this is a needed
[2:47:25] project and the importance of
[2:47:27] maintaining our our debt service as
[2:47:29] well. So um I'm I am in favor of the
[2:47:32] project. I appreciate the team's
[2:47:34] presentation tonight. I do feel that was
[2:47:37] really helpful not only for the council
[2:47:39] but for anybody following along as well
[2:47:41] just to be able to understand
[2:47:43] better what the scope of the project is
[2:47:45] and and how we intend to get there. So
[2:47:47] thank you.
[2:47:47] >> Great. I agree. So do I have a motion?
[2:47:52] >> Um I would make a Yeah. So I'd make a
[2:47:54] motion. I think we
[2:47:54] >> we could just take 10 and then 10. Yeah.
[2:47:56] >> Yeah. make a motion to um approve for
[2:48:01] discussion by the full council's orders
[2:48:03] uh 10 and 10.
[2:48:05] >> All right. Do I have a second?
[2:48:06] >> Second and second.
[2:48:07] Okay. All those in
[2:48:08] favor in favor. One [laughter] I
[2:48:12] >> All right. Good teamwork.
[2:48:15] >> Um okay. Now we're moving on to
[2:48:19] Okay. Got a bunch of donations and
[2:48:23] grants which is great. So, I'm going to
[2:48:26] take these in order. 18 is order number
[2:48:29] 18 is a donation for $3,000 from the
[2:48:32] Beverly Female Charitable Society to
[2:48:34] support the Council on Aging.
[2:48:37] >> Do I have any discussion? I
[2:48:39] >> I didn't know there was a Beverly Female
[2:48:41] Charitable Society, but I'm glad there
[2:48:43] is. And um my mother-in-law I think it's
[2:48:45] a terrific donation. I've uh unless
[2:48:47] there's discussion,
[2:48:49] >> make a motion to approve order 18.
[2:48:52] >> I will second that motion. uh with
[2:48:54] appreciation for the society. I did
[2:48:57] happen to know about it and they they do
[2:48:59] a lot of really amazing generous work.
[2:49:01] So we are fortunate to have them at work
[2:49:03] in our community and fortunate to have
[2:49:04] this donation and my mother-in-law is on
[2:49:06] it. [laughter]
[2:49:09] >> Okay. [snorts] Order number 19, a
[2:49:10] donation for $10,000 from an anonymous
[2:49:13] donation for the Council on Aging.
[2:49:16] >> I would make a motion to approve order
[2:49:17] 19.
[2:49:18] >> Second. All those in favor?
[2:49:20] >> I motion pass 30. Order number 20, a
[2:49:24] grant for $163,000
[2:49:27] or $163,964
[2:49:31] for 911 EO PSS OGR support and incentive
[2:49:36] grant.
[2:49:38] >> Do I have any questions?
[2:49:39] >> Um, no. I think it's great. I don't know
[2:49:41] if if the mayor or anyone wants to
[2:49:44] comment on this, but um
[2:49:47] you know, we've been moving towards
[2:49:49] dispatch services for a while and
[2:49:51] >> if or Miss Barrett, that would be
[2:49:54] >> Thank you. Katherine Barrett, director
[2:49:56] of grants. These are the two annual 911
[2:49:58] grants.
[2:49:58] >> I'd just like to call to order the
[2:50:00] committee on the whole at uh 9:49. Thank
[2:50:04] you. Sorry about that.
[2:50:06] >> Yeah, these are the two annual 911
[2:50:08] grants that the Beverly Police
[2:50:09] Department receives. One of them is the
[2:50:10] support and incentive grant uh which is
[2:50:13] for um our enhanced 911 services and the
[2:50:16] other one is the training grant which
[2:50:18] provides funds to train uh officers.
[2:50:23] » What?
[2:50:25] >> EOPS executive office for public safety
[2:50:28] and service.
[2:50:31] >> She knows her stuff. [laughter]
[2:50:34] >> All right. Um that's great. Um and I do
[2:50:38] remember these coming up. I'd make a a
[2:50:39] motion to approve order number 20.
[2:50:41] >> All right. Do I have a second?
[2:50:42] >> Second. All right. All those in favor?
[2:50:44] >> I.
[2:50:44] >> Motion passes. Three to zero. All right.
[2:50:46] And 21 is similar. It's grant for
[2:50:50] $69,6328
[2:50:53] for the 911 EOP EOPS OGR 911 training
[2:50:57] grant.
[2:50:58] >> Likewise, I would make a motion to
[2:51:00] approve order number 21.
[2:51:01] >> Second. All those in favor?
[2:51:03] >> I.
[2:51:04] >> All right. Motion passes 30. That's on
[2:51:06] order number 21. Order number 22 grant
[2:51:09] for a mass D technical assistant grant
[2:51:15] the amount.
[2:51:18] » All right. Hello again. Um, so this
[2:51:21] grant actually is a requirement for the
[2:51:24] city to be eligible for the SMRP PAWYT
[2:51:27] grant, which will um hopefully allow
[2:51:30] funds for us when we switch to automated
[2:51:33] refu and recycling and potentially
[2:51:35] composting pickup to receive between 10
[2:51:38] or $30 towards the purchase of those
[2:51:40] receptacles up to $300,000. So that will
[2:51:45] be uh an important grant uh that we'll
[2:51:47] be eligible to apply for after doing the
[2:51:49] technical assistance.
[2:51:51] >> Okay. So is there a financial amount
[2:51:53] associated with this or this is just
[2:51:55] >> not with this grant? No.
[2:51:56] >> The next one? Yes.
[2:51:58] >> Got it. Okay.
[2:52:00] >> Do anyone have any questions?
[2:52:02] >> Um no. Although I think it's it's it's
[2:52:05] terrific that we're moving in this
[2:52:06] direction. So I would make an motion to
[2:52:08] approve order number 22.
[2:52:09] >> I second. All right. All those in favor?
[2:52:11] I
[2:52:14] >> All right. Order number 23, a $2,500
[2:52:17] Mass Executive Office of Labor and
[2:52:19] Workforce Development Workplace Safety
[2:52:22] and Education Grant.
[2:52:25] Any questions? Is there you have
[2:52:27] anything to say? If it's if it's
[2:52:29] standard, it's okay.
[2:52:30] >> Straight forward. Y um thanks to our
[2:52:32] health department director, Laura
[2:52:35] Reichi, her new um married name, uh for
[2:52:38] applying for this grant. And there's no
[2:52:39] match funding required either.
[2:52:41] >> Great. All right.
[2:52:43] >> I would make a motion to approve order
[2:52:44] number 23.
[2:52:45] >> Second.
[2:52:46] >> All right. All those in favor?
[2:52:47] >> I.
[2:52:49] >> We're getting there, guys. Almost there.
[2:52:50] All right. Order number 24, a grass tech
[2:52:54] collaborative mass broadband institute
[2:52:56] connected and online grant.
[2:53:01] Thanks. I just wanted to say a few words
[2:53:03] about this grant. Um this grant is
[2:53:06] through again Massastec collaborative
[2:53:07] Mass Broadbian Institute and devices are
[2:53:10] being provided to towns and cities
[2:53:12] across the Commonwealth at no cost. And
[2:53:15] so you can see there's 220 devices that
[2:53:17] the city will be receiving and we're
[2:53:20] distributing to the partners that are
[2:53:21] highlighted in the letter. Um and the
[2:53:24] software is preloaded. So it really is
[2:53:26] no cost to the city um for those
[2:53:28] devices.
[2:53:29] >> That's great.
[2:53:31] >> Yeah. So I have a question about this.
[2:53:32] Um, first of all, I think it's terrific.
[2:53:35] Um, and and very interesting. My
[2:53:38] question has to do with uh, so the
[2:53:40] letter says it'll be uh, deployed to
[2:53:43] depart city departments. Um, are these
[2:53:46] basically a lending library of of these
[2:53:50] devices that get distributed to the
[2:53:52] departments? So each department, if I'm
[2:53:55] if that's correct, would be responsible
[2:53:57] sort of keeping track of these and
[2:53:59] having their own
[2:54:02] lending system to help uh you know help keep track of them, I guess.
[2:54:06] >> Yes. Um, so some of the departments,
[2:54:09] there's two departments that will be
[2:54:10] receiving them, the Council on Aging and
[2:54:12] the Beverly Public Library. Some devices
[2:54:14] will be lent out and there is a tracking
[2:54:16] process for that and we actually have to
[2:54:19] uh report quarterly for a period of five
[2:54:22] years on this grant because it's federal
[2:54:24] trickle down funds. So we have to keep
[2:54:27] track of those devices for a five-year
[2:54:29] period. Um, some of them will be loaners
[2:54:32] and then some will be uh like used in
[2:54:35] house at the library.
[2:54:37] Okay. Uh, Monzerat through you, Madam
[2:54:39] Chair. Um, uh, Monzerat College, Beverly
[2:54:42] Children's Learning Center webcam.
[2:54:45] >> Um, they I guess the letter indicates
[2:54:49] that they will also get some of these
[2:54:51] for and then they will use them
[2:54:53] themselves or they will lend them out.
[2:54:56] >> They will lend them out. Um some of them
[2:54:58] will be used on location, some will be
[2:55:00] lent out and again they are responsible
[2:55:03] for keeping track of those devices for
[2:55:05] the quarterly reporting
[2:55:07] >> and and that basically they kind of
[2:55:08] report back to you then as the
[2:55:10] >> they do. Yes. Quarterly we're
[2:55:12] responsible for doing reporting back to
[2:55:14] the funer uh each quarter.
[2:55:16] >> Okay. Thank you. I have more questions.
[2:55:20] >> I would make a motion to approve order
[2:55:21] number 24.
[2:55:22] >> All right. Second. All right. All those
[2:55:24] in favor? I
[2:55:25] >> I motion passes 30.
[2:55:28] All right. Order number 25, a grant for
[2:55:30] $15,000
[2:55:32] Mass Cultural Coun Mass Cultural Council
[2:55:36] Cultural District Investment Grant.
[2:55:39] >> See,
[2:55:40] >> I know this is a lot of credit. It's a
[2:55:43] lot of words in a row. Um
[2:55:46] >> yeah.
[2:55:47] Um this is has become an annual grant
[2:55:50] that we've received from the Mass
[2:55:51] Cultural Council to support uh
[2:55:54] initiatives in the cultural district um
[2:55:56] which is on Cabbat Street. Um and
[2:56:01] this year we're planning on using it for
[2:56:03] support to kind of get off the ground
[2:56:05] the Bower that Monzerat um and Beverly
[2:56:08] Main Streets and the Cabat have recently
[2:56:10] established at 248 Cabbat Street. Um and
[2:56:13] Monstrat and Beverly Main Streets and
[2:56:15] the city of Beverly are the three key
[2:56:17] main partners of the cultural district.
[2:56:19] Um and so um we're going to help kind of
[2:56:23] get some events and programming and kind
[2:56:25] of upkeep and locks and security in
[2:56:28] place there so that can be used now as
[2:56:29] the hub of our cultural district.
[2:56:32] >> Great.
[2:56:33] >> Uh I think this is terrific. I'd make a
[2:56:36] motion to approve order number 25.
[2:56:37] >> Second. Great. All those in favor? I.
[2:56:40] >> All right. Motion passes 30. Order
[2:56:42] number 26, a donation, a $100 donation
[2:56:45] from David Men Mandanka
[2:56:48] to be used to purchase Shaw's gift cards
[2:56:51] for veterans. That's nice.
[2:56:53] >> I would make a motion approve order
[2:56:55] number 26.
[2:56:56] >> Second. All right. All those in favor?
[2:56:58] >> I.
[2:56:59] >> Motion passes 30. Order number 27, a
[2:57:01] grant for 550,000
[2:57:04] Seport Economic Council grant for
[2:57:08] commercial hoist pure reconstruction.
[2:57:11] Thank you. So, this is the second grant
[2:57:14] we've received in the last um three
[2:57:16] years for the commercial hoist pier. The
[2:57:18] first one was for $656,000
[2:57:22] and um the cost of that project has gone
[2:57:24] up over the last three years. So, we
[2:57:26] have a second grant to supplement. This
[2:57:28] grant actually has two matches. The
[2:57:31] first half 68,750
[2:57:33] is coming from the harbor management
[2:57:34] authority fund and the other 68,750 is
[2:57:38] from the waterways improvement fund. So
[2:57:40] this um does necessitate a public
[2:57:42] hearing.
[2:57:44] >> So you won't be able to vote on that
[2:57:46] tonight?
[2:57:46] >> Got it. So
[2:57:49] we
[2:57:51] do we have a public hearing that we were
[2:57:54] considering timing wise.
[2:57:56] >> Could I ask Miss Barrett a question? Um,
[2:57:58] Miss Barrett, could I just ask you? I'm
[2:58:00] just looking at the other public
[2:58:01] hearings that I anticipate public
[2:58:02] services was setting for the 2nd of
[2:58:03] February, and there's quite a few. Is
[2:58:06] there a a an urgency attached to this?
[2:58:08] >> There is. Yeah, the project's supposed
[2:58:10] to start February 2nd. So, there
[2:58:11] definitely is. It's time sensitive.
[2:58:14] >> So, may I ask a followup?
[2:58:15] >> Yes.
[2:58:16] >> The next regular meeting of the council
[2:58:18] is February 2nd. What? That sounds like
[2:58:20] that would be
[2:58:20] >> dubtales perfectly.
[2:58:21] >> That would work. Okay. Um, Madam Chair,
[2:58:24] could I make a suggestion then that we
[2:58:26] set that public hearing for February 2nd
[2:58:29] at 8
[2:58:31] >> 45? 8:45. Okay. I
[2:58:36] would entertain a motion to set this
[2:58:39] public hearing for 8:45 on February 2nd.
[2:58:41] >> So moved.
[2:58:42] >> Second. All those in favor?
[2:58:43] >> I.
[2:58:45] Great. All right.
[2:58:48] We have one more and then a note. Order
[2:58:52] number 32, a donation of $50, a donation
[2:58:55] from John Lindel in memory of Daniel
[2:58:58] Beecher, the owner of Northshore Carpet
[2:59:00] to support the Beverly Police
[2:59:01] Department.
[2:59:03] >> Um, I I would like to thank Mr. Lindol
[2:59:06] for this donation and make a motion to
[2:59:08] approve order 32.
[2:59:10] >> Second.
[2:59:10] >> All right. All those in favor?
[2:59:12] >> I motion passes three to zero. And there
[2:59:15] was one other item that
[2:59:19] on the record was sent to this
[2:59:20] committee, but
[2:59:22] >> order 43.
[2:59:23] >> Yes. I would entertain a motion to send
[2:59:26] this order number 43 to create this
[2:59:30] temporary special committee to explore
[2:59:32] options for addressing the looming 2027
[2:59:35] forecasted budget deficit. I got to say
[2:59:37] it again. Um to legal affairs.
[2:59:42] >> Uh I would make a motion. I I make a
[2:59:44] motion to uh send order number 43 uh
[2:59:48] through
[2:59:50] uh to legal affairs and if necessary by
[2:59:54] way of full counsel or if not then
[2:59:57] directly.
[2:59:57] >> I think it can go directly if we vote it that way. So I would second I
[3:00:01] would second that.
[3:00:02] >> All right.
[3:00:03] >> So to legal affairs.
[3:00:04] >> Okay.
[3:00:05] >> My motion. All those in favor to legal.
[3:00:09] [laughter] Yes.
[3:00:12] Motion passes three.
[3:00:15] All right. That is all we had on our
[3:00:17] agenda for tonight. So I would entertain
[3:00:19] a motion to conclude um to committee of
[3:00:23] the whole first um to
[3:00:27] recess the committee of the whole.
[3:00:30] >> So moved.
[3:00:33] » Do I have a second?
[3:00:35] I second.
[3:00:36] >> All right. All those in favor?
[3:00:38] >> I.
[3:00:39] >> And then I would entertain a motion to
[3:00:41] recess the uh committee on finance and
[3:00:43] property.
[3:00:44] >> So moved.
[3:00:44] >> Oh, you can adjourn.
[3:00:45] >> Ajourn. Sorry. Ajourn. Yes.
[3:00:47] >> Second.
[3:00:48] >> All [snorts] those in favor?
[3:00:49] >> Motion passes 300.
[3:00:51] >> Couldn't think of the
[3:00:52] >> All right. Thank you.
[3:00:53] >> Thank you.
[3:02:13] very much everyone. We'll call
[3:02:15] the full council back to order. Uh thank
[3:02:17] you to our subcommittees and thank you
[3:02:19] to our subcommittee chairs. Of course,
[3:02:21] we are in our new term and so our
[3:02:23] subcommittees are uh all new newly
[3:02:26] reappointed and our subcommittee chairs
[3:02:28] are also newly reappointed. So thank you
[3:02:29] to everyone for your work. And Miss
[3:02:31] Kent, let's go to reports from
[3:02:33] committees. Order number nine, the
[3:02:35] committee on finance and property to
[3:02:36] whom refer the matter regarding a
[3:02:37] community preservation committee out of
[3:02:39] cycle CPA funding recommendation have
[3:02:42] considered said matter and beg the to
[3:02:44] follow. Recommend the council approve
[3:02:45] this request.
[3:02:48] Yes, thank you. Uh, councelor Retundo is
[3:02:51] going to recuse himself from this one
[3:02:53] because of his work with the Beverly 400
[3:02:56] plus committee. Um, so are there
[3:03:00] questions or comments on this one?
[3:03:04] Question comes on the acceptance of the
[3:03:06] proposal and adoption of the order. All
[3:03:08] those in favor I.
[3:03:10] >> That carries 80 and that is approved.
[3:03:13] Thank you very much, counselor.
[3:03:15] Order number 10, the committee on
[3:03:17] finance and property to whom referred,
[3:03:19] excuse [clears throat] me, would refer
[3:03:20] the matter regarding a loan
[3:03:21] authorization for 25,895,000
[3:03:24] for the project funding request for
[3:03:26] rehabilitation of city hall of
[3:03:27] considenc.
[3:03:29] Recommend the council approve this
[3:03:31] request. Are there questions or comments
[3:03:33] on this one?
[3:03:37] Councelor Sincler.
[3:03:41] » Thank you, Madam President. I just
[3:03:42] wanted to point out we just referred a
[3:03:46] um a a order to finance and property
[3:03:49] regarding the looming financial forecast
[3:03:52] and I think that was sort of the crux of
[3:03:54] what we just talked about. So we're
[3:03:56] going to approve a project without
[3:03:59] knowing how we're going to deal with the
[3:04:00] budget that is before us. We're going to
[3:04:03] be talking about that soon, but here we
[3:04:05] are voting on it now. So just thought
[3:04:08] I'd point that out. I'm I'm voting no on
[3:04:10] this.
[3:04:11] Thank you, councelor St. Heler.
[3:04:14] Is there other discussion from
[3:04:16] councilors on this order?
[3:04:21] Councelor Sp. Thank you, Madam
[3:04:24] President. Um, as the W 2 city councelor
[3:04:27] and where city hall services and helps
[3:04:30] out all members of the community, but it
[3:04:32] does sit in W 2, I'd be remiss not to
[3:04:36] point out I think everybody agrees that
[3:04:37] the building needs work. So, I don't
[3:04:40] think there's any disagreement on that
[3:04:42] or the merits of the project. I'm voting
[3:04:45] in favor of it. Uh, mostly because I
[3:04:49] understand the concerns that if of how
[3:04:52] much more it would cost if we delayed
[3:04:55] the vote for a year or two years. Um,
[3:04:59] and that the fact that the city has
[3:05:01] already put 1.5 million towards this
[3:05:04] project and worked on it for years. Um,
[3:05:08] and so that's where my thinking is
[3:05:10] coming from for this.
[3:05:11] >> Thank you, councelor Spang. Is there any
[3:05:14] other discussion or comments from
[3:05:15] counselors on this order?
[3:05:21] Okay. The question comes on the
[3:05:23] acceptance of the proposal and adoption
[3:05:24] of the order. And before I ask you for
[3:05:26] your vote, I will remind us this is a
[3:05:29] loan authorization vote. This requires a
[3:05:31] twothirds majority rather than a simple
[3:05:33] majority. Uh so acceptance the proposal
[3:05:36] and adoption of the order. All those in
[3:05:38] favor I
[3:05:44] all those opposed
[3:05:46] that carries 7 to two which does
[3:05:49] constitute a twothirds majority. Uh so
[3:05:52] that order does pass. Thank you.
[3:05:56] Um this
[3:05:57] >> order number 10A the committee on
[3:05:59] finance and property to whom referred
[3:06:00] the matter for a depth stabilization
[3:06:03] transfer request for two million dollars
[3:06:05] for the project funding request for
[3:06:07] rehabilitation at city hall have
[3:06:09] considen matter and beg leave default
[3:06:11] recommend the council approve this
[3:06:12] request. Are there questions or comments
[3:06:14] on this one?
[3:06:17] The question comes on the acceptance of
[3:06:19] the proposal and adoption of the order.
[3:06:20] All those in favor I.
[3:06:24] and all those opposed.
[3:06:27] The order carries 72. Thank you.
[3:06:32] >> Order number 11. The committee on
[3:06:34] finance and property to whom referred
[3:06:35] the matter regarding an appointment for
[3:06:37] Donna Matarazzo to serve as city
[3:06:39] accountant have considered a matter and
[3:06:40] beg leave to follow. Recommend the
[3:06:41] council approve this appointment. Other
[3:06:43] questions or comments on this one?
[3:06:46] Question comes on the acceptance of the
[3:06:47] proposal and adoption of the order. All
[3:06:49] those in favor? I.
[3:06:51] That carries 90.
[3:06:54] Order number 16. The committee on
[3:06:56] finance and property to whom further the
[3:06:57] matter regarding a reappointment for
[3:06:59] Brian Als to serve as director of
[3:07:00] municipal finance have considered a
[3:07:02] matter and begley to follow. Recommend
[3:07:03] the council approve this reappoint.
[3:07:05] >> Questions or comments? Question comes on
[3:07:08] the acceptance of the proposal and
[3:07:09] adoption of the order. All those in
[3:07:11] favor I.
[3:07:13] That car. Oh. Uh, any opposed?
[3:07:16] >> Oh, sorry. Okay. So,
[3:07:18] >> wait. You oppose, Bryant? No, [laughter]
[3:07:20] I don't think so. I was gonna say I I
[3:07:23] was just gonna say yeah.
[3:07:25] >> No, luckily he left.
[3:07:27] >> I'm sorry. I figured it out. We were all
[3:07:29] raising our hand for the beginning. Um
[3:07:32] just for my own clarity and for for
[3:07:34] everybody watching, all those in favor
[3:07:36] I.
[3:07:37] >> That carries 9 Z. Thank you. Order
[3:07:40] number 17, the committee on finance and
[3:07:42] property to whom referred the matter
[3:07:43] regarding an $850,000 grant from the
[3:07:45] Mass Executive Office of Housing and
[3:07:47] Livable Communities have considered said
[3:07:50] matter and beg leave to follow.
[3:07:51] Recommend the council approve this
[3:07:52] request. Questions or comments on this
[3:07:54] one? Question comes on the acceptance of
[3:07:56] the proposal and adoption of the order.
[3:07:58] All those in favor? I. That carries 90.
[3:08:05] Order number 18, the committee on
[3:08:07] finance and property to whom referred
[3:08:09] the matter regarding a $3,000 donation
[3:08:10] from the Beverly Female Charitable
[3:08:12] Society to support the council on aging
[3:08:14] have considered the matter and beg me to
[3:08:15] follow. Recommend the council approve
[3:08:17] this request. Questions or comments?
[3:08:19] The question comes on the acceptance of
[3:08:21] the proposal and the adoption of the
[3:08:23] order. All those in favor I. That
[3:08:25] carries 90. And our thanks to the
[3:08:27] Beverly Female Charitable Society for
[3:08:29] that donation for our council on aging.
[3:08:31] Order number 19, the committee on
[3:08:33] finance and property to whom referred
[3:08:34] the matter regarding a $10,000 anonymous
[3:08:37] donation for the council on aging have
[3:08:39] considered the matter and beg me to
[3:08:40] follow. Recommend the council approve
[3:08:41] this request. Questions or comments?
[3:08:44] Question comes on the acceptance of the
[3:08:46] proposal and adoption of the order. All
[3:08:48] those in favor I. That carries 90 and
[3:08:51] thanks to that donor if they are
[3:08:53] following along for that generous gift.
[3:08:55] Order number 20, the committee on
[3:08:56] finance and property to whom for the
[3:08:58] matter regarding a $163,964
[3:09:02] 911 EOPSS
[3:09:05] OGR support and incentive grant have
[3:09:07] cons considered said matter and beg
[3:09:09] leave to follow. Recommend the council
[3:09:10] approve this request.
[3:09:11] >> Questions or comments? Question comes on
[3:09:14] the acceptance of the proposal and
[3:09:15] adoption of the order. All those in
[3:09:17] favor I. That carries 90. Order number
[3:09:20] 21 of the committee on finance and
[3:09:22] property to whom referred the matter
[3:09:23] regarding a $69,6328
[3:09:28] 911 EOPSS ogr 911 training grant have
[3:09:31] considered said matter and beg to
[3:09:33] follow. Recommend the council approve
[3:09:34] this request.
[3:09:35] >> Questions or comments? Question comes on
[3:09:37] the acceptance of the proposal and
[3:09:39] adoption of the order. All those in
[3:09:40] favor I that carries 90. Order number
[3:09:43] 22. The committee on finance and
[3:09:45] property to whom refer the matter
[3:09:46] regarding a mass D technical assistant
[3:09:48] grant have considered the matter and beg
[3:09:50] leave to follow. Recommend the council
[3:09:51] approved this request. Questions or
[3:09:53] comments? Question comes on the
[3:09:55] acceptance of the proposal and adoption
[3:09:57] of the order. All those in favor I. That
[3:10:00] carries 90. Order number 23. The
[3:10:02] committee on finance and property to
[3:10:03] whom referred the matter regarding a
[3:10:05] 2500 mass executive office of labor and
[3:10:08] workforce development and education
[3:10:10] [clears throat] grant have considered
[3:10:12] the matter. recommend the council
[3:10:14] approve the request.
[3:10:15] >> Questions or comments? Question comes on
[3:10:17] the acceptance of the proposal and
[3:10:19] adoption of the order. All those in
[3:10:20] favor? I. That carries 90. Order number
[3:10:23] 24. The committee on finance and
[3:10:25] property to whom refer the matter
[3:10:26] regarding a mass tech collaborative mass
[3:10:28] broadband institute connected and online
[3:10:30] grant have considered matter and beg
[3:10:33] thee to follow. Recommend the council
[3:10:34] approve this request. Questions or
[3:10:36] comments? Question comes on the
[3:10:38] acceptance of the proposal and adoption
[3:10:40] of the order. All those in favor? I.
[3:10:42] That carries 90.
[3:10:43] >> Order number 25. The committee on
[3:10:45] finance and property to whom refer the
[3:10:46] matter regarding a $15,000 mass cultural
[3:10:49] council district investment grant have
[3:10:52] considered a matter and beg leave to
[3:10:53] follow. Recommend the council approve
[3:10:55] this request. Questions or comments?
[3:10:57] Question comes on the acceptance of the
[3:10:58] proposal and adoption of the order. All
[3:11:00] those in favor? I. That carries 90.
[3:11:03] >> Order number 26. The committee on
[3:11:05] finance and property to whom referred
[3:11:07] the matter regarding a $100 donation
[3:11:10] from David Madona to be used to purchase
[3:11:11] Shaw's gift cards for veterans have
[3:11:14] considered the matter and beg leave to
[3:11:15] follow. Recommend the council approve
[3:11:16] this request. Questions or comments?
[3:11:19] Question comes on the acceptance of the
[3:11:20] proposal and adoption of the order. All
[3:11:22] those in favor I. That carries 90 and
[3:11:25] thank you to Mr. Mandanka for that
[3:11:26] donation for our veterans. Order number
[3:11:29] 27, the committee on finance and
[3:11:30] property to whom referred the matter
[3:11:32] regarding a $550,000 SE port economic
[3:11:35] council grant for commercial hoist pier
[3:11:38] reconstruction have considered matter
[3:11:39] and beg to follow. Set a public hearing
[3:11:42] for February 2nd at 8:45 p.m. I would
[3:11:46] entertain a motion to set that public
[3:11:48] hearing as recommended by the
[3:11:49] subcommittee for February 2nd 8:45 p.m.
[3:11:54] >> All those in favor?
[3:11:56] >> Thank you. So, we'll set that public
[3:11:57] hearing that carries 9:0. We'll set that
[3:11:59] for our February 2nd meeting and it'll
[3:12:01] be at 8:45 p.m. Order number 32, the
[3:12:03] committee on finance property to whom
[3:12:04] refer the matter regarding a $50
[3:12:06] donation from John Lindal in memory of
[3:12:08] Daniel Beecher, the owner of Northshore
[3:12:10] carpet to support the Beverly Police
[3:12:12] Department have considered said matter
[3:12:14] and begley to follow. Recommend the
[3:12:15] council approve this request. Questions
[3:12:17] or comments? Question comes on the
[3:12:19] acceptance of the proposal and adoption
[3:12:21] of the order. All those in favor? I.
[3:12:23] That carries 90 and thank you to Mr.
[3:12:25] Landalf for that donation as well.
[3:12:28] >> Order number 43, the committee on
[3:12:30] finance and property to whom refer the
[3:12:32] matter regarding a proposed proposal to
[3:12:34] create a temporary special committee to
[3:12:36] explore options for addressing the
[3:12:37] looming 2027 forecasted budget deficit.
[3:12:40] Have considered matter and beg leave to
[3:12:42] follow. Send it to legal affairs.
[3:12:46] Thank you very much. Uh so we this is
[3:12:50] basically just moving from one
[3:12:51] subcommittee to the next. So legal
[3:12:52] affairs um you will have over 43
[3:12:55] [clears throat] to be able to take up at
[3:12:57] the next meeting.
[3:13:01] No,
[3:13:03] >> I think I can just refer it there. Yeah.
[3:13:06] Um order 33. The committee on legal fees
[3:13:09] to refer the matter regarding a renewal
[3:13:10] application for taxi delivery license
[3:13:12] for Tri CD services have considered
[3:13:14] matter and beg to follow recommend the
[3:13:16] license be granted. Uh there questions
[3:13:19] or comments on this one? Question comes
[3:13:21] on the acceptance of the proposal and
[3:13:23] adoption of the order. All those in
[3:13:24] favor I. That carries 90. Order number
[3:13:28] 34. The committee on legal affairs to
[3:13:30] whom referred the matter regarding a
[3:13:31] renewal application for a class 2 motor
[3:13:33] vehicle dealer license for AJ's mobile
[3:13:35] detailing at 453 rele street have
[3:13:37] considered said matter and beg leave to
[3:13:40] follow. Recommend that license be
[3:13:41] granted. Questions or comments? Question
[3:13:44] comes on the acceptance of the proposal
[3:13:45] and adoption of the order. All those in
[3:13:47] favor? I. That carries 90. Order number
[3:13:50] 35. The committee on legal fees to whom
[3:13:52] referred the matter regarding a renewal
[3:13:53] application for a class 2 motor vehicle
[3:13:55] deal license for American Petroleum at
[3:13:57] 586 Cabat Street have considered matter
[3:14:00] and begley to follow. We recommend the
[3:14:02] council approve this license.
[3:14:03] >> Questions or comments? Question comes on
[3:14:06] the acceptance of the proposal and
[3:14:07] adoption of the order. All those in
[3:14:09] favor I. That carries 90. Order number
[3:14:12] 36. The committee on legal affairs to
[3:14:13] whom referred the matter regarding a
[3:14:14] renewal application for a class 2 motor
[3:14:16] vehicle deal license for a bridto corp
[3:14:18] dba autodine at 810 ran to uh rare road
[3:14:22] ab have considered matter and begley to
[3:14:24] follow recommend the license be granted.
[3:14:26] Questions or comments? Question comes on
[3:14:29] the acceptance of the proposal and
[3:14:30] adoption of the order. All those in
[3:14:31] favor I that carries 90. Order number
[3:14:35] 39, the committee on legal affairs to
[3:14:36] whom referred the matter regarding a
[3:14:38] renewal application for Hawkins and
[3:14:40] pedals license for George Samson at 22
[3:14:42] Federal Street have considers matter and
[3:14:43] begley to follow. Recommend the license
[3:14:45] be granted.
[3:14:46] >> Questions or comments? Question comes on
[3:14:48] the acceptance of the proposal and
[3:14:50] adoption of the order. All those in
[3:14:51] [snorts] favor I. That carries 90. Order
[3:14:55] 41. The committee of legal affairs to
[3:14:56] whom referred the matter regarding a new
[3:14:58] application for a taxi delivery license
[3:15:00] for Bass River day activity program 437
[3:15:03] Essex Street have considency to follow.
[3:15:06] Recommend the license be granted.
[3:15:07] >> Questions or comments? Question comes on
[3:15:10] the acceptance of the proposal and
[3:15:11] adoption of the order. All those in
[3:15:13] favor I. That carries 90. Order number
[3:15:16] 42. The committee on legal fees to whom
[3:15:18] referred the matter regarding a proposed
[3:15:20] proposal to create a coin memorial
[3:15:22] subcommittee citizen matter and beg
[3:15:23] leave to follow. I recommend the council
[3:15:25] approve this request.
[3:15:27] Are there questions or comments on this
[3:15:28] one?
[3:15:31] This is a proposed ordinance change. So,
[3:15:34] this is available for a first vote this
[3:15:36] evening
[3:15:41] » or solicitor has something to say about
[3:15:44] it.
[3:15:45] >> Um, I believe this is intended to be a
[3:15:48] proposed order, not an ordinance change.
[3:15:51] um based on discussion in the
[3:15:52] subcommittee of Mr. Mady
[3:15:54] >> if I'm wrong I'm happy to
[3:15:57] >> go through the procedure for that but
[3:16:00] >> no you're right
[3:16:00] >> okay [laughter] I say if that was the
[3:16:02] discussion in the subcommittee and and
[3:16:03] that then that is works for me thank you
[3:16:06] very much in that case other questions
[3:16:08] or comments
[3:16:10] >> then the question comes on the
[3:16:11] acceptance of the proposal and adoption
[3:16:12] of the order all those in favor I
[3:16:15] >> that carries 90 order number 44 the
[3:16:18] committee on legal affairs to whom
[3:16:21] for the matter regarding approve a
[3:16:23] conservation restriction to the Essex
[3:16:25] County Green Belt Association on land
[3:16:26] owned by the city of Beverly 14 and 34
[3:16:28] Simon have considered said matter and
[3:16:30] beg leave to follow. Recommend the
[3:16:31] council approve this request. Questions
[3:16:33] or comments? Question comes on the
[3:16:36] acceptance of the proposal and adoption
[3:16:37] of the order. All those in favor I. That
[3:16:40] carries 90.
[3:16:43] Order number 12. The committee on public
[3:16:45] services to whom referred the matter
[3:16:47] regarding an appointment for John
[3:16:48] Reynolds to serve on the veterans
[3:16:49] advisory committee have considered the
[3:16:51] matter and begley to follow. The council
[3:16:53] approves this appointment. Questions or
[3:16:55] comments? Question comes on the
[3:16:57] acceptance of the proposal and adoption
[3:16:59] of the order. All those in favor I that
[3:17:02] carries 90.
[3:17:03] >> Number 13, the committee on public
[3:17:05] services to whom referred the matter
[3:17:08] regarding a reappointment for Joanne Pen
[3:17:10] Penazu to serve on the trustees of the
[3:17:13] board of public library have considered
[3:17:16] such a matter and beg leave to follow.
[3:17:17] Recommend the council approve this
[3:17:18] reappoint.
[3:17:19] >> Questions or comments? Question comes on
[3:17:21] the acceptance of the proposal and
[3:17:23] adoption of the order. All those in
[3:17:24] favor? I. That carries 90. Order number
[3:17:27] 14, the committee on public services to
[3:17:30] whom refer the matter regarding a
[3:17:31] reappointment for Colleen Michaels to
[3:17:32] serve on the trustees of the public
[3:17:34] library have considered said matter and
[3:17:35] beg leave to follow. Recommend the
[3:17:36] council approve this reappoint.
[3:17:38] >> Questions or comments? Question comes on
[3:17:40] the acceptance of the proposal and
[3:17:41] adoption of the order. All those in
[3:17:43] favor I that carries 90. Order number
[3:17:46] 15. The committee on public services to
[3:17:48] whom refer the matter regarding a
[3:17:50] reappointment from Mary Burl to serve on
[3:17:52] the trustees of public library have
[3:17:54] considered to send matter and beg to
[3:17:56] follow recommend the council approve
[3:17:57] this appointment.
[3:17:58] >> Questions or comments? Question comes on
[3:18:00] the acceptance of the proposal and
[3:18:01] adoption of the order. All those in
[3:18:03] favor I that carries 90. Order number
[3:18:06] 47. The committee on public services to
[3:18:08] whom referred the matter regarding a
[3:18:10] petition 31234447
[3:18:12] to install underground facilities on Bo
[3:18:14] Wallace Cabin and Abbott Street have
[3:18:16] considered matter and begley to follow.
[3:18:18] Set a public hearing on February 2nd at
[3:18:21] 7:30 p.m. I would entertain a motion to
[3:18:23] set that public hearing as recommended
[3:18:25] by the subcommittee February 2nd 7:30
[3:18:27] p.m.
[3:18:29] All those in favor?
[3:18:31] >> Thank you. So that's 90 and we'll set
[3:18:33] that public hearing for our February 2nd
[3:18:35] meeting 7:30 p.m.
[3:18:37] >> Order number 48, Committee on Public
[3:18:38] Services to whom refer the matter
[3:18:40] regarding a petition 31247668
[3:18:42] to install underground facilities on
[3:18:44] Cabbat Street. Have considered matter
[3:18:46] and beg to follow. Set a public hearing
[3:18:48] on February 2nd at 7:40 p.m. I would
[3:18:51] entertain a motion to set that public
[3:18:52] hearing as recommended by the
[3:18:53] subcommittee February 2nd 7:40 p.m.
[3:18:57] >> All those in favor? That carries 90.
[3:19:00] Order number 49, the committee on public
[3:19:02] services to whom referred the matter
[3:19:03] regarding a petition to install and
[3:19:04] maintain underground facilities on
[3:19:06] Ashton Street have considered said
[3:19:07] matter and begley to fall set a public
[3:19:09] hearing on February 2nd at 7:50 p.m. I
[3:19:12] would entertain a motion to set that
[3:19:14] public hearing as recommended by the
[3:19:15] subcommittee February 2nd 7:50 p.m.
[3:19:19] >> All those in favor?
[3:19:21] >> Carries 90. Order number 50, the
[3:19:24] committee on public services to whom
[3:19:25] further matter regarding a petition to
[3:19:27] install and maintain underground
[3:19:28] facilities on Friend Street have
[3:19:30] considered said matter and beg leave to
[3:19:32] follow. Set a public hearing on February
[3:19:35] 2nd at 8:10 p.m. I would entertain a
[3:19:37] motion to set that public hearing as
[3:19:39] recommended by the subcommittee February
[3:19:41] 2nd 8:10 p.m.
[3:19:43] >> All those in favor that carries 90.
[3:19:46] Order number 51, the committee on public
[3:19:48] services to whom refer the matter
[3:19:49] regarding a pet petition to install and
[3:19:51] maintain underground facilities on East
[3:19:52] Street have considers matter matter beg
[3:19:55] to follow. Set public hearing February
[3:19:57] 2nd at 8:30 p.m. I would entertain a
[3:20:00] motion to set that public hearing as
[3:20:01] recommended by the subcommittee February
[3:20:03] 2nd 8:30 p.m.
[3:20:05] >> All those in favor? That carries 90. Uh
[3:20:09] thank you very much, Miss Kent. And so
[3:20:12] that brings us to the end of our agenda
[3:20:15] for this evening. Um that was a very
[3:20:18] full agenda to start off the term. Thank
[3:20:20] you to everybody who joined us here in
[3:20:22] council chambers. Thank you to uh city
[3:20:25] staff. Thank you to members of the
[3:20:26] public who came and spoke, listened and
[3:20:28] engaged. Thank you to Mr. Beckwith and
[3:20:32] uh members of the CPC. Although Mr.
[3:20:34] Beckwith, I see that you are the last CPC member standing. You've
[3:20:37] made it till the very end. Um, thank you
[3:20:40] for the discussion and conversation
[3:20:42] among counselors. Um, councelor Sonia,
[3:20:45] welcome. We had a chance to welcome
[3:20:47] councelor Mady at the end of the last
[3:20:48] term. Um, we did not have a chance to
[3:20:50] welcome you officially. Of course, you
[3:20:52] at the inauguration you were, but it's a
[3:20:54] pleasure to have you joining us up here.
[3:20:56] Um, not every meeting is this long.
[3:20:59] [laughter]
[3:21:00] >> This is fun.
[3:21:06] » Uh, thank you. of course to Kim in the
[3:21:08] Bev Cam booth for keeping our meeting
[3:21:10] accessible and available to everyone
[3:21:13] whether they were able to be here with
[3:21:14] us or not. Counselors, are there any
[3:21:16] announcements or reminders from the
[3:21:18] council? Councelor Retundo and then
[3:21:19] councelor Malady.
[3:21:20] >> I just want to make one statement from
[3:21:22] last weekend with the uh start of the
[3:21:24] Beverly 400 plus. I wanted to thank
[3:21:26] everyone involved. Great to see so many
[3:21:28] families down at Lynch Park as well as
[3:21:30] the community conversation. Get a full
[3:21:32] year of a lot of events. So, I just want
[3:21:34] to just kind of put my shout out to the
[3:21:36] committee who put that together last
[3:21:38] week. Thank you.
[3:21:39] >> Thank you. And thank you to you as well,
[3:21:41] councelor Ratundo for your work.
[3:21:43] >> Councelor Mady.
[3:21:46] >> Thank you very much. Uh on November
[3:21:48] 28th, the uh Beverly youth lacrosse
[3:21:51] program and Beverly youth football um
[3:21:53] lost a supporter and a parent named Russ
[3:21:55] Gordon. And this um upcoming Saturday uh
[3:21:59] the 24th at 4 o'clock at Inner Cycle um
[3:22:02] they're doing a fundraiser for uh Russ's
[3:22:04] son uh Bradley and his mom Christina. Uh
[3:22:07] if anybody is interested or available in
[3:22:10] um giving a financial donation uh to
[3:22:13] them, it would be greatly appreciated.
[3:22:14] Thank you.
[3:22:15] >> Thank you very much, counselor. Are
[3:22:17] there other announcements or reminders
[3:22:19] from the council?
[3:22:22] All right. Well, as we heard, our next
[3:22:25] regular meeting is February 2nd. We did
[3:22:28] just set a number of public hearings. We
[3:22:30] also do have a presentation scheduled
[3:22:31] from the Beverly Human Rights Committee.
[3:22:33] So, we'll get to hear from them about
[3:22:34] their work and have a chance to ask some
[3:22:36] questions if you have them. And with
[3:22:38] that, I would entertain a motion to
[3:22:40] adjurnn.
[3:22:42] >> All those in favor? Thank you very much.
[3:22:45] We're journed. Good night, everyone.
[3:22:46] Thank you.
[3:23:25] Hello.