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- Good evening.

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Welcome back from April Break.

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Everybody, the parents in the room,

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fantastic to be back in school.

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Good evening. The time is 6 45 on Monday, April 27th, 2026.

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This is a meeting of the

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Appropriations and Oversight Committee.

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My name is Devin Roman. I'm the chair.

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I'm also joined this evening by Vice Chair Vandiver,

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councilors Chen, Occhio Chetty, Cowell

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Park, and President Freeman and

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- Williams.

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- Oh, and Williams, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

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Look, you know what? Unreal councilor, because

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- You were sitting back in your chair.

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- I would, my big hair - Was hiding

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- You.

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Exactly, exactly. Forgive me.

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As well as Councilor Williams

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working on my tight five for standup tonight.

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You haven't said anything. I honestly would've just,

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this serves as a believe it

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or not, a notice of quorum for the record

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and accordance with the open meeting law.

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This meeting is being recorded and broadcast live on MMTV.

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At this time I'll motion by unanimous consent

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to approve without reading the minutes from our most recent

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meeting on April 6th.

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Seeing no objection, the minutes are now approved.

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I'll now motion by unanimous consent

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to open the floor for public comment.

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Seeing no objection, the floor is open for public comment.

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This is the portion of the meeting where members

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of the public may speak on any item on tonight's agenda.

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Comments expressing any viewpoints on

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other matters are also welcome.

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Do we have any members of the public who would like

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to have a chat?

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No. Do we have anybody online? No

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- One online.

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- Alright. If there's no objection, I will motion

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by unanimous consent to close public comment.

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Seeing none, we are now closed for public comment.

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First item on our agenda tonight is ID number 20 26 7 7 5

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Acceptance of a Climate Leaders Technical Assistance Grant

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and the amount of $139,000.

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Joining us this evening is Lori Maso. Good evening.

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Thank you for coming. Hello,

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- Good evening.

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Thank you for having me. So I'm here tonight

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to request acceptance of the $139,000

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of the Climate Leaders Technical Assistance Grant.

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This is from the Department of Energy Resources,

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and this money would go towards technical assistance

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for the design for placing solar panels on the salt shed in

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the DPW yard, and also the design

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for installing heat pumps at the middle school auditorium

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and the high school, the administrative offices there.

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So both of these projects would advance our climate goals

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of electrifying our buildings,

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and then also with the, the heat pumps for the,

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the middle school and the high school.

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Those portions of the building would be able to be,

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you know, heated and cooled in a separate from the rest

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of the school, which would have big energy savings.

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And also with this project, with the design of the project,

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we would then have the construction ready plans

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to be eligible to apply

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for climate Leaders Community Decarbonization Accelerator

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grant for implementation.

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And we are a climate leader, and so

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therefore we have the ability to apply for these grants

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and their, the number

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of applicants is fairly low at this point.

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We are pretty progressive in our energy sustainability

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e efforts in Melrose.

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So we're, it, will we hear it?

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We'll likely get that the grant to implement these projects.

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Thank you. Wonderful.

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- Thank you so much. We're also joined by Councillor Jamine.

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Good evening. Thanks. Up first I have Councillor Ro Thank

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- You.

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Thank you for being here. So

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you sort of answered the question.

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I I think I was premature with my, my asking a question.

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But you, so the grant is for the design of both items,

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and then once the design is done, you'll know approximately

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what the cost would be to get them implemented?

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- Yes. Yes. That would be part

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- Of it.

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And then you'd go back to request another grant, right?

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- Yes. - Okay. And you think

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that the 139,000 will cover the design,

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or do you think 48 like being more than that?

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- We've gotten estimates, so are confident with,

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you know, that number. Okay.

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- All right. Thank you. - Next I have Councillor Williams.

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- Thank you. It's great to see

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that we're continuing melrose's very strong history

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of sustainability and energy innovation.

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I know Martha would be happy to see the work that she sort

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of kicked off moved forward.

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And I want to make a motion

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to recommend this to the full counsel.

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- Second, we have a motion to recommend

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by Councilor Williams, seconded

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by Councilor Karen Chetty on discussion up,

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first I have Councillor Chen.

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- Are we putting this out to bid

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for two different contractors?

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One for an HVAC designer

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and then another one for a solar architect?

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- We, we actually have the contractors in place already

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through the proper procurement we were able to use.

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So Elena Pro Ellis is a partner in this project,

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and so she would have more detail on exactly

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who those people are, but we have checked that we are able

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to use those contractors to continue the design.

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So for like the Salt Shed, it was originally designed

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with the intention that we would put solar panels on that.

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So we were able to use, I believe it's Weston

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and Samson, to continue the design with within the law of,

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you know, being able to use the, the grant

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and also the state procurement laws.

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And then the, the same for the middle school

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and high school project.

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- Thank you. Up next I Councillor Park.

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- Thank you Lori, thank you for, for presenting this.

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As, as you know, through our previous meetings

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during the capital improvement project, I'm a big fan

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of trying to decrease costs anywhere we can have.

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I'm curious, have you done any cost analysis, savings

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and potentially what we could be gaining in terms

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of installing these solar panels on the shed as well

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as the heat pumps on in the schools?

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- I don't have that information,

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but we do work with engineers that

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come up with those calculations.

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So that is a,

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a big advantage not only advancing our climate goals,

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but reducing the utility costs.

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- Absolutely. It'd be a great thing for us to broadcast that

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in addition to just using it from funds outside

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of the revenue that we,

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or the levies that we get from the city,

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but, you know, just a way that we're proactively trying

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to save money for this, for the city itself.

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So yes, I would love to see those numbers at some point.

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Thank you.

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- Any other questions for my colleagues?

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Oh, I'm sorry President Friedman. It's

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- Alright.

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Ms. Masa, thanks so much for being here.

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I think this is, this is a great project

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and exciting for the city.

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Can you just talk a little bit about timing here in terms of

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how long will this technical assistance study take?

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And then when will we be looking to apply for the next step

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of the, of any available grants?

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- So we have the contractors in place

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and I believe that they will be working through the summer.

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I don't know the exact deadline,

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but this is a kind of a quick turnaround

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for getting the study done.

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And then we would apply, you know,

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I don't, sorry, I don't remember the date

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of when the acceptance for the, the

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Decarbonization Accelerator grant is happening,

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but we'll apply for the next round.

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- Awesome. Now that's good to hear that.

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Just that it's a quick study recognizing that we're one

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of the few communities that have this designation right now.

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It's great to hear. We'll be in the queue for

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that grant shortly, so thank you.

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- Wonderful. If that is the last, the commentary,

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Madam Clerk, will you please call the role?

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- Yes. Vice Chair Vandiver? Yes. Councilor Chen? Yes.

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Councilor Occhio? Yes. Counselor Jamine? Yes.

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Councilor Karen Chaney? Yes. Councillor Cole? Yes.

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Councillor Park? Yes. Councillor Williams? Yes.

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President Freeman? Yes. Chair Romano? Yes. Motion passes.

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- Alright, wonderful. That will be presented at

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our next full council meeting.

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Thank you very much. Up next, I know that we have

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some overlapping meetings tonight.

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We're doing a little, everyone's dance card is full.

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So as a professional courtesy, I wanted to make a, a motion

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by unanimous consent

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to take item number 20 26 7 4 9 in informational order

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on the Affordable housing trust.

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Out of order, seeing no objection,

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we'll take these items out of order.

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So up next we have ID number 20 26 7 49,

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the information order on the Affordable Housing Trust

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Fund board update.

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And we have assorted members of the board here before us.

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Feel free to introduce yourself. Yes.

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- Hi, good evening.

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Thank you Chair Romano

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and City Council for the opportunity to speak tonight.

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We're excited to talk to you about the work

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of the Affordable Housing Trust, some

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of the housing challenges that we see in Melrose

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and how we can partner moving forward.

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And we'll do brief introductions.

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My name's Amy Tierney and I am the chair of the trust.

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And joining me tonight, or my colleagues,

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I'm the Trust Vice Chair, Jerman and Treasurer Joe Viola.

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Our clerk, Helina Feld had

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to go away on a unexpected business trip,

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so she sends her regrets and is not here tonight.

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We just wanted to, I know you have the presentation,

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you have our guidelines, so we just wanna run through it

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and leave, have some time if you have any questions.

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But we just wanted to start with

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what the trust is and why it exists.

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Whoops. I can, okay, so here we are.

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So the trust is a statutory body that was established

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by the council in 2020 in accordance

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with the Mass General laws section.

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There's over 100 communities in Massachusetts

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that have affordable housing trusts.

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The trust is a volunteer board appointed by the mayor

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and confirmed by the council.

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We have four board members that are volunteers,

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and then a designee of the mayor's office,

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which is currently Ms.

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Mesa from the Office of Planning and Community Development.

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We spent a lot of time in the last year since we've all been

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kind of up and running, thinking about what our mission is

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and trying to be transparent

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and thoughtful about guidelines and next steps.

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So I just wanna kind of take a moment

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and think about what the mission of the trust is.

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We are, we wanna work to create, preserve,

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and support diverse affordable housing to meet the needs

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of low and moderate income households in Melrose

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over the span of their entire lifespan in collaboration

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with both municipal and community partners.

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So that's kind of our o overall mission.

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And so why is this work so important right now?

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I think you can't read a newspaper

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or turn on the news we're we have a housing crisis in the US

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and in Massachusetts you see that at, in the,

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at the state level with a lot of state priorities along

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with, it's been clear in our last housing production plan

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that affordable housing is an

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issue that's important to the city.

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So we look to, we look at Melrose

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and we're not immune to all of that.

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Housing affordability in Melrose is becoming increasingly

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outta reach for many residents

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or people who would wanna move here.

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Particularly young families that either wanna move here or,

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or stay or stay our local workforce

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and our seniors who are looking for continuity

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of housing over their lifetime,

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00:12:10,734 --> 00:12:13,266
whether they wanna stay in their house

259
00:12:13,467 --> 00:12:17,266
or we don't have enough housing stock if they want

260
00:12:17,266 --> 00:12:20,133
to stay in Melrose, in, in an an age in place.

261
00:12:22,634 --> 00:12:25,233
So I just, I thought we just ground it in, like

262
00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:28,500
affordable housing gets thrown around a lot.

263
00:12:28,700 --> 00:12:31,767
And what we're talking about as affordable housing

264
00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,767
with like a capital A for our trust purposes is

265
00:12:37,467 --> 00:12:40,500
in Massachusetts, affordable housing is generally defined

266
00:12:41,033 --> 00:12:45,934
as housing, where a household spends no more than 30%

267
00:12:47,166 --> 00:12:50,700
of the income of the household on housing costs.

268
00:12:52,934 --> 00:12:54,567
Let's see, I don't know why this keeps doing that,

269
00:12:54,867 --> 00:12:58,133
but in Melrose, the occlusion units

270
00:12:58,700 --> 00:13:02,333
that are de restricted, they serve households earning up

271
00:13:02,333 --> 00:13:04,467
to 80% of the area median income.

272
00:13:05,133 --> 00:13:07,333
And you'll see in the chart, you know,

273
00:13:07,567 --> 00:13:10,100
HUD sets the Boston Metro area

274
00:13:12,467 --> 00:13:15,500
and these are the 2025 income limits.

275
00:13:16,166 --> 00:13:19,734
And so what this really means is, in Melrose for a family

276
00:13:19,834 --> 00:13:23,834
of four people earning up to $132,000,

277
00:13:24,934 --> 00:13:27,100
they would generally qualify for affordable housing

278
00:13:27,767 --> 00:13:29,000
based on that, their income.

279
00:13:30,900 --> 00:13:34,367
So just to look at a little bit of what's happening locally,

280
00:13:37,467 --> 00:13:41,433
you know, it's been more than since 2020,

281
00:13:41,533 --> 00:13:44,033
but from 2020 the past few years,

282
00:13:44,033 --> 00:13:46,266
you can see we have a sharp increase in both

283
00:13:46,900 --> 00:13:48,033
home prices and rents.

284
00:13:48,367 --> 00:13:52,634
Single, single family homes are approaching $101 million

285
00:13:53,433 --> 00:13:58,333
and rents are nearing 3000 a month on average.

286
00:13:59,100 --> 00:14:02,266
So this is creating real pressure for, as we said,

287
00:14:02,266 --> 00:14:05,000
for our seniors that are trying to age in place

288
00:14:05,467 --> 00:14:08,000
for families, for people who work in our community.

289
00:14:08,367 --> 00:14:11,533
And you know, for people who may have grown up in Melrose

290
00:14:11,634 --> 00:14:14,133
and wanna come back, we're hearing like they,

291
00:14:14,066 --> 00:14:15,500
that's not possible.

292
00:14:17,333 --> 00:14:20,433
Just as an example, the Melrose Emergency Fund,

293
00:14:20,433 --> 00:14:23,767
this year it dispersed over $11,000

294
00:14:24,367 --> 00:14:26,734
in one time rental or mortgage assistance.

295
00:14:26,867 --> 00:14:30,033
And that's, I mean, that's a lot of money for people

296
00:14:30,834 --> 00:14:33,100
e each individual, you know, up to 11 grand.

297
00:14:33,233 --> 00:14:35,634
So it's really, it's a real issue here

298
00:14:35,700 --> 00:14:38,433
and I think we just want to bring light to it

299
00:14:39,100 --> 00:14:41,133
and try to help collaborate to

300
00:14:42,734 --> 00:14:44,333
have some better solutions.

301
00:14:47,233 --> 00:14:49,066
These is kind of, obviously these

302
00:14:49,066 --> 00:14:50,100
numbers change all the time.

303
00:14:50,533 --> 00:14:52,567
I mean, there's, they're dynamic numbers,

304
00:14:52,734 --> 00:14:56,467
but these are the numbers from the, the census website,

305
00:14:56,467 --> 00:14:58,467
the la the latest census.

306
00:14:58,567 --> 00:15:02,734
And as you can see, the medium home value is at $970,000.

307
00:15:03,100 --> 00:15:07,333
Yet the medium household income's 133, which is not much

308
00:15:07,367 --> 00:15:10,767
above the 80% of the a MI.

309
00:15:11,634 --> 00:15:16,033
So it's a real issue. And that's borne out by the data.

310
00:15:16,367 --> 00:15:18,266
I think this is an interesting slide.

311
00:15:18,367 --> 00:15:20,734
It was taken right from our housing production plan,

312
00:15:21,667 --> 00:15:24,867
and it, I think it just shows that over 30%

313
00:15:24,867 --> 00:15:27,333
of Mel's households, our cost burden,

314
00:15:27,767 --> 00:15:31,266
which means they're spending more than 30% of their income

315
00:15:32,166 --> 00:15:37,066
on housing and nearly 14% of that are severely cost burden,

316
00:15:37,166 --> 00:15:39,834
which means they're spending more than 50%

317
00:15:39,934 --> 00:15:42,467
of their income on housing costs.

318
00:15:43,367 --> 00:15:46,467
And if you look to the right, the right hand column,

319
00:15:46,867 --> 00:15:50,734
that's the light, the light green, I guess blue that is,

320
00:15:50,734 --> 00:15:53,066
it's hard to read, but that's the renters.

321
00:15:53,333 --> 00:15:56,834
And this affects renters.

322
00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:02,000
We have 33, over 30% of residents are renters here,

323
00:16:02,367 --> 00:16:07,133
and 50% of renters are severely cost burdened,

324
00:16:07,133 --> 00:16:09,100
meaning they're spending over half of their

325
00:16:10,367 --> 00:16:11,834
income on housing costs.

326
00:16:12,900 --> 00:16:15,233
We also see large numbers of older homeowners.

327
00:16:15,233 --> 00:16:18,700
Over 3000 homes are owned by households of over 60

328
00:16:19,567 --> 00:16:24,000
who may be, you know, house rich because they're housing,

329
00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:27,066
'cause their housing, their, their, you know, has,

330
00:16:27,734 --> 00:16:31,233
their houses are worth more, but they're cash constrained

331
00:16:31,266 --> 00:16:33,233
because they're hard to keep up

332
00:16:33,867 --> 00:16:36,500
and their income has is maybe, you know,

333
00:16:37,867 --> 00:16:39,300
is set or static.

334
00:16:40,066 --> 00:16:43,133
So this is just shows that it, this is across the community.

335
00:16:43,133 --> 00:16:44,467
This is a broad community issue.

336
00:16:44,467 --> 00:16:45,700
It's not just about seniors,

337
00:16:45,734 --> 00:16:48,033
it's not just about commuters into the city.

338
00:16:48,433 --> 00:16:51,100
It's really everybody.

339
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:53,066
And no,

340
00:16:53,033 --> 00:16:57,000
no single group can do it alone, solve it alone either.

341
00:16:57,834 --> 00:17:02,066
It's really, this work is about collaboration, the trust,

342
00:17:02,133 --> 00:17:05,867
obviously we wanna be a mover on this,

343
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,033
but we need to collaborate across city government

344
00:17:08,533 --> 00:17:09,700
with the housing authority.

345
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:14,300
I see Mr. Corona here tonight through non-profit,

346
00:17:14,300 --> 00:17:16,767
profit partners, developers, as well

347
00:17:16,767 --> 00:17:18,033
as state and fellow programs.

348
00:17:20,367 --> 00:17:25,100
So where does Melrose stand today? This is, oops.

349
00:17:26,100 --> 00:17:29,734
Oh, how do I go back here? Am I back?

350
00:17:30,100 --> 00:17:33,734
Oh shoot, what did I do here? Lemme see.

351
00:17:37,033 --> 00:17:40,767
I don't know how to, here we go. Here we go. Sorry.

352
00:17:41,266 --> 00:17:42,767
So this is today, this is,

353
00:17:43,500 --> 00:17:46,533
we have just over 12,000 housing units

354
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:51,033
and 941 of them are affordable.

355
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,266
So that's just about 7.5%.

356
00:17:56,867 --> 00:18:01,467
So the next slide, what is this? There we go.

357
00:18:02,133 --> 00:18:05,567
This just kind of shows those, those 940 units, you see

358
00:18:05,567 --> 00:18:08,066
that 731 of them are senior housing.

359
00:18:09,100 --> 00:18:11,934
So it's a, you know, disproportionate in terms

360
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:13,567
of the type of housing stock.

361
00:18:13,567 --> 00:18:17,767
There's not a lot of family or units for single people.

362
00:18:18,867 --> 00:18:21,233
And, and the on the side just talks about which

363
00:18:21,900 --> 00:18:24,934
monitoring organizations are responsible

364
00:18:24,934 --> 00:18:25,934
for monitoring those

365
00:18:28,100 --> 00:18:31,133
and then enter wise, sorry.

366
00:18:33,166 --> 00:18:36,033
Okay. And they're all affordable.

367
00:18:36,033 --> 00:18:39,133
Housing is all across the city in different,

368
00:18:39,433 --> 00:18:40,934
located in multiple neighborhoods

369
00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,567
and housing types, which is important

370
00:18:43,700 --> 00:18:45,567
for creating an inclusive community.

371
00:18:46,934 --> 00:18:48,700
They should be in our views,

372
00:18:48,734 --> 00:18:50,333
spread out throughout the community.

373
00:18:50,934 --> 00:18:53,066
And this is a heat map of where they are now

374
00:18:54,734 --> 00:18:56,934
to support this work, we need

375
00:18:56,934 --> 00:19:00,166
to rely on many tools.

376
00:19:02,734 --> 00:19:06,133
These in, this includes chapter 40 B, inclusionary zoning,

377
00:19:06,333 --> 00:19:09,867
state and federal subsidies along with tax credits.

378
00:19:10,767 --> 00:19:14,467
And, and the trust itself is a

379
00:19:14,667 --> 00:19:15,867
flexible local funding tool.

380
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,500
So that brings us to what is the role of the trust, right?

381
00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,000
You see in our, in the guidelines in our application,

382
00:19:25,266 --> 00:19:27,433
there's different types of funding we can provide.

383
00:19:29,233 --> 00:19:30,867
And through application you could,

384
00:19:30,867 --> 00:19:34,033
we can provide gap financing, enable acquisitions,

385
00:19:34,133 --> 00:19:37,834
rehabilitation that create or preserve affordable housing.

386
00:19:38,667 --> 00:19:41,500
There's an opportunity to support pre-development costs,

387
00:19:41,700 --> 00:19:44,033
to unlock, unlock potential projects

388
00:19:45,266 --> 00:19:49,567
and really to leverage other private and public financing.

389
00:19:49,734 --> 00:19:50,734
A lot of these types

390
00:19:50,767 --> 00:19:53,934
of deals have many different facets of financing.

391
00:19:54,266 --> 00:19:57,834
Mr. Villa is more adept in, in,

392
00:19:58,133 --> 00:19:59,634
in those types of issues.

393
00:19:59,834 --> 00:20:01,500
But a lot of the state funding

394
00:20:01,500 --> 00:20:05,033
or federal funding requires local, you know,

395
00:20:05,033 --> 00:20:07,500
they want the local community to have some skin in the game.

396
00:20:08,533 --> 00:20:11,367
And that's our hope to be able to kind of be bridge,

397
00:20:12,066 --> 00:20:13,467
bridge the gap on some of those.

398
00:20:14,834 --> 00:20:19,133
We can do grants loans, forgivable loans, types

399
00:20:19,133 --> 00:20:22,000
of funding from, from the trust.

400
00:20:22,567 --> 00:20:25,433
And we do have, in our guidelines, we've tried

401
00:20:25,433 --> 00:20:29,033
to create pretty transparent guidelines with

402
00:20:30,033 --> 00:20:31,233
clear selection criteria

403
00:20:31,634 --> 00:20:34,100
that would emphasize the feasibility of the project,

404
00:20:34,066 --> 00:20:35,567
the affordability of the project,

405
00:20:36,367 --> 00:20:38,166
and also to align with the city goals.

406
00:20:40,233 --> 00:20:44,700
So, so this is what we've been up to.

407
00:20:45,300 --> 00:20:47,834
We all came together only about a year ago,

408
00:20:48,100 --> 00:20:50,066
a little bit over a year ago, and we were lucky enough

409
00:20:50,066 --> 00:20:51,133
to hit the ground running.

410
00:20:51,166 --> 00:20:53,066
We got a technical assistance grant

411
00:20:53,433 --> 00:20:57,300
and we worked for about six months with MHP,

412
00:20:57,300 --> 00:21:02,133
which is a housing partner, housing partnership to kind

413
00:21:02,133 --> 00:21:05,066
of thoughtfully develop our, you know, our state,

414
00:21:05,467 --> 00:21:07,300
our mission statement as well as our goals.

415
00:21:08,567 --> 00:21:10,033
And I just, I wanna stop here.

416
00:21:10,333 --> 00:21:12,567
I don't, we don't wanna spend a lot of time on the slides,

417
00:21:12,667 --> 00:21:17,300
but I really wanna let, let Jim talk a little bit about,

418
00:21:17,367 --> 00:21:19,000
we've done one, we've grant, we've,

419
00:21:19,066 --> 00:21:23,100
we've made one grant since we've been in existence

420
00:21:23,233 --> 00:21:27,033
and I think it's a good example of what we can do.

421
00:21:27,066 --> 00:21:28,867
- Yeah, so let me talk a little bit about that.

422
00:21:29,100 --> 00:21:30,533
So I was a founding member

423
00:21:30,533 --> 00:21:32,467
of the Melrose Affordable Housing Corporation,

424
00:21:33,033 --> 00:21:36,233
and we were founded a number of years ago by citizens

425
00:21:36,233 --> 00:21:38,033
of Melrose who just really wanted to make a difference.

426
00:21:38,667 --> 00:21:43,467
So that is a private nonprofit organization run

427
00:21:43,467 --> 00:21:46,233
by its own board of directors, not affiliated with the city

428
00:21:46,333 --> 00:21:48,033
or in any way they contract with

429
00:21:48,033 --> 00:21:51,233
nor housing authority to be the management agent.

430
00:21:51,233 --> 00:21:53,634
But that's the connection with Housing authority.

431
00:21:54,133 --> 00:21:57,000
And so properties that would come up available for sale,

432
00:21:57,300 --> 00:21:59,500
that the Affordable Housing Corporation would think about

433
00:21:59,500 --> 00:22:01,033
buying and then

434
00:22:02,567 --> 00:22:05,100
use federal funds from the North Suburban consortium

435
00:22:05,867 --> 00:22:10,066
to hold those properties on the city's housing inventory.

436
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,934
So those would be in perpetuity listed

437
00:22:13,934 --> 00:22:15,333
as affordable housing rentals.

438
00:22:16,066 --> 00:22:17,333
And so an opportunity came up

439
00:22:17,634 --> 00:22:19,300
for the Affordable Housing Corporation

440
00:22:19,300 --> 00:22:21,834
to acquire a three family building in Melrose.

441
00:22:21,900 --> 00:22:23,300
So it happened to be adjacent to one

442
00:22:23,300 --> 00:22:27,700
that they already owned, but you know, through their years

443
00:22:27,700 --> 00:22:29,834
of being in business, they didn't have a lot of money.

444
00:22:30,433 --> 00:22:32,300
So they were able to leverage the properties

445
00:22:32,300 --> 00:22:34,767
that they had along with some traditional bank financing

446
00:22:35,133 --> 00:22:37,934
and getting fin and got financing from the North Suburban

447
00:22:38,100 --> 00:22:40,066
consortium using home funds grants.

448
00:22:40,133 --> 00:22:41,500
But they were still short

449
00:22:42,133 --> 00:22:44,734
and they were very anxious to be able

450
00:22:44,734 --> 00:22:47,634
to tap into the motors affordable housing trust fund money.

451
00:22:48,266 --> 00:22:50,266
And for many years that money had been sort

452
00:22:50,266 --> 00:22:52,500
of lingering out there, that it was there,

453
00:22:52,500 --> 00:22:54,300
but there was no trust established.

454
00:22:54,433 --> 00:22:58,333
And so when we got the trust established, we sort of knew

455
00:22:58,333 --> 00:23:01,133
that this organization was gonna be waiting for something.

456
00:23:01,166 --> 00:23:03,500
And so we were really happy that we were able to put some

457
00:23:04,100 --> 00:23:07,100
guidelines together with the assistance of MHP

458
00:23:07,667 --> 00:23:11,533
and came up with a, a very formal plan to be able

459
00:23:11,533 --> 00:23:14,133
to fund them and be able to give them $140,000

460
00:23:14,333 --> 00:23:18,066
of our limited funds, which enabled them to be able

461
00:23:18,066 --> 00:23:20,033
to finalize that purchase.

462
00:23:20,133 --> 00:23:22,300
And now there are three rental units,

463
00:23:22,333 --> 00:23:24,033
family rental units in Melrose

464
00:23:24,033 --> 00:23:26,033
that are now deed restricted in perpetuity

465
00:23:26,667 --> 00:23:29,333
as affordable capital a affordable units.

466
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:33,700
And so us being able to be nimble

467
00:23:34,033 --> 00:23:36,934
and be able to provide that financing relatively quickly

468
00:23:38,100 --> 00:23:40,467
is still not as quick as what

469
00:23:41,266 --> 00:23:44,000
cash paying investors would buy in the open market,

470
00:23:44,467 --> 00:23:46,066
but it was really important that we,

471
00:23:46,066 --> 00:23:47,033
that we'd be there for them.

472
00:23:47,567 --> 00:23:50,033
But you might see that that's not a big amount.

473
00:23:50,433 --> 00:23:51,734
That's, we don't have a lot of money.

474
00:23:51,834 --> 00:23:53,000
We never had a lot of money to start.

475
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,300
We, I think we had about $650,000,

476
00:23:57,433 --> 00:24:00,066
which was a combination of payment in lieu

477
00:24:00,066 --> 00:24:01,767
of units the developers had paid in.

478
00:24:01,767 --> 00:24:04,033
I think there was some old free cash money

479
00:24:04,033 --> 00:24:06,033
that was in there, but not a lot of money.

480
00:24:06,634 --> 00:24:09,233
And so to give $140,000 out

481
00:24:09,934 --> 00:24:13,000
depletes almost 20% of our, of our assets.

482
00:24:13,066 --> 00:24:15,233
So we can't do that very frequently,

483
00:24:15,734 --> 00:24:18,000
but we were glad that we were able to do it, at least

484
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:19,734
for the affordable housing corporation to start.

485
00:24:19,867 --> 00:24:22,734
So it's an example of sort of where we've worked

486
00:24:22,867 --> 00:24:24,367
with a local organization

487
00:24:24,500 --> 00:24:27,033
to collaborate on creating more affordable units.

488
00:24:28,233 --> 00:24:31,567
- Thank you. I'm in a good value too.

489
00:24:31,667 --> 00:24:34,500
We have three for, you know, 140,000 of our,

490
00:24:35,634 --> 00:24:39,233
of our money that we now have three units in perpetuity.

491
00:24:40,433 --> 00:24:42,767
The, this is just, you know, our goals

492
00:24:43,133 --> 00:24:44,233
for the next five years.

493
00:24:44,300 --> 00:24:46,100
They're detailed in our guidelines,

494
00:24:46,133 --> 00:24:49,033
but, you know, we wanna aim to expand community outreach.

495
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:50,333
We think it's an important issue

496
00:24:50,533 --> 00:24:53,333
that sometimes isn't talked about or understood.

497
00:24:54,233 --> 00:24:57,066
And so we really want to be out in the community

498
00:24:58,266 --> 00:25:01,066
and we've started to do that in different ways.

499
00:25:02,033 --> 00:25:03,700
We've had listening sessions

500
00:25:03,734 --> 00:25:06,066
with the Affordable housing trust, I mean the,

501
00:25:06,266 --> 00:25:09,066
the housing authority and the corporation

502
00:25:09,100 --> 00:25:10,300
to try to get their input.

503
00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:13,033
So we look forward to engaging the community.

504
00:25:14,100 --> 00:25:19,033
Probably our most important goal is to find sustainable

505
00:25:19,033 --> 00:25:22,133
and diverse funding and,

506
00:25:23,634 --> 00:25:26,000
and to create in five years.

507
00:25:26,233 --> 00:25:29,066
We, it's a big number, but we hope to, you know, to create

508
00:25:29,367 --> 00:25:32,500
or support the creation of over 150 homes

509
00:25:32,500 --> 00:25:34,300
or more for rent or for ownership.

510
00:25:36,900 --> 00:25:41,233
And so how are we doing this today?

511
00:25:41,900 --> 00:25:44,467
It it's all, it's has to be collaboration.

512
00:25:44,567 --> 00:25:47,567
I've, in this last year have lucky, I've done a lot

513
00:25:47,567 --> 00:25:48,934
of research and listened to a lot of

514
00:25:48,934 --> 00:25:50,300
how this happens across the state.

515
00:25:50,667 --> 00:25:53,533
And these are kind of complicated financial packages.

516
00:25:54,033 --> 00:25:57,734
It's hard for affordable housing to compete in this market.

517
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:00,467
And so you have to be nimble

518
00:26:00,700 --> 00:26:04,033
and you have to be willing to collaborate

519
00:26:04,033 --> 00:26:07,000
with whoever you can to get things done.

520
00:26:08,133 --> 00:26:10,233
You say today you can see, I think

521
00:26:10,233 --> 00:26:11,266
that's our current balance,

522
00:26:11,300 --> 00:26:12,533
just over half a million dollars.

523
00:26:14,700 --> 00:26:17,333
And so we see, and,

524
00:26:18,066 --> 00:26:21,333
and as Jim said so far, I think we've just had one.

525
00:26:22,033 --> 00:26:24,467
I think when Mayor Broder established the trust,

526
00:26:24,567 --> 00:26:26,233
he had one free cash

527
00:26:26,367 --> 00:26:28,834
and then we've the, the balances from

528
00:26:29,300 --> 00:26:30,367
payment, payment and lose.

529
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:34,567
So we look to see, I went forward,

530
00:26:34,834 --> 00:26:37,867
but I just, I wanted quickly, one of the opportunities,

531
00:26:38,066 --> 00:26:41,266
the biggest opportunity we see in terms of creating our,

532
00:26:41,700 --> 00:26:44,266
our pipeline of financing is a CPA.

533
00:26:45,266 --> 00:26:48,133
So Joe has more experience in that.

534
00:26:48,166 --> 00:26:50,066
So I just wanted him to high level

535
00:26:50,100 --> 00:26:51,233
and we're happy to take some questions

536
00:26:51,233 --> 00:26:55,467
after just kind of what the CPA could do for the trust.

537
00:26:56,900 --> 00:26:58,934
- Sure. And you know, we've had this discussion

538
00:26:59,567 --> 00:27:02,467
at the committee level talking about sustainability

539
00:27:02,634 --> 00:27:04,066
and now that we have a housing trust

540
00:27:04,066 --> 00:27:06,033
and we want to fund these programs going forward,

541
00:27:06,367 --> 00:27:07,567
how do we capitalize it?

542
00:27:08,133 --> 00:27:11,767
And essentially the hous, the CPA allows communities

543
00:27:11,767 --> 00:27:14,100
to enact a surcharge against your tax levy

544
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:15,367
of no greater than 3%.

545
00:27:16,033 --> 00:27:20,100
That funding is able to be used for affordable housing.

546
00:27:20,100 --> 00:27:23,567
It's able to be used for open space and recreation

547
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:29,033
and historic preservation if we would have to work

548
00:27:29,033 --> 00:27:33,934
with the council to get it on ballot to see if the citizens

549
00:27:33,934 --> 00:27:36,266
of Melrose would be in favor of adopting the CPA.

550
00:27:38,500 --> 00:27:41,834
But you know, again, one project

551
00:27:43,900 --> 00:27:47,567
using, you know, a reasonable amount, amount of funding

552
00:27:47,667 --> 00:27:49,867
to deed restrict housing into the future.

553
00:27:50,100 --> 00:27:51,300
It's a great use of the funding.

554
00:27:51,367 --> 00:27:54,000
But how, how are we going to be able to fund those

555
00:27:54,700 --> 00:27:56,000
kinds of projects in the future?

556
00:27:56,734 --> 00:27:59,867
And just to, just to do a very back of the envelope

557
00:27:59,867 --> 00:28:04,533
and rudimentary calculation here, using the assessed value

558
00:28:05,133 --> 00:28:09,066
of the average tax assessment at 1%,

559
00:28:11,634 --> 00:28:14,533
the average household would pay, the average

560
00:28:15,033 --> 00:28:17,634
household at the average assessment would pay

561
00:28:18,100 --> 00:28:21,367
$97 a year in surcharge funds,

562
00:28:23,367 --> 00:28:25,934
you know, broken down by quarter, that's about $24.

563
00:28:26,500 --> 00:28:28,000
So that's at 1%.

564
00:28:28,100 --> 00:28:30,634
And again, I'll, I'll caution it's very rudimentary back at

565
00:28:30,634 --> 00:28:32,767
the envelope, but you could see that,

566
00:28:35,567 --> 00:28:37,867
you know, trying to extrapolate and,

567
00:28:37,934 --> 00:28:41,467
and say what that means to the, to the community.

568
00:28:42,667 --> 00:28:44,567
You know, we, we would add, sorry,

569
00:28:44,667 --> 00:28:45,867
I'm consulting my notes here,

570
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:50,166
but we could add upwards of

571
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,634
$600,000 a year in CPA funds.

572
00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:01,567
And again, there's CPA is, there's 10% for housing, 10%

573
00:29:01,734 --> 00:29:04,066
for open space and preservation

574
00:29:04,100 --> 00:29:07,100
and 10% for historic preservation.

575
00:29:07,100 --> 00:29:10,033
But you could see that any portion of that could help us

576
00:29:10,266 --> 00:29:13,500
to come up with a, a fundable sustaining mechanism for

577
00:29:14,133 --> 00:29:18,567
the housing trust and didn't want

578
00:29:18,567 --> 00:29:19,700
to do too much of a deep dive.

579
00:29:19,867 --> 00:29:22,467
I, I know you probably have all these facts at your

580
00:29:22,467 --> 00:29:26,367
fingertips, but it, it could mean a lot to be able

581
00:29:26,367 --> 00:29:29,100
to capitalize the affordable housing trust

582
00:29:29,100 --> 00:29:31,133
with CPA funds going forward in the future

583
00:29:31,634 --> 00:29:34,700
and the many programs that it allows you to, to fund.

584
00:29:35,500 --> 00:29:36,867
- Well, thank you very much for

585
00:29:37,233 --> 00:29:38,734
this encyclopedic information.

586
00:29:38,767 --> 00:29:40,066
I'm sure we're just scratching the surface,

587
00:29:40,033 --> 00:29:41,500
but I, I want to entertain any

588
00:29:42,300 --> 00:29:44,000
questions from my colleagues up

589
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:45,066
first I have Councilor Jamal.

590
00:29:46,133 --> 00:29:48,567
- Thank you. Thank you so much for this.

591
00:29:48,767 --> 00:29:51,233
It's amazing not to mention the amazing work

592
00:29:51,233 --> 00:29:52,266
that you guys are doing.

593
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:54,467
So thank you for all the work

594
00:29:56,166 --> 00:29:59,567
and our that you franked to make this happen.

595
00:30:00,900 --> 00:30:05,233
How many families are we currently are

596
00:30:05,567 --> 00:30:07,367
or currently is benefiting

597
00:30:07,533 --> 00:30:11,033
from if we if you have that.

598
00:30:11,133 --> 00:30:14,033
- Yeah, I mean we don't run the affordable housing.

599
00:30:14,734 --> 00:30:18,367
All of those in that chart, those partners,

600
00:30:18,500 --> 00:30:23,066
so right now there's 941 units, so that's households.

601
00:30:23,066 --> 00:30:27,467
Some are, some are seniors, some are that are either the,

602
00:30:28,100 --> 00:30:30,066
the housing authority and, and such.

603
00:30:30,500 --> 00:30:32,367
So it's 941 units right now.

604
00:30:32,900 --> 00:30:36,567
We didn't, yeah, we can't take credit for any of that.

605
00:30:36,567 --> 00:30:39,033
Yeah, we helped with three, we helped with three,

606
00:30:40,667 --> 00:30:43,033
but we hope to, in the, I think we just wanted

607
00:30:43,100 --> 00:30:45,000
to level set where we are here.

608
00:30:46,133 --> 00:30:49,100
It's a, you know, there's a lot of work to be done and,

609
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:51,100
and housing's expensive.

610
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:56,066
So we get that. But we think we need to, to try, you know,

611
00:30:56,066 --> 00:30:57,100
as a, as a community

612
00:30:57,467 --> 00:31:01,834
- And if we're, you know, reviewing our numbers,

613
00:31:02,634 --> 00:31:07,100
we see that it's increasing the people that are impacted by

614
00:31:09,033 --> 00:31:12,033
the burden and that are joining this population.

615
00:31:13,033 --> 00:31:16,233
It's increasing over the years, especially the last year

616
00:31:16,233 --> 00:31:20,467
with everything

617
00:31:20,467 --> 00:31:22,300
that our country is going through.

618
00:31:22,433 --> 00:31:27,100
Now my, my question is, you mentioned about the CPA

619
00:31:27,433 --> 00:31:32,033
and how and to put it on the ballot, have we explored

620
00:31:32,567 --> 00:31:35,567
or have we proposed it or how do we go by that?

621
00:31:36,900 --> 00:31:41,033
- Well, I believe from my, from my research

622
00:31:41,700 --> 00:31:44,934
and there's two ways petition, people can petition

623
00:31:44,934 --> 00:31:46,233
to put it on the ballot residents

624
00:31:46,367 --> 00:31:47,834
or the city council by a

625
00:31:47,834 --> 00:31:49,100
simple majority can put it on the ballot.

626
00:31:49,266 --> 00:31:50,634
Okay, so not come

627
00:31:50,767 --> 00:31:51,767
- From you guys.

628
00:31:51,900 --> 00:31:55,100
- No. Obviously there would need to be some, you know,

629
00:31:55,100 --> 00:31:56,266
support from the community.

630
00:31:56,433 --> 00:32:01,100
And you know, our hope is that other parts of, you know,

631
00:32:01,066 --> 00:32:03,734
it's not just affordable housing, it's parks

632
00:32:03,734 --> 00:32:08,066
and rec, it's the people in, in historical,

633
00:32:08,667 --> 00:32:09,700
you know, there's a lot

634
00:32:09,700 --> 00:32:11,533
of different things the CPA a can be used for.

635
00:32:13,166 --> 00:32:15,133
So we would be happy to support it,

636
00:32:15,233 --> 00:32:17,500
but it's not, I don't,

637
00:32:17,567 --> 00:32:20,100
I don't think procedurally like we need to put it on. Yes.

638
00:32:20,834 --> 00:32:25,000
- And I, I'm sorry, my, my last question is do we know

639
00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:28,333
how many city or neighboring cities are

640
00:32:29,166 --> 00:32:31,867
adopted already and joined this program?

641
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:33,333
- The CPA? I did have that. How many,

642
00:32:33,500 --> 00:32:35,033
- How many cities have adopted CPA?

643
00:32:35,100 --> 00:32:37,567
I think statewide it's over 200. It's over 200.

644
00:32:37,667 --> 00:32:39,367
It's like 50. Well I don't have

645
00:32:39,367 --> 00:32:40,367
- These.

646
00:32:40,367 --> 00:32:41,300
Yeah, I have 200, over 200.

647
00:32:41,500 --> 00:32:44,567
Yeah, I have 201 municipalities in the state

648
00:32:45,233 --> 00:32:50,100
and nearly 73% of the communities that have trusts have CPA.

649
00:32:50,233 --> 00:32:53,500
It is by far because it's, it's sustainable.

650
00:32:53,500 --> 00:32:55,033
You can, it's hard to,

651
00:32:55,634 --> 00:32:59,333
it know these projects take a long time to, to design

652
00:32:59,333 --> 00:33:01,066
and build and put financing before,

653
00:33:01,567 --> 00:33:04,333
and if you don't have a sustainable pipeline, it's hard to,

654
00:33:06,266 --> 00:33:07,467
to count on that.

655
00:33:07,834 --> 00:33:12,000
So that is by far the biggest revenue

656
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:13,033
for most of these trusts.

657
00:33:13,634 --> 00:33:15,066
But it's not only for the

658
00:33:15,066 --> 00:33:16,834
trust is I guess what we're saying. Yes,

659
00:33:17,066 --> 00:33:17,834
- Absolutely. Thank you.

660
00:33:18,133 --> 00:33:19,634
- Yep. Up next I have Councilor Williams.

661
00:33:20,100 --> 00:33:23,000
- Thanks. Thank you for an informative presentation

662
00:33:23,333 --> 00:33:25,567
that laid a good amount of groundwork

663
00:33:25,634 --> 00:33:28,066
and also got into what the trust does.

664
00:33:28,300 --> 00:33:29,734
'cause I think that's really important and I,

665
00:33:29,834 --> 00:33:32,000
I really appreciate the amount of work you've put into this.

666
00:33:33,467 --> 00:33:37,066
So I wanted to talk just for a moment on CPA,

667
00:33:38,834 --> 00:33:40,000
I'm super excited.

668
00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:41,867
I mean, we talked about this, I'm super excited to hear

669
00:33:41,867 --> 00:33:44,033
that you guys are, are bringing this up.

670
00:33:46,033 --> 00:33:50,533
I think whenever we mention CPAI like to call out that

671
00:33:51,033 --> 00:33:55,100
CPA has different ways you can exclude certain

672
00:33:55,100 --> 00:33:56,233
groups of people at the ballot.

673
00:33:56,233 --> 00:33:59,033
Yes. So one of those groups is low income families

674
00:33:59,066 --> 00:34:00,266
and one of those groups is seniors.

675
00:34:00,266 --> 00:34:03,934
And that's a great tool to balance the additional cost,

676
00:34:04,033 --> 00:34:05,767
which is modest as you said,

677
00:34:06,333 --> 00:34:07,333
but some people, you know,

678
00:34:07,333 --> 00:34:08,700
they don't like any additional cost.

679
00:34:08,700 --> 00:34:09,734
It's a good way to balance that

680
00:34:09,734 --> 00:34:11,834
with the benefits that we get.

681
00:34:13,100 --> 00:34:14,000
Interestingly, of the 200

682
00:34:14,033 --> 00:34:17,700
and some communities that have adopted CPA, we live in a bit

683
00:34:17,700 --> 00:34:20,000
of a drought bubble like the,

684
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,634
the immediate northern communities of like Stoneham, sga,

685
00:34:23,734 --> 00:34:25,834
Melrose don't have it.

686
00:34:26,367 --> 00:34:28,767
Boston and a lot of the metro west

687
00:34:28,767 --> 00:34:30,500
and south communities all have it too.

688
00:34:30,500 --> 00:34:31,700
So it would be, it would be great

689
00:34:31,700 --> 00:34:35,033
to see Boston be a leader, be a leader in that.

690
00:34:35,100 --> 00:34:38,767
I'm all in, I would be excited to do something like this.

691
00:34:39,900 --> 00:34:42,934
I'm excited that the affordable housing folks are on board.

692
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,066
I know this is the historic preservation folks are on board.

693
00:34:45,066 --> 00:34:46,533
So I think it's a conversation that we can,

694
00:34:47,700 --> 00:34:48,734
we can have for sure.

695
00:34:49,033 --> 00:34:51,634
Even though the, the state,

696
00:34:52,033 --> 00:34:53,100
I don't know if we mentioned this, the fact

697
00:34:53,100 --> 00:34:55,333
that the state provides a matching grant for all

698
00:34:55,333 --> 00:34:57,567
of our CPA contributions, it's, it used

699
00:34:57,567 --> 00:34:58,834
to be quite generous.

700
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:01,634
It's a little bit less generous these days, like 20%,

701
00:35:01,634 --> 00:35:04,100
23% now instead of like 30% in the past.

702
00:35:04,266 --> 00:35:06,734
But it's still great money

703
00:35:07,333 --> 00:35:09,834
and it's free money that we can put towards our parks,

704
00:35:09,834 --> 00:35:11,767
our playing fields, historic preservation,

705
00:35:12,467 --> 00:35:13,533
purchasing properties,

706
00:35:13,533 --> 00:35:16,000
purchasing conservation land, et cetera, et cetera.

707
00:35:16,033 --> 00:35:18,133
So, so thank you. Thank you.

708
00:35:18,133 --> 00:35:20,533
Appreciate your, your presentation

709
00:35:20,567 --> 00:35:21,734
and your comments on the,

710
00:35:21,734 --> 00:35:24,033
on the matter. Up next I have Councillor

711
00:35:24,033 --> 00:35:25,500
- Graham shady, - I didn't think

712
00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:26,700
it would be my turn already.

713
00:35:27,100 --> 00:35:28,834
Thank you so much for your presentation.

714
00:35:29,100 --> 00:35:30,100
I really appreciate it.

715
00:35:30,634 --> 00:35:32,333
I am so happy that you exist

716
00:35:33,133 --> 00:35:35,000
and appreciate the level setting

717
00:35:35,033 --> 00:35:37,100
that you've been doing over the past year,

718
00:35:37,300 --> 00:35:40,000
thinking about goals, present tense,

719
00:35:40,100 --> 00:35:43,266
but also how we might move forward in partnership together.

720
00:35:43,867 --> 00:35:45,467
So I'm just curious about,

721
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:48,734
and if you haven't, like, again, you've been around a year,

722
00:35:48,900 --> 00:35:51,867
so this is not like, it's just, I'm curious

723
00:35:51,900 --> 00:35:54,834
what you're thinking about in terms of like big picture

724
00:35:55,133 --> 00:35:58,100
and strategy, particularly around

725
00:36:00,066 --> 00:36:04,100
being proactive when properties are coming on the market

726
00:36:04,266 --> 00:36:06,767
before they get to the private developers.

727
00:36:07,266 --> 00:36:09,500
Like are you thinking about a strategy with that

728
00:36:09,634 --> 00:36:12,133
and how might you think about working with the city

729
00:36:14,900 --> 00:36:17,867
and sort of rallying folks so

730
00:36:17,867 --> 00:36:21,700
that we can be proactive in our housing production plan

731
00:36:21,734 --> 00:36:24,567
but not have to wait for, for proposals

732
00:36:24,567 --> 00:36:28,834
where we're very reactionary, which I think we've fallen

733
00:36:30,166 --> 00:36:32,467
into in our current situation.

734
00:36:32,467 --> 00:36:34,333
So I'm just curious how you're thinking about that big

735
00:36:34,333 --> 00:36:35,333
- Picture.

736
00:36:35,333 --> 00:36:37,834
Sure. So because we are not developers,

737
00:36:38,367 --> 00:36:41,000
we are not in the market for acquiring properties,

738
00:36:41,367 --> 00:36:43,934
but we are interested in finding those opportunities

739
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,066
and helping those developers for profit

740
00:36:46,166 --> 00:36:48,700
and not-for-profit developers find those

741
00:36:48,900 --> 00:36:50,333
and perhaps navigate a system.

742
00:36:50,734 --> 00:36:54,133
Part of our funding could be used for pre-development costs

743
00:36:54,333 --> 00:36:58,266
for expenses incurred with finding out how can I,

744
00:36:58,433 --> 00:37:02,100
how can I put units in here that, that I can set aside

745
00:37:02,100 --> 00:37:05,467
as affordable and still be if I'm a for-profit developer,

746
00:37:05,467 --> 00:37:07,567
still make a profitable business decision.

747
00:37:08,233 --> 00:37:09,567
So we can do that. So we think

748
00:37:09,734 --> 00:37:10,867
we can help with some of that.

749
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:13,934
Again, our funds are limited,

750
00:37:14,033 --> 00:37:16,533
but you know, we, some people have asked us if we're going

751
00:37:16,533 --> 00:37:18,033
to do rental assistance, you know,

752
00:37:18,033 --> 00:37:20,000
down payment assistance for first time home buyers.

753
00:37:20,333 --> 00:37:22,500
Well that's a great lofty goal,

754
00:37:22,500 --> 00:37:24,834
which we think we'd be fantastic for low

755
00:37:24,834 --> 00:37:26,734
and moderate income first time home buyers.

756
00:37:28,266 --> 00:37:30,367
Those units that they purchase are not

757
00:37:30,367 --> 00:37:32,000
necessarily deed restricted.

758
00:37:32,467 --> 00:37:36,000
And so while the buyer may initially buyer may be low

759
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:39,567
or moderate income means that doesn't add a unit to the,

760
00:37:39,700 --> 00:37:42,233
the the housing inventory that, that we'd like to have,

761
00:37:43,900 --> 00:37:45,100
we'd love to get to that point.

762
00:37:45,266 --> 00:37:47,000
And, and, and one of the things

763
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:50,033
that our technical assistance consultant pointed out

764
00:37:50,033 --> 00:37:52,867
to us early on was, you know, we should set a goal as a,

765
00:37:52,900 --> 00:37:57,000
as a trust fund of having five to $6 million, you know,

766
00:37:57,166 --> 00:38:00,333
and wow, you know, where do we get that?

767
00:38:00,467 --> 00:38:03,000
But when we get to that point, those funds

768
00:38:03,533 --> 00:38:05,734
invested the right place can be sustainable

769
00:38:05,900 --> 00:38:09,233
to provide rental assistance down payment assistance.

770
00:38:10,066 --> 00:38:13,133
I think right now our, our larger long-term goals,

771
00:38:13,133 --> 00:38:15,000
which is probably in the next three years is help,

772
00:38:15,133 --> 00:38:18,000
is having enough funds to support developers

773
00:38:19,133 --> 00:38:21,100
navigate a system where we can provide some funding

774
00:38:21,166 --> 00:38:24,700
and we can provide some resources so that we can get units,

775
00:38:24,900 --> 00:38:26,000
actual units on the ground.

776
00:38:26,266 --> 00:38:28,700
So we've got, I I think there's some big long-term

777
00:38:28,700 --> 00:38:29,934
goals that we'd love to get to.

778
00:38:31,500 --> 00:38:33,567
I think we're really feeling like right now that we're sort

779
00:38:33,567 --> 00:38:34,934
of a bit hamstrung on funding

780
00:38:35,667 --> 00:38:38,467
and so let's not go to that down that path yet

781
00:38:39,133 --> 00:38:40,367
when we get there, we'll love to have,

782
00:38:40,367 --> 00:38:42,934
when we've got $10 million in our affordable housing trust

783
00:38:42,934 --> 00:38:45,266
fund raised from a number of resources.

784
00:38:46,066 --> 00:38:48,300
Yeah. Then I think that we can be, do all kinds of stuff.

785
00:38:48,634 --> 00:38:50,500
- But I think what I'm hearing you say to build

786
00:38:50,500 --> 00:38:54,700
that foundation and that ability to be proactive,

787
00:38:55,333 --> 00:38:59,000
proactive and really plan the investment

788
00:38:59,266 --> 00:39:03,133
that the city makes will allow for that to happen.

789
00:39:03,433 --> 00:39:06,634
So us thinking about how city council partners with you,

790
00:39:06,634 --> 00:39:09,767
how the mayor's office partners with you, how we try

791
00:39:09,767 --> 00:39:12,834
to move forward with something like the CPA really matters

792
00:39:13,433 --> 00:39:17,066
in terms of us kind of having control of our approach

793
00:39:17,667 --> 00:39:20,500
to affordable housing in a way that is planned

794
00:39:20,500 --> 00:39:21,567
and purposeful and,

795
00:39:21,567 --> 00:39:24,367
and does what it's supposed to do, allows people to move to

796
00:39:24,433 --> 00:39:25,834
and stay in Melrose. Right?

797
00:39:25,834 --> 00:39:27,066
- Right. I think there's a lot of

798
00:39:28,166 --> 00:39:32,300
nonprofit community affordable housing developers,

799
00:39:33,333 --> 00:39:36,567
but you have to, for them to come, it has to be worth it

800
00:39:36,567 --> 00:39:40,033
and they have to see that the city is right supportive

801
00:39:40,066 --> 00:39:42,333
and has, you know, has supported the city

802
00:39:42,467 --> 00:39:44,467
and can help with some local funding

803
00:39:44,467 --> 00:39:48,000
because like I said, a lot of these fundings are, you know,

804
00:39:48,133 --> 00:39:51,000
we obviously aren't gonna fund an entire, it depends on it.

805
00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,000
If it's a smaller, some trusts do,

806
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:56,767
they can help purchase a single family home or a duplex,

807
00:39:58,066 --> 00:39:59,567
but you know, how much a single family home

808
00:39:59,867 --> 00:40:01,000
costs here on the market.

809
00:40:01,033 --> 00:40:03,300
And so it's all about being nimble,

810
00:40:03,433 --> 00:40:05,266
but we need to have enough capital

811
00:40:06,066 --> 00:40:07,066
and sustainable capital

812
00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:08,533
to be able to have those conversations.

813
00:40:09,533 --> 00:40:11,333
- Appreciate that. Thank you so much. Thank you.

814
00:40:11,500 --> 00:40:12,767
- Next time Councillor Vandiver.

815
00:40:13,467 --> 00:40:15,700
- Thank you. Thank you so much for your presentation.

816
00:40:16,467 --> 00:40:17,533
I really appreciate it.

817
00:40:18,100 --> 00:40:20,567
I wanted to ask, kind of drilling on a couple

818
00:40:20,567 --> 00:40:21,700
of the slides with graphs

819
00:40:23,433 --> 00:40:24,433
- If I can get back to him.

820
00:40:24,467 --> 00:40:25,467
Ooh,

821
00:40:26,500 --> 00:40:30,533
- So you, you had one graph showing the breakdown of,

822
00:40:30,834 --> 00:40:35,500
of units by household type, which I think is,

823
00:40:35,834 --> 00:40:39,533
is really striking that so much

824
00:40:39,533 --> 00:40:41,934
of our affordable housing is concentrated in the senior

825
00:40:41,934 --> 00:40:42,934
population right now.

826
00:40:43,934 --> 00:40:48,266
And so little for single single room or, or even family.

827
00:40:48,433 --> 00:40:50,367
So I, I'm really glad to hear that those three units

828
00:40:50,533 --> 00:40:51,834
that you did were family units.

829
00:40:52,734 --> 00:40:57,100
And I wonder if you could speak to where,

830
00:40:58,066 --> 00:40:59,500
if that is where you see the need

831
00:40:59,667 --> 00:41:01,467
or you know, if the need is still with the seniors

832
00:41:01,467 --> 00:41:03,066
because they're in a really tough position

833
00:41:03,100 --> 00:41:05,333
or you know, not to pit one group against the other,

834
00:41:05,333 --> 00:41:07,066
everybody's struggling with housing costs,

835
00:41:07,100 --> 00:41:08,533
but if you could speak to

836
00:41:08,533 --> 00:41:10,100
where you see the most need right now

837
00:41:10,133 --> 00:41:13,133
and how you could focus on, on that with the funds.

838
00:41:14,066 --> 00:41:15,834
- Yeah, I mean I can't, I don't wanna,

839
00:41:16,100 --> 00:41:19,300
I would be surprising, I don't know all the data on, I know

840
00:41:19,634 --> 00:41:23,300
that we've had many conversations with the housing authority

841
00:41:23,433 --> 00:41:27,233
and they have a huge backlog of, for, you know,

842
00:41:27,233 --> 00:41:30,266
government owned affordable housing

843
00:41:31,066 --> 00:41:32,333
six months to six years.

844
00:41:34,233 --> 00:41:38,934
So, and I think a lot of that is senior housing that they,

845
00:41:39,066 --> 00:41:41,367
that they have, that they monitor.

846
00:41:42,867 --> 00:41:46,066
So that certainly is still, there's just not enough.

847
00:41:47,100 --> 00:41:51,100
But I don't have the data on how, you know, the breakdown of

848
00:41:51,233 --> 00:41:54,634
who in terms of obviously if there's families,

849
00:41:54,634 --> 00:41:57,834
there's only 150 units that are restrict de restricted.

850
00:41:59,900 --> 00:42:03,066
That's not very much given we have almost 30,000 people

851
00:42:03,066 --> 00:42:05,266
here, so I don't have the data.

852
00:42:06,333 --> 00:42:08,033
- I was, I was just gonna add, you know, we talked about

853
00:42:09,133 --> 00:42:14,033
being nimble and being able to leverage funding a a lot

854
00:42:14,033 --> 00:42:18,867
of affordable housing is, is opportunity based, you know,

855
00:42:19,133 --> 00:42:23,367
as part of our our effort to make funding available

856
00:42:23,433 --> 00:42:26,133
to the development community, we could, you know, we could

857
00:42:27,033 --> 00:42:28,266
have an RFP and,

858
00:42:28,500 --> 00:42:31,834
and have developers tell us what they would do

859
00:42:31,900 --> 00:42:35,133
with the funding and, you know, make,

860
00:42:35,133 --> 00:42:37,467
make policy decisions on what kinds

861
00:42:37,467 --> 00:42:38,700
of programs we wanted to fund.

862
00:42:39,233 --> 00:42:43,000
So in, in addition to, you know, the nimbleness and,

863
00:42:43,300 --> 00:42:47,567
and allowing developers to, to leverage resources from other

864
00:42:48,900 --> 00:42:53,266
state federal sources of funding, it,

865
00:42:53,266 --> 00:42:56,533
it also would allow us to sort of

866
00:42:57,133 --> 00:42:58,133
- Control it.

867
00:42:58,133 --> 00:42:59,900
- Yeah, yeah. Control what kinds of projects we're looking

868
00:42:59,900 --> 00:43:01,834
to fund, you know, based on a,

869
00:43:04,333 --> 00:43:06,100
based on the review of a proposal.

870
00:43:06,667 --> 00:43:09,166
So let let the development community tell us

871
00:43:09,667 --> 00:43:11,066
how they would use our funding best.

872
00:43:12,934 --> 00:43:16,100
- Thank you. And this, I also was wondering about the slide

873
00:43:16,100 --> 00:43:19,000
before that, the pie chart showing

874
00:43:20,233 --> 00:43:25,066
I divided those numbers, so it looks like 7.5% of

875
00:43:26,100 --> 00:43:28,000
affordable housing units in Melrose today.

876
00:43:28,066 --> 00:43:29,700
And I know we have some things in the pipeline,

877
00:43:29,767 --> 00:43:31,266
so maybe another percentage point

878
00:43:31,266 --> 00:43:35,700
or two is kind of possibly in development to get added

879
00:43:35,734 --> 00:43:37,233
to the sustainable housing inventory.

880
00:43:38,233 --> 00:43:41,266
I know our goal for, from the perspective of chapter 40 B

881
00:43:41,367 --> 00:43:45,667
for, for that percentage would be 10% to be filled in.

882
00:43:45,834 --> 00:43:49,934
But I guess I was also thinking about what would, what would

883
00:43:49,934 --> 00:43:51,000
that chart ideally look like?

884
00:43:51,066 --> 00:43:53,233
It would probably be a lot bigger than 10%, right?

885
00:43:53,367 --> 00:43:56,133
Given, you know, we're talking about 80%

886
00:43:56,100 --> 00:43:59,300
of the median income, meaning, you know, I don't know

887
00:43:59,300 --> 00:44:01,000
what percent of the population is at

888
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:04,000
or below 80% of median income, but like about 30%, 30%.

889
00:44:04,166 --> 00:44:09,033
So, so we would, I just wanted to a exactly ask for

890
00:44:09,033 --> 00:44:13,467
that number and, and kind of emphasize that, you know,

891
00:44:13,734 --> 00:44:15,300
how different that chart ought to look

892
00:44:15,367 --> 00:44:19,300
and how great that really shows that the need is. Yeah,

893
00:44:19,867 --> 00:44:22,700
- Let me, I guess I'll add to your comment question.

894
00:44:22,767 --> 00:44:25,233
Is it, is it, the chart can be a bit misleading as well

895
00:44:25,233 --> 00:44:28,266
because one of the things that we are charged with is

896
00:44:29,100 --> 00:44:31,767
building, building affordable housing, capital A,

897
00:44:32,033 --> 00:44:34,533
capital H there's naturally occurring

898
00:44:35,033 --> 00:44:36,333
affordable housing in the city.

899
00:44:36,433 --> 00:44:39,567
We know that there are people who rent below market,

900
00:44:40,066 --> 00:44:43,233
you know, there are people who have low housing costs

901
00:44:43,233 --> 00:44:45,100
because they paid off their mortgage many years ago,

902
00:44:45,133 --> 00:44:46,500
so their expenses aren't that high.

903
00:44:46,567 --> 00:44:48,567
So there, there are people that live in the city

904
00:44:48,567 --> 00:44:51,767
that have naturally occurring affordable housing.

905
00:44:52,367 --> 00:44:54,133
So we're focused only on the portion

906
00:44:54,333 --> 00:44:57,000
that is deed restricted part of that inventory.

907
00:44:57,834 --> 00:45:00,266
The other part is, we talked a little bit about 40 B is

908
00:45:00,266 --> 00:45:03,467
that, that I think collectively our,

909
00:45:03,467 --> 00:45:05,467
our committee talk has talked a lot about 40 B

910
00:45:05,500 --> 00:45:08,333
and about this 10%, this magic number of 10%.

911
00:45:09,066 --> 00:45:12,734
Keeping in mind that, that when a, when the city reaches

912
00:45:12,734 --> 00:45:16,567
that safe harbor goal for a project that's a 40 B project,

913
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:20,367
not all of those units are at an afford

914
00:45:20,433 --> 00:45:21,767
might be at an affordable level.

915
00:45:22,133 --> 00:45:26,066
And so we gain units to the inventory to get to reach

916
00:45:26,066 --> 00:45:28,934
that safe harbor, but we're not necessarily gaining units

917
00:45:29,367 --> 00:45:31,867
that are satisfying the needs of those people

918
00:45:31,900 --> 00:45:34,100
who are making 80% or less of the median income.

919
00:45:34,734 --> 00:45:37,266
And so, so we look at this, at this chart

920
00:45:37,367 --> 00:45:40,300
and say, you know, do these numbers really mean a a lot?

921
00:45:40,300 --> 00:45:42,333
Where is the numbers? Is it greater, is it less than,

922
00:45:42,700 --> 00:45:45,133
I think what we keep going back to is, wow,

923
00:45:45,133 --> 00:45:47,300
this is really not enough and that,

924
00:45:47,300 --> 00:45:49,000
and that's our goal is to get more

925
00:45:49,734 --> 00:45:51,867
And is is 20% the magic number?

926
00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:53,834
I'm, I'm, I'm not sure I don't,

927
00:45:53,834 --> 00:45:55,100
we haven't talked about that.

928
00:45:56,300 --> 00:45:58,533
- Terrific. - Thank you. And last comment is, thank you

929
00:45:58,533 --> 00:46:00,133
so much for, for bringing up the importance

930
00:46:00,133 --> 00:46:02,033
of the Community Preservation Act

931
00:46:02,100 --> 00:46:04,834
and to my colleague for including some details about

932
00:46:04,834 --> 00:46:06,033
that I think really important.

933
00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:08,834
I'm also in favor and hope that we can move on that soon.

934
00:46:08,900 --> 00:46:09,900
Thank you.

935
00:46:10,233 --> 00:46:11,700
- Thank you so much Councillor Vandiver.

936
00:46:12,233 --> 00:46:13,367
I just wanna note we've got a couple

937
00:46:13,367 --> 00:46:14,700
of other items on our agenda

938
00:46:14,900 --> 00:46:17,000
and we got about 10 minutes until our scheduled full council

939
00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:19,734
meeting just for P purposes.

940
00:46:19,734 --> 00:46:22,033
But up next I've got Councillor fro. Thank

941
00:46:22,033 --> 00:46:23,033
- You.

942
00:46:23,100 --> 00:46:24,867
Thank you so much for the presentation.

943
00:46:25,066 --> 00:46:27,066
It was very helpful for me to kinda understand

944
00:46:27,166 --> 00:46:31,033
what you guys do and how it, you know, interacts

945
00:46:31,033 --> 00:46:33,266
with the city and affordable housing.

946
00:46:33,567 --> 00:46:37,000
So sounds like the CPA is really kind of an important piece

947
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:41,000
of this and that, so I'm just kind of trying to think if

948
00:46:41,033 --> 00:46:43,133
that wasn't say that we brought that to a ballot,

949
00:46:43,233 --> 00:46:47,066
it didn't get passed, so, which you know, it's like alright,

950
00:46:47,433 --> 00:46:49,000
you don't wanna think that about that, but I'm just saying

951
00:46:49,033 --> 00:46:52,934
like what, are there other housing trusts

952
00:46:53,433 --> 00:46:55,266
or I don't know if other cities around us have them.

953
00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,066
I'm not really Yeah, no aware of them,

954
00:46:58,166 --> 00:47:01,266
but what do, do they use CPAs?

955
00:47:01,266 --> 00:47:03,233
Do they, how do they fund themselves or?

956
00:47:03,233 --> 00:47:04,700
- Yeah, I mean I think, you know,

957
00:47:05,066 --> 00:47:07,767
o over 73% do have the cpa.

958
00:47:08,767 --> 00:47:12,467
I, but I do over 73%, 73% of the communities

959
00:47:12,467 --> 00:47:14,467
that have affordable housing just have CPA.

960
00:47:15,033 --> 00:47:18,867
But I mean, if we don't get it, we'll continue, we'll try

961
00:47:18,867 --> 00:47:21,066
to continue to support projects that come up.

962
00:47:22,500 --> 00:47:24,533
We'll look for other ways of,

963
00:47:25,166 --> 00:47:28,100
another ways city owned parcels, I know

964
00:47:29,767 --> 00:47:32,100
I participated in the, they have are having a,

965
00:47:32,634 --> 00:47:36,100
a study on the, the two parcels that are becoming online

966
00:47:37,100 --> 00:47:39,834
that is a, a way to

967
00:47:40,500 --> 00:47:42,233
move affordable housing along.

968
00:47:43,467 --> 00:47:45,266
So I mean, we will continue to push

969
00:47:46,066 --> 00:47:47,867
and I know that, you know, the CPA

970
00:47:47,867 --> 00:47:49,934
and bringing something to ballot is not, you know,

971
00:47:49,934 --> 00:47:54,033
done without, you know, some thought and some risk.

972
00:47:54,900 --> 00:47:59,066
But I think it outweighs the benefits are so clear.

973
00:47:59,266 --> 00:48:01,066
I think it would be really important to get out

974
00:48:01,066 --> 00:48:02,266
to the community what that is.

975
00:48:03,900 --> 00:48:05,867
But yeah, we'll continue to try to do our work

976
00:48:05,867 --> 00:48:07,734
and educate people and work where we can

977
00:48:09,033 --> 00:48:11,533
and so we have enough money to do more.

978
00:48:13,500 --> 00:48:14,734
- And as far as the CPA a

979
00:48:14,734 --> 00:48:16,634
and this might be something that I have to look into,

980
00:48:16,700 --> 00:48:20,000
is there, is it a fixed percentage that lives kind of,

981
00:48:20,467 --> 00:48:22,000
is it 1% for the life of

982
00:48:22,500 --> 00:48:23,500
- More than 3%?

983
00:48:23,533 --> 00:48:26,300
Okay. You can elect as a community to do 1%,

984
00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:28,233
2%, one point half percent

985
00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:30,467
- And that stays like that?

986
00:48:30,667 --> 00:48:31,934
Or does it have it, you know,

987
00:48:32,066 --> 00:48:33,367
- You can, you can change it.

988
00:48:34,300 --> 00:48:35,934
I think you probably have to put it back

989
00:48:35,934 --> 00:48:38,834
to about to change the percent. Yeah, yeah.

990
00:48:39,133 --> 00:48:40,300
- More of like informational if people

991
00:48:40,734 --> 00:48:41,734
- Yeah, no, it's important.

992
00:48:42,033 --> 00:48:43,033
Yeah.

993
00:48:44,100 --> 00:48:45,700
- Okay. Thank you. - You are welcome.

994
00:48:46,567 --> 00:48:47,467
- I'm next. I have Councilor

995
00:48:47,634 --> 00:48:49,133
Chen questions already been answered.

996
00:48:49,133 --> 00:48:50,367
Thank you. All right, fantastic.

997
00:48:50,667 --> 00:48:53,333
And a second time we're on, have Councillor Williams. Have

998
00:48:53,333 --> 00:48:55,700
- You guys talked to the Community Preservation Coalition?

999
00:48:57,300 --> 00:48:59,133
- I have not talked to them yet, but I have,

1000
00:49:00,133 --> 00:49:03,033
- They were very, when I was researching this several years

1001
00:49:03,100 --> 00:49:04,834
ago, the staff was very helpful.

1002
00:49:04,867 --> 00:49:07,000
They only have a few staff, but they're very responsive

1003
00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:08,634
and they have a ton of information on how

1004
00:49:08,634 --> 00:49:09,834
to create a committee, et cetera, et

1005
00:49:09,834 --> 00:49:10,834
- Cetera.

1006
00:49:10,834 --> 00:49:12,133
Yes, I, I have seen their information online. Yeah,

1007
00:49:12,533 --> 00:49:13,533
- Same.

1008
00:49:13,533 --> 00:49:16,266
It's like you first source for doing it, getting it done.

1009
00:49:16,266 --> 00:49:17,266
Yes.

1010
00:49:18,667 --> 00:49:19,667
- What is the will of the committee?

1011
00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:22,100
- That motion to place on file

1012
00:49:22,433 --> 00:49:24,333
- Second motion made it place on file

1013
00:49:24,333 --> 00:49:25,867
by Councillor Williams, seconded

1014
00:49:25,867 --> 00:49:27,634
by Councillor Karen Chetty on discussion,

1015
00:49:30,000 --> 00:49:34,133
do we require a roll call or this can just be Alright.

1016
00:49:34,734 --> 00:49:36,266
All those in favor? Aye.

1017
00:49:36,433 --> 00:49:38,333
All those opposed the ayes have it

1018
00:49:38,333 --> 00:49:40,934
and this will be reported out to the full council meeting.

1019
00:49:40,934 --> 00:49:42,100
Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

1020
00:49:42,100 --> 00:49:44,367
Appreciate your time and thank you for all that you do

1021
00:49:44,433 --> 00:49:45,867
for our community

1022
00:49:45,934 --> 00:49:47,567
and for taking the time to volunteer

1023
00:49:47,567 --> 00:49:48,867
for our city being here tonight.

1024
00:49:49,533 --> 00:49:51,634
Alright, up next on our agenda

1025
00:49:53,066 --> 00:49:55,567
ID number 20 26 7 7 3 acceptance

1026
00:49:55,567 --> 00:49:58,500
of FY 26 Firefighter Safety Equipment grant

1027
00:49:58,634 --> 00:50:02,734
and the amount of $12,375 and 87 cents.

1028
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:05,567
Joining us this evening is Chief White. Thank you Chief.

1029
00:50:06,066 --> 00:50:07,266
Good evening. Good to see you.

1030
00:50:15,233 --> 00:50:20,233
- Hi Mills Fire department has been awarded a grant from

1031
00:50:20,233 --> 00:50:22,000
the Executive Office of Public Safety

1032
00:50:22,066 --> 00:50:25,033
and Security Department of Fire Services in the amount

1033
00:50:25,033 --> 00:50:28,467
of $12,375 and 87 cents.

1034
00:50:29,100 --> 00:50:31,000
And we propose to utilize these funds

1035
00:50:31,033 --> 00:50:32,266
to support the purchase

1036
00:50:32,634 --> 00:50:34,500
of some critical life safety equipment,

1037
00:50:34,900 --> 00:50:37,500
mainly seven SCBA cylinders.

1038
00:50:37,500 --> 00:50:40,033
Those are the self-contained breath apparatus, cylinders,

1039
00:50:40,166 --> 00:50:42,300
and three multi gas detection meters.

1040
00:50:44,233 --> 00:50:47,500
I just came here to ask you to consider to accept this

1041
00:50:48,066 --> 00:50:49,567
and approve this award.

1042
00:50:50,867 --> 00:50:52,133
I'd be happy to answer any questions.

1043
00:50:52,133 --> 00:50:54,634
These are very, they're things

1044
00:50:54,634 --> 00:50:56,767
that we use almost every day at the fire department.

1045
00:50:58,100 --> 00:51:00,734
Naturally cylinders, we always need supply

1046
00:51:00,734 --> 00:51:02,367
of air when we respond to fires

1047
00:51:03,100 --> 00:51:06,367
and the multi gas meters, they always come in handy.

1048
00:51:07,100 --> 00:51:11,000
Most homes luckily in Merose have co detectors

1049
00:51:11,467 --> 00:51:13,133
and when they go off, we get called,

1050
00:51:13,567 --> 00:51:15,533
we can verify if it really is CO

1051
00:51:15,667 --> 00:51:17,634
or maybe their meter is not working properly.

1052
00:51:18,100 --> 00:51:20,000
And also for natural gas detection,

1053
00:51:21,367 --> 00:51:22,767
we use those all the time.

1054
00:51:23,667 --> 00:51:25,500
They're pretty sophisticated devices

1055
00:51:26,433 --> 00:51:28,500
and actually they get used fairly a lot.

1056
00:51:28,500 --> 00:51:31,333
So it's time we have to kind of replace them when they get

1057
00:51:31,333 --> 00:51:33,233
to the end of their life and we can't get any more parts

1058
00:51:33,266 --> 00:51:37,000
or census for them and take any questions. It's,

1059
00:51:37,433 --> 00:51:38,433
- Thank you very much.

1060
00:51:38,533 --> 00:51:40,233
First I have counselor for Noro. Thank you.

1061
00:51:41,100 --> 00:51:44,100
- Thank you for being here. I just have a quick question.

1062
00:51:46,100 --> 00:51:48,867
It's great that we received this grant to cover the,

1063
00:51:49,266 --> 00:51:52,567
the safety equipment is the will do.

1064
00:51:52,567 --> 00:51:55,634
Do you foresee there's any additional funds from the city to

1065
00:51:57,000 --> 00:51:58,100
go towards this equipment?

1066
00:51:58,900 --> 00:52:00,100
- We have put in for,

1067
00:52:00,100 --> 00:52:02,500
in the capital improvement project we put in for

1068
00:52:04,066 --> 00:52:07,333
also SCBA harnesses the whole pack,

1069
00:52:08,166 --> 00:52:12,000
but also more spare bottles coming very handy when

1070
00:52:13,700 --> 00:52:17,500
we had a fire last in January one night

1071
00:52:17,500 --> 00:52:19,066
and we used up all our spare

1072
00:52:19,066 --> 00:52:20,467
bottles and putting the fire out.

1073
00:52:21,066 --> 00:52:23,266
Fortunately we had mutual aid covering the city,

1074
00:52:23,433 --> 00:52:25,100
but we rolled back into the station

1075
00:52:25,233 --> 00:52:26,634
to refill all our bottles.

1076
00:52:27,066 --> 00:52:28,533
We had another call from the house fire.

1077
00:52:29,266 --> 00:52:32,100
Fortunately the mutual aid companies were able to respond,

1078
00:52:32,133 --> 00:52:34,066
but we were caught flatfooted,

1079
00:52:34,066 --> 00:52:36,233
we didn't have any bottles filled with air.

1080
00:52:36,634 --> 00:52:38,367
We had to fill out the bottles we had up.

1081
00:52:38,734 --> 00:52:41,467
And so these bottles will be used as our spare bottles.

1082
00:52:41,533 --> 00:52:44,000
We'll keep the station to just swap in

1083
00:52:44,000 --> 00:52:46,700
and out as we need to, to get back in service

1084
00:52:46,867 --> 00:52:48,000
as fast as possible.

1085
00:52:48,767 --> 00:52:50,033
- Okay, so this amount will

1086
00:52:50,033 --> 00:52:51,133
cover a certain amount of equipment?

1087
00:52:51,133 --> 00:52:53,500
Yes. Yes. But then you have another request on the capital.

1088
00:52:53,867 --> 00:52:55,233
Okay. Thank you.

1089
00:52:56,333 --> 00:52:58,100
- Terrific. Up next I Councillor Williams. Yeah.

1090
00:52:58,233 --> 00:53:01,033
- Motion to recommend to the full council Second. Second.

1091
00:53:01,567 --> 00:53:03,300
- Motion to recommend by Councillor Williams.

1092
00:53:03,300 --> 00:53:06,000
Seconded by Councillor Vandiver. On discussion.

1093
00:53:07,166 --> 00:53:08,700
Madam Clerk, will you please call the role

1094
00:53:10,066 --> 00:53:11,233
- Vice Chair Vandiver?

1095
00:53:11,500 --> 00:53:14,834
Yes. Councillor Chen? Yes. Councilor Occhio? Yes.

1096
00:53:15,033 --> 00:53:18,233
Counselor Jamine? Yes. Counselor Rum Chee? Yes.

1097
00:53:18,367 --> 00:53:21,634
Counselor Cole? Yes. Counselor Park? Yes.

1098
00:53:21,767 --> 00:53:25,066
Counselor Williams? Yes. President Freeman? Yes. Chair

1099
00:53:25,033 --> 00:53:26,033
- Romano?

1100
00:53:26,033 --> 00:53:27,000
Yes. Motion passes.

1101
00:53:27,033 --> 00:53:28,834
Alright, the motion passes and will be brought

1102
00:53:28,834 --> 00:53:30,000
before the next full council meeting

1103
00:53:30,333 --> 00:53:31,700
with a recommendation for passage.

1104
00:53:31,900 --> 00:53:33,834
Thank you Chief, appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

1105
00:53:33,900 --> 00:53:36,500
Thank you folks. Alright, last

1106
00:53:36,500 --> 00:53:38,867
and not least, ID number 2026.

1107
00:53:39,000 --> 00:53:42,266
Seven. Seven four. That the city authorized the mayor

1108
00:53:42,266 --> 00:53:44,033
to enter into an inter municipal agreement

1109
00:53:44,100 --> 00:53:47,033
for establishing a regional animal control officer position

1110
00:53:47,266 --> 00:53:50,000
in partnership with the towns of Wakefield and Stoneham.

1111
00:53:50,000 --> 00:53:51,734
Joining us this evening, Mr. Anthony Chu,

1112
00:53:51,734 --> 00:53:53,333
thank you so much for joining us.

1113
00:53:54,100 --> 00:53:56,333
- Thank you. Floor is yours. Yes. Thank you.

1114
00:53:56,333 --> 00:53:58,066
And thank you to the council for having us tonight.

1115
00:53:59,100 --> 00:54:02,634
I'm excited to ask for the support of the council

1116
00:54:02,734 --> 00:54:05,100
to establish a regional animal control officer position.

1117
00:54:06,100 --> 00:54:07,500
This would be in partnership with the towns

1118
00:54:07,500 --> 00:54:08,533
of Wakefield and Stoneham.

1119
00:54:09,133 --> 00:54:11,367
As you guys might know, we already have a very

1120
00:54:11,367 --> 00:54:12,533
strong partnership with them.

1121
00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:14,300
There are three shared staff members.

1122
00:54:14,834 --> 00:54:17,567
We have been working with Wakefield for over 20 years,

1123
00:54:17,700 --> 00:54:21,734
and Stoneham joined us in 2023 in a regional format.

1124
00:54:22,233 --> 00:54:24,367
It has both been a cost effective way for us

1125
00:54:24,367 --> 00:54:27,700
to deliver services and also address issues

1126
00:54:27,700 --> 00:54:29,700
that have been similar across all these communities.

1127
00:54:30,367 --> 00:54:33,233
This position, while I have enjoyed my time serving

1128
00:54:33,233 --> 00:54:35,767
as animal control officer on the side,

1129
00:54:36,734 --> 00:54:39,100
I believe this position will give us more capacity

1130
00:54:39,233 --> 00:54:41,066
to help deal with some of the issues that are,

1131
00:54:41,100 --> 00:54:42,500
are constituents are seeing.

1132
00:54:43,166 --> 00:54:45,567
We want to be able to provide more education opportunities

1133
00:54:45,667 --> 00:54:47,767
as well, and also work on enforcement.

1134
00:54:48,333 --> 00:54:51,100
So this position would be a shared position.

1135
00:54:51,100 --> 00:54:52,533
This would fall under our department.

1136
00:54:53,133 --> 00:54:56,000
And we've also budgeted for education.

1137
00:54:56,066 --> 00:55:00,100
So we've, we're gonna have events that might include

1138
00:55:00,467 --> 00:55:02,500
rabies shots, clinics at a discounted price.

1139
00:55:02,634 --> 00:55:03,867
We're gonna try and provide those.

1140
00:55:04,533 --> 00:55:06,634
We'll also be able to help the clerk's office in kind

1141
00:55:06,634 --> 00:55:09,066
of increasing enforcement as well for permitting.

1142
00:55:10,000 --> 00:55:11,834
Happy to answer any questions council may have.

1143
00:55:12,066 --> 00:55:14,834
- Thank you very much. First I have Councillor Jamal ine.

1144
00:55:16,900 --> 00:55:18,867
- Thank you. Thank you.

1145
00:55:22,000 --> 00:55:26,233
Are all cities sharing equally this position?

1146
00:55:26,934 --> 00:55:30,533
Meaning days schedule wise and hours?

1147
00:55:31,000 --> 00:55:35,066
- Yes. So we will have a 33% share cost sharing

1148
00:55:35,066 --> 00:55:37,533
between each community in terms of time

1149
00:55:37,533 --> 00:55:40,233
and resources similar to our positions.

1150
00:55:40,467 --> 00:55:43,033
We, you know, we spend some more hours in certain

1151
00:55:43,033 --> 00:55:45,834
communities during each week depending on the need.

1152
00:55:45,834 --> 00:55:48,367
But it, it works out about even across

1153
00:55:48,500 --> 00:55:49,767
the, the span of a year.

1154
00:55:50,467 --> 00:55:51,634
So, you know, when we have,

1155
00:55:51,767 --> 00:55:54,000
when we have continued issues in one area, we'll try

1156
00:55:54,000 --> 00:55:55,533
to address them and then move on to another.

1157
00:55:55,734 --> 00:55:58,300
So, you know, it may not be exactly equal every week,

1158
00:55:58,300 --> 00:56:00,066
but it'll, it'll shake out to about the same.

1159
00:56:00,266 --> 00:56:03,500
- And where would be the person

1160
00:56:04,066 --> 00:56:06,033
holding this position located?

1161
00:56:06,033 --> 00:56:08,834
Is it in all the three towns or cities

1162
00:56:09,100 --> 00:56:12,333
or specific days in Melrose? Yeah,

1163
00:56:12,567 --> 00:56:15,033
- So we, we hope to have space for them here.

1164
00:56:15,300 --> 00:56:16,867
Space is a little tight here at City Hall,

1165
00:56:17,367 --> 00:56:20,634
but we are going to provide space for, for equipment

1166
00:56:20,667 --> 00:56:22,000
and services in each community.

1167
00:56:22,667 --> 00:56:24,100
We'll try to establish a schedule,

1168
00:56:24,333 --> 00:56:25,533
but I think part

1169
00:56:25,533 --> 00:56:27,567
of it is gonna be dictated by what comes up.

1170
00:56:27,634 --> 00:56:31,033
So bite reports and responding to bite incidents are one

1171
00:56:31,033 --> 00:56:32,367
of the main, one of the main jobs.

1172
00:56:32,500 --> 00:56:35,266
And so, you know, should there be more incidents in one

1173
00:56:35,266 --> 00:56:36,533
community that, you know, that day,

1174
00:56:36,634 --> 00:56:39,000
we would prioritize those and, and have them go there first.

1175
00:56:39,467 --> 00:56:43,467
- And historically speaking, do we know if, you know,

1176
00:56:43,567 --> 00:56:48,033
Melrose has been equally, you know, requiring

1177
00:56:48,100 --> 00:56:52,700
that support as the other neighbors as well? Or is it,

1178
00:56:53,033 --> 00:56:56,066
- Yeah, so I think it's, it's hard to say for sure.

1179
00:56:56,033 --> 00:56:58,934
So I've been doing, I've been doing the Melrose response

1180
00:56:58,934 --> 00:57:00,333
for a while, so I have a pretty good idea of

1181
00:57:00,333 --> 00:57:01,367
how many responses we get.

1182
00:57:02,066 --> 00:57:03,734
Recently, Wakefield actually parted ways

1183
00:57:03,734 --> 00:57:05,333
with their animal patrol officer position,

1184
00:57:05,433 --> 00:57:07,033
so I've also been filling in there as well.

1185
00:57:07,333 --> 00:57:08,867
So I have a general idea of

1186
00:57:08,867 --> 00:57:10,000
how much we've been seeing over there.

1187
00:57:10,567 --> 00:57:12,367
It's very similar in capacity

1188
00:57:12,467 --> 00:57:13,700
and then also Stoneham as well.

1189
00:57:13,867 --> 00:57:15,000
I, I was not serving as that role,

1190
00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:16,567
but we have someone doing that part-time

1191
00:57:17,900 --> 00:57:20,700
and there's, they've been doing a really good job,

1192
00:57:20,700 --> 00:57:22,266
but they're also very limited in their hours.

1193
00:57:22,367 --> 00:57:23,567
And so I think

1194
00:57:24,133 --> 00:57:26,300
by increasing their hours we'll be able to meet that need as well.

1195
00:57:26,367 --> 00:57:28,100
So no, no community I don't,

1196
00:57:28,266 --> 00:57:30,367
I think has a much larger need than

1197
00:57:30,367 --> 00:57:31,367
- The others.

1198
00:57:31,367 --> 00:57:32,533
Okay. My last question, I promise.

1199
00:57:34,266 --> 00:57:37,100
Do you think that this amount

1200
00:57:37,100 --> 00:57:39,333
of hours is enough cornrow?

1201
00:57:40,033 --> 00:57:41,867
- Yeah, I think we're splitting 40 hours

1202
00:57:41,900 --> 00:57:43,000
across three communities.

1203
00:57:43,567 --> 00:57:44,934
I, I think this will be enough.

1204
00:57:45,066 --> 00:57:48,734
I think part of the, part of the beginning stages will be

1205
00:57:48,734 --> 00:57:50,033
to establish expectations.

1206
00:57:50,033 --> 00:57:51,367
So one of the things that we've been hearing

1207
00:57:51,367 --> 00:57:52,500
about is off leash dogs.

1208
00:57:53,233 --> 00:57:54,834
We want to send a message to communities.

1209
00:57:54,834 --> 00:57:57,100
So we'll both be there with presence as well

1210
00:57:57,100 --> 00:58:00,734
as sending out informational flyers

1211
00:58:00,734 --> 00:58:02,567
and other ways of communication through the city.

1212
00:58:03,467 --> 00:58:06,367
I think once we ex kind of set expectations,

1213
00:58:06,567 --> 00:58:08,066
I think people will respond better

1214
00:58:08,066 --> 00:58:09,500
and we'll see less of those incidents

1215
00:58:09,767 --> 00:58:11,000
and then they'll come down to enforcement.

1216
00:58:11,266 --> 00:58:13,734
- Awesome. Thank you. Terrific. Up next I have

1217
00:58:13,734 --> 00:58:14,734
- Councilor Park.

1218
00:58:14,900 --> 00:58:16,634
Thank you Anthony.

1219
00:58:17,000 --> 00:58:19,734
You and I, as you may recall, when we,

1220
00:58:19,734 --> 00:58:21,867
when I first came on board, you

1221
00:58:21,867 --> 00:58:26,033
and I had a discussion about what can I do, city council do

1222
00:58:26,033 --> 00:58:29,033
to, to help your, your position and your department.

1223
00:58:30,100 --> 00:58:34,100
We talked about this position among other ones that you're,

1224
00:58:34,233 --> 00:58:36,000
you would have on your wishlist.

1225
00:58:36,100 --> 00:58:38,700
And my question to you, I have two questions.

1226
00:58:38,734 --> 00:58:42,100
My first question is, is this particular role

1227
00:58:43,133 --> 00:58:46,567
the most pressing in terms of your needs right now?

1228
00:58:48,033 --> 00:58:51,066
Meaning, you know, since we do have limited funds in,

1229
00:58:51,066 --> 00:58:53,700
in free cash, is this something that you think is the,

1230
00:58:54,033 --> 00:58:55,934
the best spent or use of our money?

1231
00:58:57,500 --> 00:58:59,100
- I think, I think there are other priorities

1232
00:58:59,100 --> 00:59:00,533
that we also do value.

1233
00:59:00,867 --> 00:59:03,934
I think just this part of it is one of our, is one

1234
00:59:03,934 --> 00:59:05,567
of our main priorities only because we wanna be able

1235
00:59:05,567 --> 00:59:06,934
to meet all the statutory requirements.

1236
00:59:07,066 --> 00:59:09,567
And so, you know, by law we do have to respond

1237
00:59:09,567 --> 00:59:11,333
to every single bite bite report

1238
00:59:11,467 --> 00:59:12,567
and, you know, those come and go.

1239
00:59:12,734 --> 00:59:14,734
I think in, in the colder seasons we see less of them,

1240
00:59:14,734 --> 00:59:16,634
but overall we do need to address all of them.

1241
00:59:16,734 --> 00:59:19,734
I wanna make sure we're in compliance as well as being able

1242
00:59:19,734 --> 00:59:22,066
to address any concerns that the citizens have.

1243
00:59:22,066 --> 00:59:24,233
So I think this is one of our, one of our bigger priorities.

1244
00:59:24,667 --> 00:59:27,700
- Okay. And, and this is the second part of my question,

1245
00:59:28,634 --> 00:59:30,767
is does this overlap you, Al you

1246
00:59:30,767 --> 00:59:32,033
and I also have had discussions

1247
00:59:32,033 --> 00:59:35,033
with a very ambitious high school student with regards

1248
00:59:35,033 --> 00:59:36,834
to roading control with

1249
00:59:36,834 --> 00:59:39,734
that overlap in this person's responsibility as well as,

1250
00:59:39,734 --> 00:59:40,934
you know, pet control as well.

1251
00:59:42,066 --> 00:59:43,567
- I, I don't know that this would overlap

1252
00:59:43,567 --> 00:59:44,934
with the rodent control issue.

1253
00:59:45,367 --> 00:59:47,767
Our inspectors have been working with the,

1254
00:59:48,100 --> 00:59:49,000
with the construction here

1255
00:59:49,433 --> 00:59:52,100
and developers here in the city on more of an IPM approach,

1256
00:59:52,100 --> 00:59:54,066
an integrated pest management approach rather than,

1257
00:59:54,433 --> 00:59:58,266
rather than a bait box and poison based system.

1258
00:59:58,367 --> 01:00:01,000
We've been really working with them to try to establish more

1259
01:00:01,000 --> 01:00:05,000
of a cleaning up of the property, storing of trash properly,

1260
01:00:05,333 --> 01:00:07,100
removing trash in off hours.

1261
01:00:07,500 --> 01:00:09,300
We've been trying to work with them on that to try

1262
01:00:09,300 --> 01:00:11,767
and limit rodents, kind of a holistic approach,

1263
01:00:11,767 --> 01:00:14,066
rather than just poisoning is more successful.

1264
01:00:14,066 --> 01:00:15,767
So I think to answer your question, this,

1265
01:00:16,066 --> 01:00:17,934
this position wouldn't really address that,

1266
01:00:18,000 --> 01:00:20,000
but our, our inspectors have been trying

1267
01:00:20,000 --> 01:00:21,467
to work with them on that. So,

1268
01:00:22,000 --> 01:00:23,000
- Yeah.

1269
01:00:23,000 --> 01:00:23,100
Thank you

1270
01:00:23,867 --> 01:00:24,867
- Councilor Chen.

1271
01:00:25,367 --> 01:00:27,000
- Thanks. Do we know what the bottom line

1272
01:00:27,000 --> 01:00:29,033
cost of Melrose would be? Sure. For this position,

1273
01:00:29,467 --> 01:00:32,133
- So based on some of the projections,

1274
01:00:35,767 --> 01:00:37,734
both the lower and the higher range are about

1275
01:00:37,734 --> 01:00:39,000
$30,000 a year.

1276
01:00:39,000 --> 01:00:42,300
So that's including for, for including the position as well

1277
01:00:42,300 --> 01:00:44,066
as a budget for supplies and sheltering

1278
01:00:44,700 --> 01:00:47,000
and a thousand dollars split across three

1279
01:00:47,000 --> 01:00:48,066
communities for our education as

1280
01:00:48,066 --> 01:00:49,066
- Well.

1281
01:00:49,567 --> 01:00:51,100
- And then would we let go of the stone,

1282
01:00:51,467 --> 01:00:54,233
the stone animal control person

1283
01:00:54,500 --> 01:00:55,500
- Now?

1284
01:00:55,500 --> 01:00:56,834
Yes. So there would be a transition period with them?

1285
01:00:57,133 --> 01:00:59,367
They are, they're solely in Stoneham

1286
01:00:59,367 --> 01:01:00,634
and they, they work part-time

1287
01:01:00,634 --> 01:01:02,100
as dispatch right now in police.

1288
01:01:04,100 --> 01:01:08,033
- Terrific. Any other questions? Councillor Ro? I

1289
01:01:08,033 --> 01:01:09,467
- Just wanna say I'm very excited to see this

1290
01:01:11,467 --> 01:01:14,533
and I think the city really needs an animal control officer.

1291
01:01:15,033 --> 01:01:17,033
You've been doing a great job, but it's not your job.

1292
01:01:18,100 --> 01:01:20,100
And we, we've had one for years.

1293
01:01:20,266 --> 01:01:21,233
I know this is split role,

1294
01:01:21,333 --> 01:01:23,467
but I think it's really important.

1295
01:01:23,567 --> 01:01:25,700
So with that, I'd like to make a motion to recommend

1296
01:01:25,700 --> 01:01:29,300
- Second - Motion to recommend by Councillor fia, seconded

1297
01:01:29,300 --> 01:01:30,367
by councilor Karen Shady.

1298
01:01:30,467 --> 01:01:31,467
On discussion,

1299
01:01:32,567 --> 01:01:35,333
- Just quickly, I wanted to say thank you for thinking

1300
01:01:35,333 --> 01:01:38,000
of a way to be able to bring this position back,

1301
01:01:38,133 --> 01:01:41,734
but also be cost effective in terms of

1302
01:01:42,100 --> 01:01:44,000
what we had available for this resource.

1303
01:01:44,000 --> 01:01:46,100
So I just appreciate the way you approached this

1304
01:01:46,233 --> 01:01:47,734
and psych just support it.

1305
01:01:48,033 --> 01:01:51,467
- Thank you. - Terrific. Absent any other questions?

1306
01:01:51,900 --> 01:01:53,767
All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye.

1307
01:01:53,767 --> 01:01:55,867
All those opposed the ayes have it.

1308
01:01:55,900 --> 01:01:57,500
The motion passes and will be brought

1309
01:01:57,500 --> 01:01:58,834
before the next full council meeting.

1310
01:02:00,100 --> 01:02:01,266
Thank you Mr. Chu. Thank you.

1311
01:02:01,834 --> 01:02:04,066
With that being our last agenda item, I'll now motion

1312
01:02:04,066 --> 01:02:05,500
by unanimous consent to adjourn.

1313
01:02:06,066 --> 01:02:08,233
Seeing no objections, we are now adjourned. Good evening.

1314
01:02:11,500 --> 01:02:15,934
- Good evening. The time is 7:53 PM on Monday,

1315
01:02:16,100 --> 01:02:17,867
April 27th, 2026.

1316
01:02:18,467 --> 01:02:20,000
I am Council President Freeman.

1317
01:02:20,100 --> 01:02:22,333
This meeting, the Melrose City Council is called to order

1318
01:02:23,000 --> 01:02:25,233
in accordance with the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.

1319
01:02:25,233 --> 01:02:26,700
This meeting is being broadcast

1320
01:02:26,700 --> 01:02:29,133
and recorded by the Melrose Cable Access tv

1321
01:02:29,266 --> 01:02:32,500
and will be available for viewing in its entirety on MMTV

1322
01:02:32,567 --> 01:02:33,867
and through the city website.

1323
01:02:34,133 --> 01:02:36,033
Madam Clerk, will you please call the role? Yes.

1324
01:02:36,033 --> 01:02:39,233
- Councilor Chen. Here. Councilor fro? Here.

1325
01:02:39,233 --> 01:02:42,500
Councilor Jamine? Here. Councilor Karen Chetty. Here.

1326
01:02:42,500 --> 01:02:45,634
Councilor Cowell? Here. Councilor Reky? Here.

1327
01:02:45,634 --> 01:02:48,367
Councilor Park. Here. Councilor Romano? Here.

1328
01:02:48,367 --> 01:02:51,100
Councilor Vandiver? Here. Councilor Williams. Here.

1329
01:02:51,100 --> 01:02:53,333
President Freeman here makes for quorum.

1330
01:02:53,433 --> 01:02:55,500
- Thank you. At this time, please rise.

1331
01:02:55,500 --> 01:02:57,300
If you're able to join in the Pledge of Allegiance,

1332
01:02:59,300 --> 01:03:01,367
- I pledge allegiance to the flag

1333
01:03:01,700 --> 01:03:03,300
of the United States of America

1334
01:03:03,900 --> 01:03:06,266
and to the republic for which it stands,

1335
01:03:06,934 --> 01:03:10,300
one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty

1336
01:03:10,667 --> 01:03:11,834
and justice for all.

1337
01:03:13,033 --> 01:03:17,266
- Thank you. At this time I'll motion by unanimous consent

1338
01:03:17,266 --> 01:03:20,066
to approve without reading the minutes from the April 26th.

1339
01:03:20,433 --> 01:03:22,767
April 6th, 2026 meeting. Excuse me.

1340
01:03:23,467 --> 01:03:25,367
Seeing no objection, those meetings,

1341
01:03:25,433 --> 01:03:26,634
those minutes are now approved.

1342
01:03:27,867 --> 01:03:29,834
I'll now motion by unanimous consent

1343
01:03:29,834 --> 01:03:31,233
to open the floor for public comment.

1344
01:03:32,166 --> 01:03:34,834
Seeing no objection, we are open for public comment

1345
01:03:35,467 --> 01:03:38,033
per rule 33 A of the Melrose City Council rules.

1346
01:03:38,066 --> 01:03:39,233
This is the portion of the meeting

1347
01:03:39,300 --> 01:03:42,000
where the public may speak on any item on tonight's agenda.

1348
01:03:42,934 --> 01:03:45,100
Comments expressing any viewpoint on any other

1349
01:03:45,100 --> 01:03:46,066
matters are also welcome.

1350
01:03:46,634 --> 01:03:48,233
I see we have people in the audience tonight,

1351
01:03:48,233 --> 01:03:50,767
so please feel free to come up to the table.

1352
01:03:51,567 --> 01:03:54,000
Just a reminder, the public comment period is an opportunity

1353
01:03:54,000 --> 01:03:55,033
for the public to share comments.

1354
01:03:55,133 --> 01:03:56,734
Counselors will not respond.

1355
01:03:57,033 --> 01:03:59,066
The public has up to five minutes for comments.

1356
01:03:59,133 --> 01:04:01,867
I'll notify you when you have 30 seconds remaining.

1357
01:04:04,367 --> 01:04:06,066
Is anyone here for public comment tonight? Oh

1358
01:04:06,100 --> 01:04:07,100
- Yeah.

1359
01:04:07,100 --> 01:04:08,100
Just giving her a little overview.

1360
01:04:08,734 --> 01:04:11,033
- And if you can just say your name and your address.

1361
01:04:11,467 --> 01:04:14,367
- Yes. Alright. So my name is Billy.

1362
01:04:15,300 --> 01:04:18,300
I live on Ashland Street in the Highlands.

1363
01:04:18,467 --> 01:04:19,467
I don't know if I have enough for those.

1364
01:04:19,467 --> 01:04:20,467
- So Billy, what's your last name?

1365
01:04:21,000 --> 01:04:24,767
- Blo. Thank you very much. Yep. Hi again.

1366
01:04:24,834 --> 01:04:28,000
So I was actually here back when I had a three month old.

1367
01:04:28,133 --> 01:04:31,033
Now she's five. Sorry, now she's nine months old.

1368
01:04:31,500 --> 01:04:32,567
Three nine. Yeah.

1369
01:04:33,233 --> 01:04:37,233
I have three children, ages four, two and nine months.

1370
01:04:38,333 --> 01:04:41,467
And I'm here to speak again on the behalf

1371
01:04:41,467 --> 01:04:42,934
of the Melrose Parents Committee

1372
01:04:43,066 --> 01:04:45,300
regarding the Melrose Public Library Children's Room.

1373
01:04:46,367 --> 01:04:49,567
The Melrose Parents Committee is a recently formed group

1374
01:04:49,667 --> 01:04:53,300
of people who wanna drive progress towards a welcoming,

1375
01:04:53,700 --> 01:04:56,700
engaging, and fun children's room here in Melrose.

1376
01:04:58,500 --> 01:05:02,033
We al and also wanna think more broadly about the experience

1377
01:05:02,033 --> 01:05:04,500
in Melrose at playgrounds and other spaces.

1378
01:05:06,000 --> 01:05:08,266
The children's room survey was concluded

1379
01:05:08,266 --> 01:05:09,500
nearly five months ago.

1380
01:05:10,066 --> 01:05:13,233
We're happy to see a snack table, three wall art hangings,

1381
01:05:13,233 --> 01:05:16,634
and a couple of play items added to the space since then.

1382
01:05:17,634 --> 01:05:20,000
But there's still so much room for improvement.

1383
01:05:20,834 --> 01:05:23,634
We have really appreciated the city.

1384
01:05:23,734 --> 01:05:25,533
We would really appreciate the city council

1385
01:05:25,700 --> 01:05:28,066
and the mayor's support to urge the library

1386
01:05:28,367 --> 01:05:29,533
to create an environment

1387
01:05:29,734 --> 01:05:32,033
that the community is truly excited about.

1388
01:05:32,834 --> 01:05:35,700
This isn't just a couple eager parents urging change

1389
01:05:36,033 --> 01:05:40,133
and a, an actual library consultant came and did a report.

1390
01:05:41,300 --> 01:05:43,066
It's on their website if you'd like

1391
01:05:43,066 --> 01:05:44,000
to see what the report was.

1392
01:05:44,100 --> 01:05:48,000
But basically it actually was a lot of

1393
01:05:48,100 --> 01:05:50,233
what we had been saying in our report

1394
01:05:50,233 --> 01:05:52,567
that we did when we visited the 15 libraries.

1395
01:05:52,567 --> 01:05:55,367
And we handed that to council with photos

1396
01:05:56,033 --> 01:05:57,133
overviewing the Noble Network.

1397
01:06:00,367 --> 01:06:01,767
So an example of

1398
01:06:01,767 --> 01:06:05,100
how easy these upgrades can be comes from our neighbors

1399
01:06:05,100 --> 01:06:06,000
over at the Stoneham Library.

1400
01:06:06,734 --> 01:06:09,066
They also had a recent renovation

1401
01:06:09,100 --> 01:06:11,867
and they reopened their children's room in mid-January.

1402
01:06:11,867 --> 01:06:14,266
This year. Their children's room opened

1403
01:06:14,266 --> 01:06:15,266
with just a dollhouse

1404
01:06:15,333 --> 01:06:19,000
and a Lego table with one within one month

1405
01:06:19,000 --> 01:06:20,734
of hearing feedback from their community,

1406
01:06:21,033 --> 01:06:24,367
they added the following to their space bin of crayons

1407
01:06:24,367 --> 01:06:25,934
and paper to their new tables.

1408
01:06:26,233 --> 01:06:30,333
Six bins of play items such as Dinos, fake food figures,

1409
01:06:30,367 --> 01:06:33,066
vehicles, a puppet stand, and wooden puzzles.

1410
01:06:34,033 --> 01:06:35,233
This happened without a survey

1411
01:06:35,934 --> 01:06:37,934
and it happened without an official

1412
01:06:37,934 --> 01:06:39,100
library consultant coming.

1413
01:06:39,667 --> 01:06:42,266
It happened without parents nagging

1414
01:06:42,433 --> 01:06:46,634
and a parent committee putting a presentation in front

1415
01:06:46,634 --> 01:06:49,100
of the director's table.

1416
01:06:50,667 --> 01:06:54,233
This happened just from patrons coming to the checkout

1417
01:06:54,233 --> 01:06:56,367
and saying, Hey, like, we kind

1418
01:06:56,367 --> 01:06:57,533
of expected more from you guys.

1419
01:06:58,100 --> 01:07:00,300
And the librarian, I talked to her, she's

1420
01:07:01,100 --> 01:07:03,767
always asking like, feedback, do you have any feedback?

1421
01:07:04,867 --> 01:07:08,634
That doesn't, that is not like in our librarian's

1422
01:07:08,900 --> 01:07:10,333
vocabulary, the word feedback.

1423
01:07:11,066 --> 01:07:14,033
And you know, we've been working really hard to try

1424
01:07:14,033 --> 01:07:17,834
and work with the librarians and doing whatever we can.

1425
01:07:18,000 --> 01:07:20,367
I think I've like called a couple of you just

1426
01:07:20,367 --> 01:07:21,834
to be like, what else can I do?

1427
01:07:22,533 --> 01:07:24,700
And I really don't wanna come off as like a negative person.

1428
01:07:25,000 --> 01:07:27,700
Like, we just want the best from our library.

1429
01:07:28,166 --> 01:07:30,533
We want our kids to grow up enjoying our library

1430
01:07:31,066 --> 01:07:33,533
and wanting to go there.

1431
01:07:33,634 --> 01:07:35,634
We want them to like be 10 years old

1432
01:07:35,634 --> 01:07:38,033
and like prefer to go there than Dunking Donuts

1433
01:07:38,033 --> 01:07:40,467
because their friends will be there and they get puzzles

1434
01:07:40,567 --> 01:07:44,767
and yeah, this is very near and dear to me.

1435
01:07:45,066 --> 01:07:48,634
So anyways, I would really appreciate anyone's support

1436
01:07:48,867 --> 01:07:53,033
to help urge the library staff to work on this.

1437
01:07:54,100 --> 01:07:56,533
In my last correspondence with the library, I asked

1438
01:07:56,533 --> 01:07:58,533
what the timeline was for future additions

1439
01:07:58,900 --> 01:08:00,467
and I was told that there is no timeline.

1440
01:08:01,166 --> 01:08:02,467
And that's really unfortunate

1441
01:08:02,467 --> 01:08:05,567
because no timeline essentially means there is no plan.

1442
01:08:06,734 --> 01:08:08,533
I asked if anything else was on order

1443
01:08:09,133 --> 01:08:12,100
and there is a delayed farm stand for the last two months.

1444
01:08:12,634 --> 01:08:14,867
But besides that, there's nothing else on order.

1445
01:08:17,100 --> 01:08:19,500
You know, we had 500 people take this survey

1446
01:08:20,000 --> 01:08:22,934
in our community, so clearly a lot of people care

1447
01:08:23,033 --> 01:08:24,867
and wanna see more from our library.

1448
01:08:27,634 --> 01:08:29,934
But anyways, I, they've been open a year now,

1449
01:08:29,934 --> 01:08:33,500
so I think a full year worth of, you know,

1450
01:08:33,634 --> 01:08:36,634
having the renovation and being open is more than enough

1451
01:08:36,634 --> 01:08:41,567
time where now we have all these additional elements

1452
01:08:41,567 --> 01:08:45,333
that have came in that it's, it's like, we're ready,

1453
01:08:45,433 --> 01:08:47,867
we're ready for our library to just make some moves.

1454
01:08:48,467 --> 01:08:51,900
I, so I handed out this

1455
01:08:52,934 --> 01:08:55,100
Meadows Parents committee chart

1456
01:08:55,300 --> 01:08:57,867
that you have about 30 seconds left Okay.

1457
01:08:58,000 --> 01:09:00,166
That we're gonna continue to work on and push

1458
01:09:00,567 --> 01:09:03,867
and hope to see more from our library. Thanks.

1459
01:09:03,867 --> 01:09:07,567
- Thank you very much. - My name is Nancy Wu.

1460
01:09:07,667 --> 01:09:09,934
I live at Richardson Road in the Highlands.

1461
01:09:10,867 --> 01:09:12,900
I'm also part of the committee with Billy

1462
01:09:13,333 --> 01:09:16,734
and I, I'm actually relatively new to Melrose.

1463
01:09:16,867 --> 01:09:18,734
I've been here for two years and moved here

1464
01:09:18,734 --> 01:09:20,266
because I heard it's a great community.

1465
01:09:20,266 --> 01:09:21,700
It's a great city to raise my children.

1466
01:09:21,834 --> 01:09:23,000
And obviously I've left Boston

1467
01:09:23,533 --> 01:09:25,133
and since then I've had two kids here.

1468
01:09:25,000 --> 01:09:26,834
So I have a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old.

1469
01:09:27,033 --> 01:09:29,700
And I absolutely love Melrose

1470
01:09:30,100 --> 01:09:32,567
and I was very excited when the library finally finished

1471
01:09:32,567 --> 01:09:34,066
to bring my children to the library.

1472
01:09:34,934 --> 01:09:37,333
But I was actually very disappointed in the amount

1473
01:09:37,333 --> 01:09:40,000
of toys there were and amount of like a safe place

1474
01:09:40,000 --> 01:09:43,734
where the kids can play and be stimulated with visual toys

1475
01:09:44,066 --> 01:09:45,667
or puzzles or pictures.

1476
01:09:46,467 --> 01:09:50,100
And it was, it was not until I have met more parents in,

1477
01:09:50,100 --> 01:09:52,100
in the city because I, I'm so new

1478
01:09:52,100 --> 01:09:53,634
and I work full time, so it has

1479
01:09:53,634 --> 01:09:54,734
been really hard to meet people.

1480
01:09:55,734 --> 01:09:59,467
But I have discovered there are other libraries in, in the

1481
01:10:00,033 --> 01:10:01,567
kind of north shore, metro west.

1482
01:10:02,066 --> 01:10:05,000
So because of the lack of programs that are available

1483
01:10:05,333 --> 01:10:06,700
for like the toddlers

1484
01:10:06,767 --> 01:10:09,000
or even the slightly older children, like

1485
01:10:09,033 --> 01:10:12,133
after school programs, I actually have to take my children

1486
01:10:12,333 --> 01:10:17,133
to Wilburn and reading and Medford and Cambridge

1487
01:10:17,300 --> 01:10:21,333
and even Boston where I used to live, just so

1488
01:10:21,333 --> 01:10:23,900
that they can attend this music event

1489
01:10:24,033 --> 01:10:28,900
or that they can do a open play area where people have the,

1490
01:10:28,934 --> 01:10:31,500
the library just set like a one hour

1491
01:10:31,567 --> 01:10:34,033
or even 45 minutes where they bring out mats

1492
01:10:34,033 --> 01:10:36,500
with different types of toys for different age groups.

1493
01:10:37,767 --> 01:10:41,500
And some of these toys are donated by the residents

1494
01:10:41,500 --> 01:10:43,100
of the community.

1495
01:10:43,000 --> 01:10:46,133
And some of them I think the library has a certain funding

1496
01:10:46,367 --> 01:10:48,233
to, to kind of purchase these toys.

1497
01:10:49,133 --> 01:10:50,467
And, and I thought that maybe

1498
01:10:50,500 --> 01:10:52,266
after a few months that it's open,

1499
01:10:52,634 --> 01:10:54,667
there will be some new programs

1500
01:10:54,667 --> 01:10:56,433
or improvements to the marrows library,

1501
01:10:57,033 --> 01:10:59,133
but there has not been any,

1502
01:10:59,834 --> 01:11:03,734
or there will be like a, you know, kind of like a newborn

1503
01:11:03,734 --> 01:11:06,700
or toddler, like a event,

1504
01:11:06,767 --> 01:11:09,100
but it would be literally during nap time.

1505
01:11:10,066 --> 01:11:13,367
So it, it's like I, I'm not sure

1506
01:11:13,567 --> 01:11:17,033
how the programs are being organized or who, who's doing it,

1507
01:11:17,100 --> 01:11:19,533
but I just wish there was more programs

1508
01:11:19,533 --> 01:11:21,233
where I didn't have to leave the city.

1509
01:11:21,700 --> 01:11:25,100
And it's, it's making me question did I do the right thing

1510
01:11:25,166 --> 01:11:27,934
by moving into Melrose Am I'm constantly going to Uber and,

1511
01:11:27,934 --> 01:11:30,033
or I'm constantly going to reading so that

1512
01:11:30,700 --> 01:11:32,867
now my kids are playing with the kids from this city

1513
01:11:32,934 --> 01:11:35,634
and I have, they're never gonna see them in kindergarten.

1514
01:11:35,634 --> 01:11:36,734
Right. They're never gonna grow up

1515
01:11:36,734 --> 01:11:37,767
with them in elementary school.

1516
01:11:38,133 --> 01:11:39,867
And like what Billy said, we have kids

1517
01:11:39,867 --> 01:11:42,033
that are also getting older every day

1518
01:11:42,100 --> 01:11:44,100
and we want them to be able to go to the library

1519
01:11:44,133 --> 01:11:46,133
and get excited to go there and meet with their friends

1520
01:11:46,166 --> 01:11:48,567
and play with something or join a music event

1521
01:11:49,266 --> 01:11:52,066
or just even have more things that they,

1522
01:11:52,066 --> 01:11:53,533
that could, can stimulate them.

1523
01:11:54,033 --> 01:11:56,233
Because oftentimes they just wanna play with Lego

1524
01:11:56,433 --> 01:11:58,867
or they just wanna have like a, a play kitchen

1525
01:11:58,900 --> 01:12:00,100
where they can pretend to cook

1526
01:12:00,100 --> 01:12:03,367
because you know, not everybody has the money to have

1527
01:12:03,367 --> 01:12:04,734
that set in their own home

1528
01:12:05,066 --> 01:12:08,100
or have a big enough home to actually support big toys

1529
01:12:09,266 --> 01:12:10,934
and even like little robots

1530
01:12:10,934 --> 01:12:14,367
or things that like stem where they have numbers or puzzles

1531
01:12:14,367 --> 01:12:15,500
or balls and,

1532
01:12:15,567 --> 01:12:18,033
and you know, we don't really have a lot of that

1533
01:12:18,233 --> 01:12:20,567
and you know, and I would want my kids to grow up

1534
01:12:20,567 --> 01:12:23,066
to be exposed to these kind of activities

1535
01:12:23,066 --> 01:12:26,567
and things rather than be on the streets doing other things.

1536
01:12:27,900 --> 01:12:28,900
Yeah.

1537
01:12:29,467 --> 01:12:30,767
- Wonderful. Thank you very much.

1538
01:12:32,000 --> 01:12:32,734
- All right. Thank you. - We

1539
01:12:32,734 --> 01:12:33,634
appreciate you coming in tonight.

1540
01:12:35,767 --> 01:12:37,700
And clerk, is there anyone online? No one online?

1541
01:12:39,000 --> 01:12:41,500
There is no objection. I'd like to close public comment.

1542
01:12:42,500 --> 01:12:45,000
Seeing none, we are now closed for public comment.

1543
01:12:45,767 --> 01:12:47,000
Moving on with the agenda.

1544
01:12:47,000 --> 01:12:48,500
There are no communications tonight.

1545
01:12:48,734 --> 01:12:51,734
So we'll move on to new business filings

1546
01:12:51,734 --> 01:12:52,867
by the Honorable Mayor.

1547
01:12:52,867 --> 01:12:54,367
Appointments and Reappointments

1548
01:12:55,033 --> 01:12:58,300
- ID number 2 0 2 6 dash 8 2 4 reappointment

1549
01:12:58,333 --> 01:13:01,934
of Peter Bowman, 24 Arlington Road to the library board

1550
01:13:01,934 --> 01:13:03,500
of trustees for three year term.

1551
01:13:03,634 --> 01:13:07,500
Said term to expire the last day of February, 2029.

1552
01:13:07,734 --> 01:13:09,133
- This will go to boards and commissions

1553
01:13:09,500 --> 01:13:12,767
- ID number 2 0 2 6 dash 1 1 46.

1554
01:13:13,100 --> 01:13:17,367
Appointment of Mark McKinnon, 5 85 Franklin Street

1555
01:13:17,367 --> 01:13:18,700
to the Melrose Housing Authority.

1556
01:13:18,867 --> 01:13:21,433
Four five year term said term to expire First Monday

1557
01:13:21,500 --> 01:13:23,033
of March, 2029.

1558
01:13:23,133 --> 01:13:25,066
Mr. McKinnon is completing the term

1559
01:13:25,066 --> 01:13:27,066
of Ellen Conley who has stepped down.

1560
01:13:27,500 --> 01:13:30,233
- This will go to boards of commissions appropriations

1561
01:13:30,867 --> 01:13:33,734
- ID number 2 0 2 6 dash 1 4 7

1562
01:13:34,300 --> 01:13:36,533
appropriation from free cash account zero one dash

1563
01:13:36,533 --> 01:13:38,033
3 2 4 0 0 1

1564
01:13:38,333 --> 01:13:42,133
and the amount of $170,000 to capital outlay.

1565
01:13:42,133 --> 01:13:44,867
Number 9 3 1 to purchase a sidewalk plow.

1566
01:13:45,033 --> 01:13:46,734
- This will go to appropriations and oversight

1567
01:13:47,133 --> 01:13:51,367
- ID number 2 0 2 6 dash 1 48 appropriation from free cash

1568
01:13:51,467 --> 01:13:55,233
account zero one dash 3 24 0 0 1 in the amount

1569
01:13:55,233 --> 01:13:58,667
of 880,000 to the capital outlay.

1570
01:13:58,667 --> 01:14:02,500
Number 9 3 1 to purchase DPW vehicles.

1571
01:14:02,834 --> 01:14:04,433
- This will go to appropriations and oversight

1572
01:14:05,033 --> 01:14:08,634
- ID number 2 0 2 6 dash 1 49 appropriation

1573
01:14:08,634 --> 01:14:12,300
for free cash account zero one dash 3 2 4 0 0 1 in the

1574
01:14:12,300 --> 01:14:15,567
amount of 865,000 to DPW Snow

1575
01:14:16,867 --> 01:14:21,066
4 3 1 to close the snow in ice deficit for fiscal year 26.

1576
01:14:21,266 --> 01:14:22,867
- This will go to appropriations and oversight

1577
01:14:23,033 --> 01:14:25,700
- ID number 2 0 2 6 dash 15 zero

1578
01:14:26,100 --> 01:14:28,367
appropriation from free cash account zero one dash

1579
01:14:28,367 --> 01:14:31,000
3 24 0 0 1 in the amount

1580
01:14:31,000 --> 01:14:35,634
of $244,944 to the school department.

1581
01:14:35,634 --> 01:14:37,000
Number 1 6 2 0

1582
01:14:37,467 --> 01:14:41,100
for Medicaid reimbursement received in fiscal year 25

1583
01:14:42,000 --> 01:14:44,467
- Appropriations and oversight - ID number 2 0 2 6 dash

1584
01:14:45,166 --> 01:14:49,567
1 15 1 appropriation from free cash account zero one dash

1585
01:14:49,634 --> 01:14:53,266
3 24 0 0 1 in the amount of $10,000

1586
01:14:53,700 --> 01:14:55,033
to the DPW highway.

1587
01:14:55,033 --> 01:14:57,100
Number 4, 2, 2 to purchase bike racks

1588
01:14:57,166 --> 01:14:59,000
- And this will go to appropriations and oversight.

1589
01:15:00,100 --> 01:15:02,066
Moving on to filings by members

1590
01:15:02,100 --> 01:15:04,133
of the Honorable City Council and resolutions

1591
01:15:06,000 --> 01:15:10,333
- ID number 2 0 2 6 dash 8 35 a resolution, recognizing

1592
01:15:10,333 --> 01:15:12,734
and supporting a LS, often known

1593
01:15:12,734 --> 01:15:15,734
as the Lou Gehrig's Disease in Melrose for the month

1594
01:15:15,734 --> 01:15:17,100
of May, 2026.

1595
01:15:19,100 --> 01:15:20,033
- Council Aldi,

1596
01:15:22,033 --> 01:15:23,033
- Mr.

1597
01:15:23,033 --> 01:15:26,166
President, I would like to request this

1598
01:15:26,233 --> 01:15:28,066
as immediate consideration.

1599
01:15:28,266 --> 01:15:30,133
- There's a motion for immediate consideration

1600
01:15:30,133 --> 01:15:31,166
made by Council Aldine.

1601
01:15:31,166 --> 01:15:34,133
Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Council Romano.

1602
01:15:34,867 --> 01:15:36,634
All in favor? A aye.

1603
01:15:36,767 --> 01:15:40,333
Any opposed That meeting is or that motion passes

1604
01:15:40,433 --> 01:15:42,367
and the item is available for immediate consideration.

1605
01:15:43,100 --> 01:15:45,767
- Thank you. And I would like to turn it back to

1606
01:15:47,100 --> 01:15:51,166
my co-sponsor or one of my co-sponsors, counselor Romano,

1607
01:15:51,734 --> 01:15:53,033
to read the resolution.

1608
01:15:53,133 --> 01:15:54,634
- Good evening. Thank you so much.

1609
01:15:55,033 --> 01:15:57,033
I wanna thank my colleagues for your co-sponsorship.

1610
01:15:58,233 --> 01:16:02,000
Whereas Atrophic Lateral Sclerosis co, also commonly known

1611
01:16:02,033 --> 01:16:03,667
as Lou Gehrig's disease

1612
01:16:03,667 --> 01:16:07,166
or a LS as a progressive fatal neurodegenerative disease in

1613
01:16:07,166 --> 01:16:08,900
which a person's brain loses connection

1614
01:16:08,900 --> 01:16:11,133
with their muscles slowly reducing the person's ability

1615
01:16:11,000 --> 01:16:13,033
to walk, talk, eat, and eventually breathe.

1616
01:16:13,467 --> 01:16:14,567
And whereas thousands

1617
01:16:14,567 --> 01:16:16,900
of new a LS cases are reported every single year

1618
01:16:17,000 --> 01:16:19,266
and estimates show that every 90 minutes someone is

1619
01:16:19,266 --> 01:16:22,100
diagnosed with a LS and someone passes away from a LS.

1620
01:16:22,533 --> 01:16:24,900
And whereas on average, patients diagnosed

1621
01:16:24,900 --> 01:16:28,033
with a LS survive only two to five years time

1622
01:16:28,033 --> 01:16:29,066
after diagnosis.

1623
01:16:29,033 --> 01:16:31,767
Whereas the exact causes of a LS are unknown

1624
01:16:31,767 --> 01:16:33,734
and there is no known cure for a LS.

1625
01:16:34,567 --> 01:16:36,867
Whereas people who have served in the military are more

1626
01:16:36,867 --> 01:16:38,133
likely to develop a LS

1627
01:16:38,133 --> 01:16:40,133
and die from the disease than those

1628
01:16:40,133 --> 01:16:42,133
with no family history or military service.

1629
01:16:42,500 --> 01:16:44,867
And whereas securing access to new therapies,

1630
01:16:44,867 --> 01:16:46,033
durable medical equipment

1631
01:16:46,033 --> 01:16:48,333
and communication technologies is of vital importance

1632
01:16:48,333 --> 01:16:49,634
to those living with a LS.

1633
01:16:49,900 --> 01:16:53,100
Whereas clinical trials play a pivotal role in evaluating

1634
01:16:53,100 --> 01:16:55,033
new treatments, enhancing quality of life

1635
01:16:55,033 --> 01:16:56,767
and fostering assistive technologies

1636
01:16:56,767 --> 01:16:58,166
for those living with a LS.

1637
01:16:58,533 --> 01:17:01,066
And whereas the a LS Association is the largest

1638
01:17:01,066 --> 01:17:03,266
philanthropic funder of a LS research globally

1639
01:17:03,533 --> 01:17:06,266
and has committed more than $154 million

1640
01:17:06,367 --> 01:17:09,867
to support more than 550 projects across the United States

1641
01:17:09,867 --> 01:17:10,934
and 18 other countries.

1642
01:17:11,033 --> 01:17:13,100
And whereas the a LS Association is committed

1643
01:17:13,100 --> 01:17:16,367
to making a LS livable and a cure for everyone everywhere.

1644
01:17:16,900 --> 01:17:20,100
And whereas a LS Awareness Month provides an opportunity

1645
01:17:20,133 --> 01:17:22,934
to increase public awareness of the dire circumstances

1646
01:17:23,000 --> 01:17:25,867
of people living with a LS acknowledge the terrible impact

1647
01:17:25,867 --> 01:17:28,000
that this disease have on those individuals

1648
01:17:28,000 --> 01:17:30,100
and their families and support research

1649
01:17:30,100 --> 01:17:31,367
to eradicate this disease.

1650
01:17:31,834 --> 01:17:35,567
And whereas the Melrose City Council do hereby proclaim the

1651
01:17:35,567 --> 01:17:39,033
month of May, 2026 is a LS whereas this month we call upon

1652
01:17:39,333 --> 01:17:42,000
Americans to join in supporting a LS research, advocating

1653
01:17:42,000 --> 01:17:44,266
for increased funding and standing in solidarity

1654
01:17:44,333 --> 01:17:46,834
with those affected by this relentless disease.

1655
01:17:47,166 --> 01:17:50,934
And I'll just mention, I won't go on long, I'll just say

1656
01:17:51,433 --> 01:17:53,300
I'm grateful for your consideration

1657
01:17:53,433 --> 01:17:55,133
for my colleagues' co-sponsorship.

1658
01:17:56,233 --> 01:17:58,467
You know, this is a very personal issue for me.

1659
01:17:59,166 --> 01:18:01,266
My mother-in-law died two years ago from a LS

1660
01:18:01,433 --> 01:18:04,066
and anyone who is a front row seat

1661
01:18:04,066 --> 01:18:06,333
to a family member diagnosed with this

1662
01:18:06,367 --> 01:18:08,834
or a family dealing with this, it changes you forever.

1663
01:18:09,667 --> 01:18:11,533
We have, you know, and

1664
01:18:11,567 --> 01:18:14,467
and several members

1665
01:18:14,700 --> 01:18:17,000
of my ward have either a LS

1666
01:18:17,000 --> 01:18:18,233
or family members who are

1667
01:18:18,233 --> 01:18:19,367
dealing with this or have dealt with this.

1668
01:18:19,433 --> 01:18:21,066
And I know that there must be true in other

1669
01:18:21,066 --> 01:18:22,100
neighborhoods in our city.

1670
01:18:22,500 --> 01:18:25,100
So for those who are watching tonight, I'm wondering,

1671
01:18:25,100 --> 01:18:26,300
you know, why we consider this?

1672
01:18:26,867 --> 01:18:29,133
There is no cure. There are almost no known treatments

1673
01:18:29,367 --> 01:18:31,500
and the average family out

1674
01:18:31,500 --> 01:18:33,100
of pack pocket causes over a quarter

1675
01:18:33,100 --> 01:18:35,500
of a million dollars if even that's if you have insurance.

1676
01:18:35,567 --> 01:18:39,700
And so this just changes the trajectory of your life.

1677
01:18:39,700 --> 01:18:40,834
And so even little bits

1678
01:18:40,834 --> 01:18:43,000
of visibility can change its trajectory.

1679
01:18:43,133 --> 01:18:45,100
See, the life, the Ice bucket challenge.

1680
01:18:45,266 --> 01:18:47,233
What a big difference. That made hundreds of millions

1681
01:18:47,233 --> 01:18:49,000
of dollars of research and assistance

1682
01:18:49,000 --> 01:18:52,000
and that just take it from me as someone who was along

1683
01:18:52,000 --> 01:18:54,100
for the ride for a couple of years and this

1684
01:18:54,834 --> 01:18:55,767
and a family dealing with this,

1685
01:18:55,834 --> 01:18:57,000
it just makes such a big difference.

1686
01:18:57,000 --> 01:18:59,066
So I'm so appreciative of your consideration.

1687
01:19:00,233 --> 01:19:01,767
Thank you for, thank you for your support.

1688
01:19:03,066 --> 01:19:05,333
- Thank you Chairman Model. What is the will of council?

1689
01:19:06,333 --> 01:19:08,834
- I'd like to make motion to recommend.

1690
01:19:09,834 --> 01:19:11,567
- Motion to recommend to place on file made

1691
01:19:11,567 --> 01:19:13,333
by Councilor Aldine, seconded by Councillor

1692
01:19:14,000 --> 01:19:15,033
fro on discussion.

1693
01:19:16,133 --> 01:19:18,367
All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?

1694
01:19:19,133 --> 01:19:21,367
That motion is passed and that item is placed on file.

1695
01:19:23,734 --> 01:19:25,100
Moving on to licenses

1696
01:19:25,467 --> 01:19:28,233
- ID number 2 0 2 6 dash 8 31.

1697
01:19:28,433 --> 01:19:32,133
Renewal of live license, renewal

1698
01:19:32,233 --> 01:19:34,734
of Liberty license for 2026. This will

1699
01:19:34,734 --> 01:19:38,867
- Go to protection license - ID number 2 0 2 6 dash 8 61.

1700
01:19:38,867 --> 01:19:40,934
Renewal of Junk Dealer and secondhand dealer

1701
01:19:40,934 --> 01:19:42,266
license for 2026.

1702
01:19:42,333 --> 01:19:43,567
- This will go to Protection and license

1703
01:19:44,100 --> 01:19:46,634
- ID number 2 0 2 6 dash 8 71.

1704
01:19:46,667 --> 01:19:49,700
Renewal of Gasoline and Storage licenses for 2026.

1705
01:19:49,834 --> 01:19:51,066
- This will go to protection and license.

1706
01:19:52,367 --> 01:19:56,000
Okay, moving on to unfinished business and grants

1707
01:19:57,700 --> 01:20:00,834
- ID number 2 0 2 6 7 7 3.

1708
01:20:00,867 --> 01:20:04,767
Acceptance of a fiscal year 26 Firefighter Safety Equipment

1709
01:20:04,767 --> 01:20:09,100
Grant and the amount of $12,375 and 87 cents.

1710
01:20:10,066 --> 01:20:12,233
- Mr. President, this comes to us from the Appropriations

1711
01:20:12,233 --> 01:20:14,467
and Oversight Committee with a recommendation for passage.

1712
01:20:14,500 --> 01:20:17,033
And at this time I'll make a motion for passage. Second.

1713
01:20:17,367 --> 01:20:19,634
- Motion for passage made by Chair Mano, seconded

1714
01:20:19,634 --> 01:20:21,133
by Councilor for Ichiro.

1715
01:20:21,834 --> 01:20:23,100
Is this, this requires a roll call.

1716
01:20:24,500 --> 01:20:27,100
- I was it who just made that motion, wasn't it, Devin?

1717
01:20:27,133 --> 01:20:29,367
Oh, excuse me. Okay. Is that what you said? Yeah.

1718
01:20:29,433 --> 01:20:30,567
Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry.

1719
01:20:31,233 --> 01:20:32,233
- Point of clarification. Is this

1720
01:20:32,333 --> 01:20:33,100
required call? Yes. Yes. Yes it does.

1721
01:20:33,100 --> 01:20:34,467
- Yes. Yes, - Yes. Madam Clerk please. The roll.

1722
01:20:37,066 --> 01:20:41,066
- Councilor Chen? Yes. Council F? Yes. Council Jamine? Yes.

1723
01:20:41,066 --> 01:20:45,767
Council Rum Chetty. Councilor Cowell? Yes. Councilor Reky.

1724
01:20:45,900 --> 01:20:48,500
Yes. Councilor Park. Yes. Councilor Arm Mano. Yes.

1725
01:20:48,500 --> 01:20:50,934
Councilor Vander? Yes. Council Williams? Yes.

1726
01:20:50,934 --> 01:20:52,033
President Freeman? Yes.

1727
01:20:52,166 --> 01:20:56,533
Motion passes ID number 2 0 2 6

1728
01:20:56,533 --> 01:20:57,700
dash 7 7 5.

1729
01:20:57,700 --> 01:21:01,033
Acceptance of a Climate Leaders Technical Assistance grant

1730
01:21:01,066 --> 01:21:03,266
in the amount of $139,000.

1731
01:21:03,867 --> 01:21:05,000
- Mr. President, this also comes

1732
01:21:05,000 --> 01:21:06,100
to us from the Appropriations

1733
01:21:06,100 --> 01:21:08,634
and Oversight Committee with a recommendation for passage.

1734
01:21:08,700 --> 01:21:11,000
And at this time I'll make a motion for passage. Second

1735
01:21:11,567 --> 01:21:14,100
- Motion passage made by Councilor Romano, seconded

1736
01:21:14,100 --> 01:21:15,300
by Councillor Aldine.

1737
01:21:16,433 --> 01:21:18,634
On discussion Mad clerk

1738
01:21:23,033 --> 01:21:24,033
- Councillor Chen?

1739
01:21:24,133 --> 01:21:27,767
Yes. Councilor fro? Yes. Councilor Jamal? Yes.

1740
01:21:27,767 --> 01:21:31,467
Councilor Karen Chetty. Yes. Councilor Cowell. Yes.

1741
01:21:32,266 --> 01:21:36,066
Cremsky? Yes. Councilor Park? Yes. Councillor Romano. Yes.

1742
01:21:36,066 --> 01:21:38,233
Councilor Vandiver. Yes. Councilor Williams? Yes.

1743
01:21:38,233 --> 01:21:41,467
Present Freeman? Yes. That motion passes. Thank

1744
01:21:41,467 --> 01:21:43,100
- You. Moving on to orders

1745
01:21:43,734 --> 01:21:46,266
- ID number 2 0 2 6 dash 7 74.

1746
01:21:46,533 --> 01:21:48,634
That the city council authorized the mayor

1747
01:21:48,667 --> 01:21:50,767
to enter into an inter municipal agreement

1748
01:21:50,900 --> 01:21:53,233
for establishing a regional animal control officer

1749
01:21:54,100 --> 01:21:55,700
position in partnership with the towns

1750
01:21:55,700 --> 01:21:57,533
of Wakefield and Stoneham.

1751
01:21:59,100 --> 01:22:00,300
- Mr. President, this comes from

1752
01:22:00,634 --> 01:22:01,700
to us from the Appropriations

1753
01:22:01,700 --> 01:22:04,133
and Oversight Committee with a recommendation for passage.

1754
01:22:04,834 --> 01:22:07,467
And at this time, I'd actually like to make a motion

1755
01:22:07,500 --> 01:22:09,266
to postpone consideration of this item

1756
01:22:09,266 --> 01:22:12,467
until our next meeting on Monday, May 4th to allow

1757
01:22:12,467 --> 01:22:13,634
for additional public testimony.

1758
01:22:14,033 --> 01:22:15,767
I've gotten some feedback from constituents

1759
01:22:15,900 --> 01:22:18,066
and had spoken with members of the administration

1760
01:22:18,667 --> 01:22:20,300
to confirm they just wanted to make sure that

1761
01:22:21,100 --> 01:22:22,467
the public got a chance to weigh in

1762
01:22:22,467 --> 01:22:24,066
with their experiences on animal control.

1763
01:22:24,634 --> 01:22:27,000
The administration confirmed that it was not pressing

1764
01:22:27,000 --> 01:22:30,033
for passage in the next seven days

1765
01:22:30,166 --> 01:22:32,000
and the public was looking

1766
01:22:32,000 --> 01:22:33,300
for just an opportunity to weigh in.

1767
01:22:33,300 --> 01:22:36,567
So at this time I'll make a motion to postpone consideration

1768
01:22:36,567 --> 01:22:38,100
until Monday, May 4th. Second.

1769
01:22:38,500 --> 01:22:40,467
- Motion to postpone until Monday, May 4th.

1770
01:22:40,533 --> 01:22:42,033
Made by Councillor Armo, seconded

1771
01:22:42,033 --> 01:22:44,033
by Councillor Williams on discussion.

1772
01:22:44,900 --> 01:22:48,500
All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes

1773
01:22:50,000 --> 01:22:54,100
- ID number 2 0 2 6 7 4 9 Informational order,

1774
01:22:54,133 --> 01:22:56,767
affordable Housing Trust Fund Board update

1775
01:22:57,700 --> 01:22:58,700
- Mr.

1776
01:22:58,700 --> 01:22:59,533
President, this comes to us from the appropriations,

1777
01:22:59,533 --> 01:23:00,700
an oversight committee with a

1778
01:23:00,700 --> 01:23:02,033
recommendation to place on file.

1779
01:23:02,033 --> 01:23:03,033
And at this time I'll make a motion

1780
01:23:03,033 --> 01:23:04,700
to place on file. Second.

1781
01:23:05,133 --> 01:23:07,133
- Motion to place on file made by Councillor Armo,

1782
01:23:07,133 --> 01:23:08,467
seconded by Councillor F.

1783
01:23:08,700 --> 01:23:13,467
Chiro on discussion. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed?

1784
01:23:14,767 --> 01:23:18,266
That passes. Are there any reports from committees?

1785
01:23:19,100 --> 01:23:22,300
Seeing none, there are no expires. Any rule.

1786
01:23:22,300 --> 01:23:25,300
36 reports Seeing none.

1787
01:23:26,000 --> 01:23:28,100
Just by way of update, just so the public knows,

1788
01:23:28,033 --> 01:23:29,567
our next meeting will be on Monday,

1789
01:23:29,734 --> 01:23:33,100
May 4th at 7:45 PM And then on Monday, May 11th,

1790
01:23:33,233 --> 01:23:35,066
the mayor has called a joint meeting

1791
01:23:35,266 --> 01:23:38,033
of the Melrose City Council on the School Committee to

1792
01:23:38,567 --> 01:23:43,100
unveil her FY 27 budget at 7:15 PM That'll be followed

1793
01:23:43,133 --> 01:23:45,467
by a special meeting the city council to receive that budget

1794
01:23:46,066 --> 01:23:49,100
and initiate the process for the next two months

1795
01:23:49,100 --> 01:23:51,033
of budget hearings and appropriations and oversight.

1796
01:23:52,100 --> 01:23:54,266
At this time, I will entertain a motion to adjourn.

1797
01:23:54,266 --> 01:23:55,333
So moved. Second.

1798
01:23:55,500 --> 01:23:58,133
Motion to adjourn, made by Councillor Williams.

1799
01:23:58,133 --> 01:24:01,934
Second by Councillor Ro. All in favor? Aye. Opposed?

1800
01:24:02,333 --> 01:24:04,233
The ayes Have it. And we adjourned at 8:15 PM.