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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 8:25:56 PM
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| Free cash, even after tonight, would stand at $5.6 million. Free cash doesn't existing from July 1st until it is certified. Even after tonight, the transfers from free cash won't be made until they are approved by the Board of Aldermen. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 8:34:33 PM
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| Things did get a little testy on item 16. I think Simonelli was a bit out of line with his remarks about P. Napolitano. |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 11:55:30 PM
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I picked this up when I watched the replay. I thought that GTA was doing some of the street sweeping earlier this year because one of the city's sweepers only had one brush. During the budget hearing, it was mentioned that this was being done because the sweeper couldn't be fixed at the time because city services didn't have the money left in the FY08 maintenance budget. Now, it sounds like the sweeper never got upgraded but we're using it now instead of GTA.
Do I have this wrong? If not, can somebody explain how that whole scenario makes sense? Maybe it explains some of the complaints that have popped up from time to time lately about the quality of the sweeping. They can't do a good job if there not using the proper equipment. While we're at it, can anyone explain how GTA got paid for the street sweeping they did? That still baffles me as I don't know which line item in the FY2008 budget could have supported that type of expense.
In regards to the tow truck issue. I'll revise my view. It was fine that President Bruno recognized Councilo Simonelli a second time. However, once Simonelli went off, Bruno should have ruled him out of order and asked him to sit down without debating with him.
Also, the information that Massdee posted in the Wood Waste thread about when the Mayor was meeting with AG and when the next session about re-opening the landfill is taking place was correct as well.
I guess that I didn't have a great night either. |
Edited by - tetris on 10/07/2008 12:05:14 AM |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2008 : 07:43:21 AM
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| Could one of the Alderman have an update of the meeting with Mayor DeMaria and the AG put on the agenda for next week? I would like to know how that meeting goes. |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2008 : 08:55:32 AM
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We all know GTA was doing it in the beginning. I'm sure they have been paid. They have been doing road work too in ward three.
I think Steve Simonelli handled the entire situation about item 16 wrong. However, that was mentioned to both the police and the Mayor at the town meeting in August, and nothing was done about it. The tow company was aware, they just responded on October 6th, because it was on the agenda, on October 6th. That's all Councilor Simonelli had to say, instead of getting upset. I understand safety comes first but, if the truck has been there all summer, then I see no reason why it could not have been laid on the table for two weeks. |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2008 : 1:52:04 PM
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REGULAR MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL, MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2008, 7:00 PM, CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, 3RD FL., EVERETT, MASS
PAPERS FROM THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN
1.
A0296-08 Order/s/Alderman Robert J. Van Campen, as President
To accept a donation in the amount of $10,000.00 from President Frank Katulak of Suez LNG NA at One Liberty Square, 10th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, on behalf of Distrigas of Massachusetts for their unwavering support for Everett, to be deposited into the Everett Beautification Fund. (Passed sent down for concurrence.)
2.
C0174-08 Ordinance/s/Councilor Anthony F. Ranieri
To place a stop sign to improve safety and curtail speeding motorists on Beacon Street, at the intersection of Main Street. (Enrolled in concurrence, sent down for ordainment.)
COMMUNICATIONS
3.
C0200-08 Ordinance/s/Councilor Rosa DiFlorio, Councilor Lorrie Bruno, Councilor William Cardello and Alderman Robert Van Campen
TRAFFIC COMMISSION REPORT
The purpose of the amendment is to make Bradford Street a one-way street from Hancock Street to Cedar Street, in a northeasterly direction, in the interest of public safety, following a detailed field investigation for Bradford Street traffic condition from the City Engineer. Do not enter signage to be placed at the corner of Myrtle and Bradford Streets.
4.
C0202-08 Ordinance/s/Councilor Lou Sierra
TRAFFIC COMMISSION REPORT
That in accordance with Chapter 18, Section 131 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Everett, “General Prohibitions”, no person shall stand or park, or allow any vehicle registered in his or her name to stand or park in front of 23 Baker Road; and any such vehicle so standing or parked shall be towed to a convenient place in accordance with Chapter 18, Section 163 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Everett, “Towing and Storage Fees”.
5.
C0204-08 Order/s/Councilor William L. Cardello
FAVORABLE VETERANS SERVICES RECOMMENDATION ON ORDER
That the corner of Morgan Street and Cleveland Ave be dedicated and named "The Tullio William Lombardi Square", who served in the Armed Forces of the United States during World War II.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
6.
C0207-08 Resolution/s/Councilor Stephen Simonelli
That the Board of Aldermen be made aware of the fact that the Quealy Towing Company is parking their flatbed tow truck overnight and on weekends at the Cherry Street Keverian Parking Lot with cars attached to the back of tow truck. Constituents are complaining to Police Department, but they are not doing anything about it, and it is never tagged. Residents concerned about all the possible safety hazards.
NEW BUSINESS
7.
C0214-08 Ordinance/s/Councilor Joseph R. King
To abolish fees for the removal of white goods, that is, refrigerators, stoves, et cetera.
8.
C0215-08 Ordinance/s/Councilor John Leo McKinnon
To amend Chapter 10 of the Revised City Ordinances of the City of Everett by adding new section, Section 10-35 Rules and Regulations for Body Art, Piercing and Tattooing Businesses.
9.
C0216-08 Ordinance/s/Councilors Joseph R. King, Eloy Lou Sierra and Alderman Jason Marcus
To place a stop sign at the bottom of Lexington Park, intersecting Derne Street.
10.
C0217-08 Ordinance/s/Councilors Joseph R. King, Eloy Lou Sierra and Alderman Jason Marcus
To place a stop sign on Derne Street, where it intersects with Prospect Street.
11.
C0218-08 Resolution/s/Councilor Cynthia Sarnie
That the Mayor appear this meeting to discuss the work that is going on at the Rotary.
12.
C0219-08 Common Council Worksheet
Pursuant to Rule 17 of the Common Council, all resolutions requesting the repair, replacement or maintenance of pavement, sidewalks, traffic signals, signage, playground equipment, or other similar requests, shall be placed on a separate worksheet and voted on collectively at the next formal session, and, if passed, referred to the respective departments for their response back to sponsors.
1.Sponsor: Councilor Catherine Tomassi Hicks-That the large pothole in front of 16 KK Terrace be filled-in. Referred to: City Services Highway Department.
13.
C0220-08 Ordinance/s/Councilor Sergio Cornelio
To repeal the ordinance for towing for the first offense for street sweeping.
Adjournment
Respectfully submitted:
C. McCorry, Everett City Council Office
council@ci.everett.ma.us
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATES:
10/27 7PM BOARD OF ALDERMEN
11/5 7PM NEXT COMMON COUNCIL MEETING
www.You must be logged in to see this link. |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/16/2008 : 2:23:40 PM
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Really very little to comment on this week; let's just get it out of the way.
7. Don't see the fees for white goods removal being abolished.
8. Other types of businesses are regulated; I suppose these need to be also.
11. You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs but the rotary is really a mess and work on it seems so sporadic. Doesn't hurt to ask some questions.
13. Maybe I'm spoiled because I don't park in the street but tying up the police to check to see if a vehicle has previously violated the street sweeping ordinance before towing it does not make any sense to me. |
Edited by - tetris on 10/16/2008 2:26:36 PM |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2008 : 09:49:41 AM
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| I know that the presidents of both boards of the city council have been against adding items under suspension to their agendas this year; usually, I'm all in favor of that. But, I'd like to see that rule bent and an item added to this week's Common Council agenda for the mayor or someone from his administration to come before the council to give their best understanding of how the recent state budget cuts will affect the city. We know that local and school aid weren't touched in this round of cuts, but, as evidenced in the article posted in the Boston Globe thread, the city has been affected. It would be helpful to understand what all of the impacts are. |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2008 : 8:36:54 PM
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What a mess of a meeting! Thank god there were only 13 items on the agenda. I can't believe that it lasted as long as it did.
3. Does anyone understand what was going on with this item? At first, it seemed like it needed to be sent to the BOA because they referred to traffic. Then traffic wants more time even though Councilor DiFlorio has a copy of the traffic report with a favorable recommendation. Then, lets table it for two weeks? That sequence of events makes no sense. It's only intended as a trial. How did the item ever get out of traffic if they requested more time? Something's going on here! This item set the tone for this cluster of a meeting.
7. I can't believe that the BOA will be in favor of getting rid of the white goods fee without having it go thru R&O. But, what do I know.
11. Something seemed off in the whole discussion of the rotary and I'm not sure that I know how to figure out what it was for sure. Aren't there already other islands that the city get "free" water from the city. I liked Councilor DiFlorio idea of the beautification program paying for the water but it would be even better if the DCR paid for it. They're not going to responsible for maintaining the area any more so the money that they save on that could go towards water.
14. Yeah I know that it wasn't added under suspension. Not a good night for Councilor Simonelli. |
Edited by - tetris on 10/20/2008 8:45:30 PM |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2008 : 8:49:45 PM
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If I remember correctly, this issue with the white goods was killed twice by the Board of Alderman. My opinion, it could be a trial basis. They can watch it for a few months and if it ends up being an additional cost to the city, they can go back to charging.
As for item 11, I agree something was WAY OFF with this discussion. I can’t figure it out either. The island does not belong to the City of Everett. The City should not be putting out a dime for this, whether it’s water or workers. We had one person, Mr. Brandano who was rudely dismissed from the rotary (and I don’t believe that nonsense about adopting a highway)
GTA is on that rotary all the time. Did they adopt a highway? Did Wood Waste of Boston adopt a highway?? Doubt it. DCR should be doing their own work. The city is going to beatify a rotary on the taxpayers, but they want a stinky dump right before it. Those council members need to open their eyes, unless they have a personal interest.
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just wondering
Senior Member
387 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2008 : 9:31:39 PM
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| 11) Why not sink a big tank in the middle of the rotary to collect rain water and use that to water the plants?? |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2008 : 08:00:21 AM
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What could be the reason that a Councilor would not be allowed to put an item on the agenda under suspension? Also, why wasn't the Councilor told it wasn't allowed?
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
 Posted - 10/21/2008 : 09:41:55 AM
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I have a lot of respect for Lorrie Bruno however, I don't understand the the way she treated Steve Simonelli last night about the Wood Waste public meeting. He put it in under suspension, I am assuming since the notice was not in the papers, as promised. He had every right to speak on it. Not even being given a courtesy of a call was theatrics at best.
They are acting like this issue is a classified FBI case.
The theatrics that take place these days (in the spinning of DeMaria's debacles) are worthy of Academy Award's for "best fiction"
This is a very serious matter, and I am really get sick of the nonchalant attitudes coming from the common council. They are elected officials who took an oath to the people, not these corporate mongers who are endangering the very same people that voted them in.....health. |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2008 : 11:51:49 AM
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Usually, I haven't been a very big defender of Councilor Bruno in her tenure as Common Council president but, I'm going to have to defend her in last night's incident with Councilor Simonelli.
Councilor Bruno has been very stingy in allowing items to be added to the agenda under suspension during her entire time as council president. There may have been a couple that she has allowed but I honestly can't remember any of the top off my head. The same practice has held true on the Board of Alderman. I know Alderman Van Campen has allowed a few but not many. For the most part, it's been a welcome relief to see these controls being placed on the agenda. Over the last few years, it was getting to be a very common practice to introduce important pieces of business under suspension. When that was done, the members of the boards weren't getting the information and the adequate time to deliberate on the pieces. Although I do believe that there are times when exceptions to the rules can be made (I lobbied for one only a few posts back in this thread), I can't fault Councilor Bruno for sticking to her guns, especially in the light that an alternate accommodation was made. More on that later.
When I first saw the agenda for last night's meeting, the first question that I had for myself was where is the Wood Waste meeting item? I had heard a rumor that Councilor Simonelli, who was sitting in the audience at last week's Board of Alderman meeting, had followed the Mayor outside the chamber to ask about the meeting notification. I was told that he did not receive a definitive answer from the Mayor. I told the person that relayed the rumor to me that Councilor Simonelli should have then headed into the council office to submit the item for the last night's council meeting. The item could have been submitted with the understanding that if notification appeared in the Wednesday or Thursday paper, the item did not need to be added to the agenda.
That leads to last night. Yes, Councilor Bruno could have called Councilor Simonelli to tell him that she would not be excepting his item under suspension; but, she chose not to. It's not inconceivable to think that an issue like this could have been handled before the meeting. However, Councilor Simonelli showed up in the chamber after the roll had been called, leading to the unfortunate incident. I was a little puzzled by Councilor Bruno calling for a five minute recess. If she had just wanted to move on, she could have and just ignored Simonelli. But, during the recess, the cameras were left on, so we were able to see that she went out to talk to Councilor Simonelli about the issue. Once the meeting came back from recess, Councilor Simonelli was granted a point of information to get out what he felt needed to be presented. Since we were not privy their conversation, we do not know whose idea this was. But what we do know is that Councilor Bruno did not have to allow it if she did not want to.
Could all of this been avoided if Councilor Bruno had allowed the piece to be added under suspension? Sure. But I have no problem, and in fact prefer, that someone consistently follows their own rules, especially when another way can be found to pretty much get to the the same desired result. And let's not forget that Councilor Simonelli could have avoided the whole issue too if had only made sure that the item gotten on the regular agenda. While I admire Councilor Simonelli's dogged determination on issues that he believes in, he needs to learn to plan ahead better and to keep his emotions somewhat in check. |
Edited by - tetris on 10/21/2008 11:55:31 AM |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2008 : 12:33:47 PM
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Tetris, I agree with your logic but it all could have been avoided with a simple courtesy phone call to Councilor Simonelli. I personally think if it had been any other Councilor who was being denied, Ms Bruno would have made that phone call. Whether they like Councilor Simonelli's antics or not, he should be afforded the same respect as any other member of the Common Council. After all, the voters in his ward elected him.
I also believe his tenacity on the Wood Waste issue will probably help him get re-elected. The Councilor's heart is in the right place but your are right, he needs to try and keep his emotions in check.
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COMMON COUNCIL 2008
