City Council - Rules & Government Relations Committee

CITY OF EASTHAMPTON OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL Easthampton Municipal Building 50 Payson Ave., Ste. 100 Easthampton, Massachusetts 01027-2260 Telephone #: (413) 529-1460 MINUTES RULES and GOVERNMENT RELATIONS Meeting 11/16/2020 Attendees: R&GR Committee Members: Councilor Thomas Peake, Chair Councilor Peg Conniff, Clerk Councilor Dan Rist Other Attendees: Nicole LaChapelle - Mayor Homar Gomez - City Council Lindsey Rothschild - City Council Maggie Hebert - Chair Board of Health Bri Eichstaedt - Health Agent Kae Collins - Resident Liz Perry - Resident Jen Markey - Resident Louise Jacob - Resident Meeting called to order at 6:00 pm. The meeting was recorded. Minutes from 10/26 and 10/22 approved. 3-0 1. NEW BUSINESS - NONE 2. CONTINUING BUSINESS A. Ordinance Review Committee Discussion • Proposal from Councilor Peake I move to establish an ordinance review committee, pursuant to Section 8-6(b) of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Easthampton. This committee will be comprised of 7 members appointed by the City Council President, with up to three of those members be- ing city councilors and the remaining 4-5 members being members of the community and others with with relevant expertise. The Committee will have one year to review the City Ordinances and report back to the Council with proposed changes. It will be up to the Committee to decide how often to report to the Council, but they need not wait until their task is complete if they identify items which should be amended or deleted. Where the Committee’s report(s) indicate a need for change, other Council committees, such as the Ordinance or Public Safety Committees, may introduce these items as new business. The Committee may suggest any amendments or revisions that it finds desirable, but in particular, it is charged with the task of identifying any systemic or inherent bias or prej- udice which may exist within our city ordinances. Should the city complete its review of the city ordinances within the one-year timeframe, it is encouraged to perform a similar review on the City’s Traffic Rules & Orders. The final decision on the makeup of the committee will reside with the President of City Council. The process to establish an ad hoc committee requires approval of the full City Council Public Comment: Louise Jacob: How will residents be selected and what is the application process? Peake: This will be a special committee of the City Council and applications will go to Councilor Conniff. Kae Collins: Related to the last paragraph, additional time will be focussed on Traffic Rules. Will Zoning be included? Include the timeline for 1 year commitment. Peake: Zoning issues are handled within the planning dept. and the planning board. Zoning is very huge and there is a specific skill set and the conversation is already happening. Should the committee have time and can take on some- thing with the magnitude of zoning, we can consider that. Myra Oyedemi: Clarify the commitment. How frequently will the committee meet? Conniff: The committee will decide how frequently to meet. Motion to recommend the establishment of the Ordinance Review Committee to the Full Council. Motion - Councilor Peake, Second - Councilor Rist. Motion passed 3-0 B. Resolution proposal for a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program C. Request for easthamptonma.gov emails for city committee chairs D. Proposal to amend city ordinances Chapter 7 to add position of Health Director • (Set for public Hearing 11/18/2020) • Bri Eichstaedt - Typically Health Agents do inspections in smaller towns. Health Direc- tors do more leadership and guidance. Easthampton has grown over the years and it is now time to provide for this position especially during this global pandemic.  • Maggie Hebert - a Director position will help the city adhere to all the regulations being placed upon it by the State. • Mayor LaChapelle - The pandemic has illuminated the gaps. The department was leaning toward needing a Director as long ago as 18 months. The residents deserve a high level of quality in this department. Including Health Youth Coalition, testing, inspections in town. With the increase in entertainment and restaurant venues requires and increase in inspec- tions, etc. • Questions: • Will director oversee agent or is that a board authority? HD reports to local BOH. Health Director would oversee all health employees • How will it be funded? Looking at different options based on Cherry sheet num- bers. Need this position. Possible FEMA and CARES funding may be available through 2020. • Will Bri E. be moved to this position? The position will be open to applications. • Tom Peake: In the summer there was conversations around adding possible tasks related to expanded public health actions and mental health. Mayor: This includes harm reduction initiatives and adding a linkage to Public Safety. Lack of focus is impeding our response. Motion to accept recommendation to add a Public Health Director position to the Pay Plan. Motion Rist, Second Conniff Motion passed 3-0 E. Add Council Rule requiring Anti-Bias Training 7:00 pm - Motion to adjourn by Councilor Conniff, seconded by Councilor Rist. Next Meeting: ?