City Council

HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016 Hearing opened at 6:31 P.M. with Councillor Freda, Clerk of the LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, presiding. All members were present except Councillors Dombrowski and Chalifoux Zephir. This hearing was continued from August 8, 2016. Attorney Riley of K P Law was present. Present at the hearing was Patrick McCarty of McCarty Engineering, Mackie Barch and Jason Cort from Do Health Massachusetts. The following PETITION was the subject of the hearing: 36-16 Mackie Barch for Do Health Massachusetts: Grant a Special Permit to open a medical marijuana cultivation and dispensary facility at 30 Patriots Circle, as shown on Assessors Map 499, Lot 50. Mr. Barch said they submitted their Special Permit application on April 19, 2016 after spending a lot of time working with the property owner at 38 Patriot Circle. Mr. Barch spoke regarding the Letter of Support or Non opposition and the process. Mr. March said Do Health is an independent company however, they do have affiliate companies throughout the United States. He said in Maryland they were one out of fifteen that won a license out of one hundred applicants. He said they are proposing a $4M investment at 30 Patriot Circle. When you look at the scope of the project relative to some of the competitors you are considering, they generate four times as much tax revenue, four times the investment, creating five times as many jobs and when it comes to jobs it’s really not so much about job creation but job loss. At 30 Patriot Circle SMC is leaving that is taking 60 jobs out of the community and we are proposing 50 jobs in that location so it’s a net loss of 10. Mr. McCarty showed aerial views of the property, one showing the site’s conformance with the minimum criteria established by the zoning bylaws. It shows there they are not touching any residential zones within 500 feet, and 1,000 feet. Another aerial map to show what is encompassed in 1,000 feet. Mr. McCarty said he personally drove around all the streets to ensure that there were no at home daycares or small denominational churches in one of the old industrial buildings. Mr. Barch said Curry Architects is one of the leading retail architectural firms in the United States that does all the Starbucks on the Eastern seaboard and Nike towns. The plans you see before you are a function of years and years of them being in business. The company was founded in 2009 and grew in Oregon, Maryland and Massachusetts. We propose a cultivation, dispensary and processing all in one building. That is important because that is three streams of revenue for the community. The way the facility is designed is so that the people can come and actually see their medicine grown, they can see it being processed. They can give  2 HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016, continued themselves a self guided tour throughout the facility. He said this facility would be the hub for the rest of their operations in the State. There will be a lot of reclaimed wood and a lot of glass. Mr. McCarty said at the end of this week the building will be vacant and there will be interior renovations required. There is a lot of power and HVAC and plumbing so there are a lot of good bones to work with. Mr. Barch said they have a lot of experience and have over 85,000 square feet of cultivation in Colorado alone, 87,000 square feet in Oregon and will be bringing a lot of that experience here. He said if we can take away the cannibas issue for a little bit and think about this as a straight economic development project and look at the job creation. He said they provide 24 hour live feed into the police station and the company that does a lot of their security cameras are the ones that do a lot at the Las Vegas casinos. Councillor Freda said you must realize you cannot get a Special Permit without having State approval. It was my point in allowing you to do the presentation tonight. She said she is not sure if there is anywhere for them to go at this point because we can’t grant a Special Permit. Mr. McCarty said there has been correspondence back and forth between Mr. Barch and Attorney Riley from K&P Law and basically Attorney Riley said the Council can really do whatever they want. You did vote to create the rubric but this is really your baby. If you decide to change the procedure that has been done to date you certainly have that authority. We are hoping that you see the potential we are presenting here the $4M investment, the creation of 50 jobs and simply give them the opportunity to give a full interview and a formal presentation and bring the whole team and go through this in detail. And if that means putting the Special Permit back on the table they are okay with that. They are trying to work through this and stay in the race. Mr. Barch said they feel that there has been enough mistakes made in the process and it warrants at least the opportunity to interview with the community and have the opinion of the Economic Development people to see what would make the largest economic development impact for this community. Councillor Bodanza asked Mr. Barch if he was still in the multi vitamin business. Mr. Barch said no. Councillor Bodanza asked how long he has not been in that business. Mr. Barch said since 2014 and his brother has a company that does it. Councillor Nickel asked if they had any other sites in Massachusetts. Mr. Barch said currently we do not have any in Massachusetts and are all outside Massachusetts. He said his hope and plan initially was that this was going to be the anchor for the rest of the State with the production here and feeding the rest. He said if they cannot get Leominster back on track they will have to find another community in which they can begin the production. Without the production aspect having retail is not very helpful. Mr. Cort said they are exploring avenues with two other different towns as we speak. Councillor Nickel voiced his concern about changing the rules and the rubric and being fair to all parties. Mr. Barch said the issue wasn’t with the rubric. They never had an issue with the rubric. The issue always was the underlying material that was submitted was not qualified prior it being considered by the subcommittee. And had it been qualified prior to the submission none of the other applicants would have gotten through the front door. He said the rubric was fine and they were confident if the rules from the Resolution had been followed they would have won hands down because the other applicants weren’t qualified to be submitted in the first place. He said he is aware and understand the pressure that the Council is under and the duty they have to the community. He said the last thing they are trying to advocate for is not following the rules. There were some mistakes made, everybody makes mistakes, what we are asking for is an opportunity, since there were mistakes made, to be given the opportunity to present their plan to really understand the economic benefits to this community and come back before the Council and when you’ve had your economic development people really dig into it a little more pick the best partner that will be the long term play for this community. At that point we will be happy to walk away from it if you feel as though the other applicant is stronger than us. Councillor Freda said to Mr. Barch, you realize this is about the Special Permit and not about the Letter of Non-opposition. Mr. Barch said he understands and that he was just answering the Councillors’ question. Councillor Bodanza said he did some research because this is an important thing for our community. He said he used the same fellow that received an FDA warning letter with respect to the multi vitamin business in October 2014 and he asked him to explain that. Mr. Barch said there was a company in Massachusetts that killed 256 people and sickened more than that. They were a compounding company in Framingham. At that time the FDA decided to take over the entire industry of sterile compounding so every company in the country that was engaged in the sterile compounding was issued letters relative going from a state compliance to a federal compliance, so part of that process was receiving the letter. It had nothing to do with vitamins it had to do with sterile compound products. There is an FDA 503b website if you would like to see all the companies that are in the space and letters that were issued to all the CEO’s. Most of that industry has been put out of business because they were mom and pop businesses that were forced to go from a state compliance to a federal compliance, the same rules Pfeizer has to comply with. With that we had to fire 40 people and lost the company he had run for about 8 years and was a very tough time.  3 HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016, continued Councillor Freda said she would refer to legal counsel for legal clarification of the issue with the Special Permit and the Letter of Non-opposition for the public that is watching. Attorney Riley said they are really in a sense apples and oranges. The Special Permit is a function of the City’s zoning ordinance and so the Council would determine and take a vote on whether it meets all the criteria for a Special Permit generally in the special section on medical marijuana facilities. The Letter of Support or Non-opposition is a requirement of the State Department of Public Health. They have said that unless they get that letter from an authority in the city or town that they won’t process the application. Other than this letter everything else as far as licensing these facilities is handled by the State. No one in the audience spoke in favor or in opposition of this petition. HEARING ADJOURNED AT 6:53 P.M. ________________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016 Hearing opened at 6:53 P.M. with Councillor Dombrowski, Chair of the LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, presiding. All members were present except Councillor Chalifoux Zephir. The following ORDINANCE was the subject of the hearing: Relative to amending Chapter 16, Section 30 of the Revised Ordinances entitled “Compensation Grades” by inserting sections (b) (8), (b) (9) and (b) (10) to increase salaries and wages of W-1 thru W-6 by 2% effective 7/1/2015, 2% effective 7/1/2016 and 2% effective 7/1/2017 relative to the Department of Public Works Salaries. No one in the audience spoke in favor or in opposition of this petition. No Councillors spoke. HEARING ADJOURNED AT 6:54 P.M. ________________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016 Hearing opened at 6:54 P.M. with Councillor Dombrowski, Chair of the LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, presiding. All members were present except Councillor Chalifoux Zephir. The following ORDINANCE was the subject of the hearing: Relative to amending Chapter 16, Section 30 of the Revised Ordinances entitled “Compensation Grades” by adding Schedule (d) in its entirety to increase salaries and wages of S-5 thru S-8 by 2% effective 7/1/2015, 2% effective 7/1/2016 and 2% effective 7/1/2017 relative to the Middle Managers Union. No one in the audience spoke in favor or in opposition of this petition. No Councillors spoke. HEARING ADJOURNED AT 6:55 P.M. ________________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016 Hearing opened at 6:55 P.M. with Councillor Dombrowski, Chair of the LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, presiding. All members were present except Councillor Chalifoux Zephir.  4 The following ORDINANCE was the subject of the hearing: Relative to amending Chapter 16, Section 30 of the Revised Ordinances entitled “Compensation Grades” by inserting sections (a) (8), (a) (9) and (a) (10) to increase salaries and wages of S-1 thru S-10 by 2.5% effective 7/1/2015, 2.5% effective 7/1/2016 and 2.5% effective 7/1/2017 relative to non-union employees. No one in the audience spoke in favor or in opposition of this petition. No Councillors spoke. HEARING ADJOURNED AT 6:58 P.M. ________________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016 Hearing opened at 7:00 P.M. with Councillor Freda, Clerk of the LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, presiding. All members were present except Dombrowski and Chalifoux Zephir. The following ORDINANCE was the subject of the hearing: Relative to amending Chapter 16, Section 30 of the Revised Ordinances entitled “Compensation Grades” by deleting Schedule (c) in its entirety and inserting a new Schedule (c) to increase salaries and wages of P-1 thru P-5 by 2% effective 7/1/2015, 2% effective 7/1/2016 and 2% effective 7/1/2017 relative to the Police Superior Officer’s Union. No one in the audience spoke in favor or in opposition of this petition. No councilors spoke. HEARING ADJOURNED AT 7:02 P.M. ________________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016 Hearing opened at 7:06 P.M. with Councillor Nickel, Chair of the PUBLIC SERVICE COMMITTEE, presiding. All members were present except Councillors Dombrowski and Chalifoux Zephir. The following PETITION was the subject of the hearing: 7-17 National Grid: Manchester Street – Install 1 singly owned pole beginning at a point approximately 107 feet west of the centerline of the intersection of Colburn Street. David Soucy from National Grid said they want to relocate the pole No one in the audience spoke in favor or in opposition of this petition. No Councillors spoke. HEARING ADJOURNED AT 7:08 P.M. ________________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016 Hearing opened at 7:10 P.M. with Councillor Nickel, Chair of the PUBLIC SERVICE COMMITTEE, presiding. All members were present except Councillors Dombrowski and Chalifoux Zephir. The following PETITION was the subject of the hearing: 8-17 National Grid: Leominster Connector-Relocate 1 singly owned pole at the intersection of Mechanic Street to the west approximately thirty feet.  5 HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016, continued. No one in the audience spoke in favor or in opposition of this petition. No Councillors spoke. HEARING ADJOURNED AT 7:11 P.M. ________________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016 Meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. Attendance was taken by a roll call vote; all members were present except Councillor Chalifoux Zephir. The Committee on Records reported that the records through July 25, 2016 were examined and found to be in order. The records were accepted. A recess was called at 7:32 P.M. to continue the public forum and have an interview with the Council on Aging appointee. Meeting reconvened at 8:00 P.M. The following COMMUNICATIONS were received, referred to the FINANCE COMMITTEE and given REGULAR COURSE. C-17 Relative to the appropriation of $11,500.00 to the Cemetery Expense Account; same to be transferred from the Cemetery Perpetual Care Income Account. C-18 Relative to the appropriation of $12,000.00 to the Parking Meter Expense Account; same to be transferred from the Parking Meter Receipts Reserved for Appropriation Account. C-19 Relative to the appropriation of $6,000.00 to the Parking Meter Salary & Wages Account; same to be transferred from the Parking Meter Receipts Reserved for Appropriation Account. The following PETITION was received, referred to the WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE, given REGULAR COURSE and referred to the City Solictor and the License Commission. 9-17 Richard M. Marchand: Authorize the License Commission to issue licenses for pool tables and bowling alleys. The following PETITION was received, referred to the PUBLIC SERVICE COMMITTEE and given REGULAR COURSE. A hearing was set for September 12, 2016 at 7:10 P.M. 10-17 National Grid and Verizon New England, Inc.: Central Street – Install 1 jointly owned pole on Central Street beginning at a point approximately 40 feet NE of the centerline of the intersection of Union Street The following APPOINTMENT was received, referred to the WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE and given REGULAR COURSE. Cultural Commission –term to expire April 15, 2019 - Donna DeCarolis Upon recommendation of the WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE, the following PETITION was GRANTED. Vt. 8/0 6-17 Best Buy Stores, LP #1433: Renew the Second Hand Dealers License for the location at 33 Orchard Hill Park Drive. Upon request of the WAYS & MEANS and LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEES, the following PETITION was TABLED. Vt. 4/3, Councillors Feckley, Bodanza and Cormier opposed. Councillor Dombrowski abstained due to a possible conflict of interest. 53-16 Peter Campobasso, Esquire for Alternative Therapies Group Inc.: Request a local letter of non-opposition to locate a Registered Marijuana Dispensary in the City of Leominster. Upon request of the WAYS & MEANS and LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEES, the following PETITION was given FURTHER TIME. Vt. 6/2, Councillor Lanciani and Feckley opposed. 54-16 Edward J. Bartlett, Jr., CFO for Middlesex Integrative Medicine: Request a letter of support or non-opposition to operate a registered marijuana cultivation facility at 25 Mohawk Drive.  6 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016, continued Upon request of the WAYS & MEANS and LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEES, the following PETITION was TABLED. Vt. 5/2, Councillors Bodanza and Cormier opposed. Councillor Dombrowski abstained due to a possible conflict of interest. 65-16 Pat Scorzelli-Agent for Prime Wellness Centers, Inc.: Request a local letter of municipal support and non-opposition for the siting and establishment of a Registered Medical Marijuana Dispensary in the City of Leominster on Locke Drive. Upon recommendation of the PUBLIC SERVICE COMMITTEE, the following PETITIONS were GRANTED. Vt. 8/0 7-17 National Grid: Manchester Street – Install 1 singly owned pole beginning at a point approximately 107 feet west of the centerline of the intersection of Colburn Street. 8-17 National Grid: Leominster Connector-Relocate 1 singly owned pole at the intersection of Mechanic Street to the west approximately thirty feet. Upon request of the LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, the following PETITION was given LEAVE TO WITHDRAW. Vt. 6 “yeas”, Councillors Nickel and Dombrowski abstained. 36-16 Mackie Barch for Do Health Massachusetts: Grant a Special Permit to open a medical marijuana cultivation and dispensary facility at 30 Patriots Circle, as shown on Assessors Map 499, Lot 50. Upon request of the LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, the following PETITIONS were given FURTHER TIME. Vt. 8/0 2-17 President’s Committee on City Ordinance Review: Request that Chapter 3, Section 3-2 entitled “Injurious Noise Prohibited” be deleted and replace with the following: “No person, partnership, company, corporation or association leasing or controlling any device (or property) shall willfully, negligently or through failure to provide effective available control technology, shall allow the creation of noise that will cause injury, fatigue, interference with the quiet enjoyment of life and property”. 4-17 President’s Committee on City Ordinance Review: Request that Chapter 10 “Solicitors, Hawkers and Peddlers”, Section 10-2 entitled “Definitions” be revised to add “the foregoing definition shall not include political campaigning”. Councillor Bodanza, Chair of the FINANCE COMMITTEE, read the Financial Report for the City into the record. Account balances are as follows: Stabilization Account $13,963,574.15 Upon recommendation of the FINANCE COMMITTEE, the following COMMUNICATIONS were GRANTED and ORDERED. Vt. 8 “yeas” C-9 Relative to the appropriation of $198,910.00 to the Various Department Salary & Wages Accounts; same to be raised by Fiscal Year 2017 Revenue. ORDERED: - that the sum of One Hundred Ninety Eight Thousand Nine Hundred Ten Dollars ($198,910.00) be appropriated to the Various Department Salary & Wages Accounts; same to be raised by Fiscal Year 2017 Revenue. Mayor’s Office $7,267 Emergency Management $6,032 Personnel 3,519 Health Dept. 7,073 City Comptroller 11,792 Weights & Measurers 875 Budget Director 1,734 Fire Department 4,670 Group Insurance 1,734 Police Department 13,065 Assessor’s 8,751 Council on Aging 6,102 Treasurer’s Office 6,361 Veterans Dept. 5,794 Collector’s Office 8,147 Recreation Dept. 9,410 City Clerk 7,158 Library 42,769 Election & Registration 3,834 DPW 9,195 Purchasing 6,566 Forestry 3,009 Planning & Dev. 5,299 Highway 3,384 Building Dept. 10,570 Collective Bargaining 4,800 C-10 Relative to the appropriation of $94,613.00 to the Various Department Salary & Wages Accounts; same to be transferred from the Collective Bargaining Expenses-Prior Year Account. ORDERED: - that the sum of Ninety Four Thousand Six Hundred Thirteen Dollars ($94,613.00) be appropriated to the Various Department Salary & Wages Accounts as listed; same to be transferred from the Collective Bargaining Expenses-Prior Year Account. Mayor’s Office $4,110 Emergency Management $2,938 Personnel 1,671 Health Dept. 3,493 City Comptroller 5,785 Weights & Measurers 875  7 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016, continued Budget Director 857 Fire Department 2,306 Group Insurance 857 Police Department 6,369 Assessor’s 4,244 Council on Aging 2,760 Treasurer’s Office 2,229 Veterans Dept. 2,979 Collector’s Office 3,067 Recreation Dept. 4,647 City Clerk 4,323 Library 20,873 Election & Registration 1,218 DPW 4,541 Purchasing 3,135 Forestry 1,486 Planning & Dev. 3,062 Highway 1,607 Building Dept. 5,181 C-11 Relative to the appropriations of $8,725.00 to the Water Department Salary & Wages Account; same to be transferred from the Water Department Support Services Expense Account. ORDERED: - that the sum of Eight Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty Five Dollars ($8,725.00) be appropriated to the Water Department Salary & Wages Account; same to be transferred from the Water Department Support Services Expense Account. RE: Non-Union Wage adjustments for FY 2017 C-12 Relative to the appropriation of $8,560.00 to the Wastewater Salary & Wages Account; same to be transferred from the Wastewater Support Services Expense Account. ORDERED: - that the sum of Eight Thousand Five Hundred Sixty Dollars ($8,560.00) be appropriated to the Wastewater Salary & Wages Account; same to bet transferred from the Wastewater Support Services Expense Account. RE: Non-Union Wage adjustments for FY2017 C-13 Relative to the appropriation of $4,197.00 to the Water Department Salary & Wages Account; same to be transferred from the Water Department Support Services Expense-Prior Year Account. ORDERED: - that the sum of Four Thousand One Hundred Ninety Seven Dollars ($4,197.00) be appropriated to the Water Department Salary & Wages Account; same to be transferred from the Water Department Support Services Expense-Prior Year Account. RE: Non-Union Wage Adjustments for FY 2016 C-14 Relative to the appropriation of $4,189.00 to the Wastewater Salary & Wages Account; same to be transferred from the Wastewater Support Services-Prior Year Expense Account. ORDERED: - that the sum of Four Thousand One Hundred Eighty Nine Dollars ($4,189.00) be appropriated to the Wastewater Salary & Wages Account; same to be transferred from the Wastewater Support Services Expense-Prior Year Account. RE: Non-Union Wage Adjustments for FY2016 C-15 Relative to the appropriation of $15,900.00 to the Rubbish Removal Expense Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Fund. ORDERED: -that the sum of Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred Dollars ($15,900.00) be appropriated to the Rubbish Removal Expense Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Fund. RE: Rubbish totes replacement C-16 Relative to the appropriation of $12,000.00 to the Fire Department Expense Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Fund. ORDERED: - that the sum of Twelve Thousand Dollars ($12,000.00) be appropriated to the Fire Department Expense Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Fund. RE: Emergency repairs to fire engine Upon recommendation of the WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE, the following APPOINTMENTS were CONFIRMED. Vt. 8 “yeas” Council on Aging – terms to expire 4/15/2019 - Donna S. Smith and Phyllis Gagne  8 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016, continued The following ORDINANCES were read a second time ADOPTED as presented and passed to be ordained. Vt. 8 “yeas” _______________________  9 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016, continued ________________________ The following ORDINANCE was read a second time, ADOPTED as presented and passed to be ordained. Vt. 7 “yeas” and 1 “nay”, Councillor Feckley opposed.  10 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016, continued __________________  11 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, AUGUST 22, 2016, continued The following ORDINANCE was read a second time, ADOPTED as presented and passed to be ordained. Vt. 8 “yeas” _____________________ The following ORDINANCE was read once, ADOPTED as presented and ordered published. Vt. 8 “yeas”A hearing was set for September 12, 2016 at 7:00 P.M. 1st Reading Ordinance – Amend Chapter 13, Section 13-77 of the Revised Ordinances entitled “Stop Signs” by inserting Roche Avenue, against northeast bound drivers at Merriam Avenue. The following ORDINANCE was read once, ADOPTED as presented and ordered published. Vt. 7 “yeas”, Councillor Feckley abstained due to a possible conflict of interest. A hearing was set for September 12, 2016 at 7:05 P.M. 1st Reading Ordinance – Amend Chapter 13, Section 13-33 of the Revised Ordinances entitled “Schedule of Parking Fines” in Group E, number 22, by deleting the words “one hundred dollars’ and inserting in their place the words “two hundred dollars.” MEETING ADJOURNED AT 9:22 P.M. ________________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council