City Council

HEARING BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, OCTOBER 10, 2017 Hearing opened at 7:10 P.M. with Councillor Freda, Chair of the PUBLIC SERVICE COMMITTEE, presiding. All members were present except Councillor Dombrowski. Present at the hearing was Mark Tapley from National Grid. The following PETITION was the subject of the hearing: 10-18 National Grid and Verizon New England, Inc.: Main Street – Install one jointly owned pole on Main Street to service house #1416 and eventually #1424 in the future. Mr. Mark Tapley said they plan to put a pole between house #1416 and #1424. House #1416 has asked to do a service upgrade to their property. They were originally planning to use the backyard poles that are currently in this location, but one of the other houses already came off this pole. By removing this home it leaves only one home on this backyard assembly of poles. Once the other house eventually comes off, they will be able to remove the poles that run through the backyards. Councillor Freda asked if the poles would be coming down before the new one goes up. Mr. Tapley said not right away. House #1424 has not requested a service upgrade yet, but once they do they will be able to remove the poles in the backyards and put everything out onto the main way. Councillor Feckley asked where these houses were located on Main Street. Mr. Tapley said on the corner of Main Street and Electric Avenue. There is a set of backyard poles there that originally serviced four or five customers. All of them are off except two customers. No one in the audience spoke in favor or opposition to the petition. HEARING ADJOURNED AT 7:14 P.M. ____________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, OCTOBER 10, 2017 Meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. Attendance was taken by a roll call vote. All members were present except Councillor Dombrowski. The Committee on Records reported that the records from September 25, 2017 were examined and found to be in order. The records were accepted. The following COMMUNICATIONS were received, referred to the FINANCE COMMITTEE, and given REGULAR COURSE. C-10 Relative to the appropriation of $31,291.00 to the Elections and Registration Expense Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Account. REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, OCTOBER 10, 2017, Cont. C-11 Relative to the appropriation of $50,000.00 to the Highway Department Overtime Account; same to be transferred from the Stabilization Account. C-12 Relative to the appropriation of $100,000.000 to the Gallagher Building Expense Account; same to be transferred from the Gallagher Building Revolving Fund. The following PETITION was received, referred to the LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, given REGULAR COURSE and referred to the Mayor, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, City Solicitor, and Building Inspector. A hearing was set for November 13, 2017 at 7:00 P.M. Vt 8/0 11-18 Committee on Ordinance Review: Amend Chapter 22 of the Revised Ordinances entitled “Zoning” by amending Section 22-14 “Adoption and Amendment” to require notification of abutters for zoning changes and the costs associated will be paid by the petitioner. The following PETITION was received, referred to the CITY PROPERTY COMMITTEE, given REGULAR COURSE and referred to the Police Department and Fire Department. It was requested that notification be sent to First Baptist Church and First Church Unitarian. 12-18 Richard M. Marchand, Festival Facilitator: Request the closure of the following streets from 6:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. for the Silver Anniversary of the Johnny Appleseed Arts and Cultural Festival on September 22, 2018 with a rain date of September 29, 2018. ˗ West Street from School Street to Main Street; ˗ Park Street from West Street intersection in the Church Street vicinity to Main Street; ˗ The City Hall Parking Lot; ˗ The City parking lot adjacent to the City Hall located off West Street; ˗ The City parking lot (defined spaces) located between the First Baptist Church and the First Church Unitarian for handicap parking; and ˗ Church Street from Merriam Avenue to West Street (will still be available with an altered egress pattern for public safety vehicles and business). Upon request of the LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, the following PETITIONS were given FURTHER TIME. Vt. 8/0 7-18 Officer Julio Ramos: Request “No Parking Anytime” signs be placed on the east side of Main Street from Merriam Avenue to Columbia Street. 9-18 Officer Julio Ramos: Request “No Parking” signs be placed three hundred and six feet west from the intersection of Spruce and Whitney Street, on the north side, starting at pole number five and going one hundred feet to pole number four. The signs should read: No Parking Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 A.M. until 6:00 P.M. Upon recommendation of the PUBLIC SERVICE COMMITTEE, the following PETITION was GRANTED. Vt.7/0. Councillor David Cormier abstained due to a possible conflict of interest. 10-18 National Grid and Verizon New England, Inc.: Main Street – Install one jointly owned pole on Main Street to service house #1416 and eventually #1424 in the future. Councillor Bodanza, Chair of the FINANCE COMMITTEE, read the Financial Report for the City into the record. Account balances are as follows: Stabilization Account: $11,939,189.00 Upon request of the WAYS & MEANS AND VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, the following APPOINTMENTS were CONFIRMED. Vt 8 “yeas”. Sylvia Lamb – Leominster Housing Authority – Term to Expire April 15, 2018 Election Officers – Terms to Expire August 31, 2018 Upon request of the LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE the following ORDINANCE was given FURTHER TIME. Vt 8/0 2nd Reading Ordinance – Amend Chapter 22 of the Revised Ordinances entitled “Zoning” by amending Section 22- 50.4.1, Common Driveways, by deleting the words “shall service no more than two (2) lots” and inserting “are not permitted”. (Legal Affairs – Petition 35-17) Page 2 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, OCTOBER 10, 2017, Cont. Under old business, Councillor Feckley read the following letter from the Mayor into the record: October 3, 2017 Lynn Bouchard City Clerk 25 West Street Leominster, MA 01453 RE: Noise Complaint at Fitchburg Airport. Dear Ms. Bouchard, In response to your letter dated September 26, 2017, I have been in contact with Fitchburg Mayor DiNatale as well as representatives from the Fitchburg Airport regarding excessively loud music at an event held on Sunday, September 24, 2017. I was informed that the event would end earlier and that the volume of the music would be lowered. I will continue to work with Mayor DiNatale and the City of Fitchburg to ensure that the organizers of the event comply with all applicable noise ordinances in the future. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact my office anytime. Sincerely, S/S Dean J. Mazzarella Mayor Councillor David Cormier mentioned that he was in contact with Fitchburg’s City Council President, Michael Kushmerek, and he confirmed that the City Council does approve the licenses for events at the airport. There apparently was an error made on the license for this event with regards to the end time. Fitchburg also plans to determine the decibels being emitted from the field during these types of events because they are also getting complaints. Councillor Kushmerek will keep him informed on any progress or changes being made. Councillor Chalifoux Zephir requested backup information relative to Communication C-12. A committee meeting was established for the President’s Committee on Street Acceptance for Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 5:30 P.M. In accordance with Section 3.6 of the Leominster City Charter, a vote was taken to have the person(s) at the Department of Public Works responsible for overseeing the repair and/or and replacement of water main and sewer infrastructure to attend the October 23, 2017 City Council Meeting. Vt. 8/0 Councillor Freda requested an update on the 25 mph sign that was approved for Beth Avenue. Under new business, Councillor Feckley requested the Mayor provide an update on the plan to repair the damn at Barrett Park. Councillor Feckley also requested the Mayor’s plan to replace the vacant seat on the Planning Board. Council President Cormier said he will contact the Mayor regarding vacancies of boards and commissions. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:57 P.M. ________________________________ Lynn A. Bouchard, City Clerk and Clerk of the City Council Page 3