City Council

Ward Councilors Councilors-at-Large Ward 1 – Mark A. Vital Sean A. Navin Ward 2 – David Doucette Mark A. Oram Ward 3 – Robert Preciado Michael H. Ossing Ward 4 – Teona C. Brown Kathleen D. Robey Ward 5 – John J. Irish Ward 6 – A. Trey Fuccillo Ward 7 – Donald R. Landers, Sr. Council President Council Vice-President Michael H. Ossing Kathleen D. Robey CITY OF MARLBOROUGH CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 The regular meeting of the City Council was held on Monday, September 23, 2024, at 8:00 PM in City Council Chambers, City Hall. Councilors Present: Ossing, Vital, Doucette, Preciado, Brown, Irish, Fuccillo, Landers, Navin, Oram & Robey. Meeting adjourned at 8:16 PM. Motion by Councilor Brown, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the Minutes of the City Council meeting, SEPTEMBER 9, 2024, FILE; adopted. Motion by Councilor Irish, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: Under authority of MGL Chapter 44, Section 53A, the City Council hereby APPROVES the Gift Acceptance in the amount of $750.00 from Cloud Bridge Solutions, Inc., awarded to the Police Department to be used for the Youth Police Academy. Motion by Councilor Irish, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: Under authority of MGL Chapter 44, Section 53A, the City Council hereby APPROVES the Gift Acceptance in the amount of $1,000.00 from Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU), awarded to the Police Department to be used for the Youth Police Academy and Christmas Heroes for Helpers program. Motion by Councilor Irish, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: Under authority of MGL Chapter 44, Section 53A, the City Council hereby APPROVES the Grant Acceptance in the amount of $2,500.00 from the MA Cultural Council, awarded to the City of Marlborough to be used for the Labor Day Festival. Motion by Councilor Irish, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the Communication from the Mayor, re: Certification of Free Cash in the amount of $19,112,888.00, FILE; adopted. IN CITY COUNCIL 2 SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 Motion by Councilor Irish, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the Transfer Request from Undesignated Fund (Free Cash) to OPEB Trust in the amount of $1,911,288.80 (One Million, nine hundred eleven thousand, two-hundred eighty-eight dollars and eighty cents) pursuant to the financial policies of the city, APPROVED; adopted. Motion by Councilor Irish, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the Transfer Request from Undesignated Fund (Free Cash) to Undesignated Stabilization in the amount of $1,911,288.80 (One Million, nine hundred eleven thousand, two-hundred eighty-eight dollars and eighty cents) pursuant to the financial policies of the city, APPROVED; adopted. IN CITY COUNCIL 3 SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 Motion by Councilor Preciado, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the Transfer Request from Undesignated Fund (Free Cash) to Recreation Facilities in the amount of $858,941.00 (Eight hundred fifty-eight thousand, nine hundred forty-one dollars) for the purposes of the reconstruction of the Farrell Wading Pool, POSTPONED TO OCTOBER 7, 2024, CITY COUNCIL MEETING; adopted. Motion by Councilor Irish, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the Transfer Request from Undesignated Fund (Free Cash) to FY25 Street Construction in the amount of $386,384.00 (Three hundred eighty-six thousand, three hundred eighty-four dollars) to be used for road resurfacing projects in lieu of Eversource completing the work, APPROVED; adopted. IN CITY COUNCIL 4 SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 Suspension of the Rules requested – granted. Motion by Councilor Irish, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the Communication from the Mayor, re: Request to rescind two bond orders approved by the Council on July 22, 2024, for Evergreen Cemetery and Walker Building boiler, FILE; adopted. Suspension of the Rules requested – granted. Motion by Councilor Irish, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the City Council of the City of Marlborough hereby RESCINDS previously authorized but unissued amounts of the following described loan orders, which are henceforth of no further force or effect, APPROVED; adopted. The $120,000.00 balance of the $120,000.00 authorized to be borrowed for improvements to municipal buildings and boilers, duly adopted by order of this Council and approved by the Mayor on July 30, 2024 (Order No. 24-1009204E-1); and The $350,000.00 balance of the $350,000.00 authorized to be borrowed for the expansion of and improvements to the Evergreen Cemetery, duly adopted by order of this Council and approved by the Mayor on July 30, 2024 (Order No. 24-1009204D-1). Yea: 11 – Nay: 0 Yea: Vital, Doucette, Preciado, Brown, Irish, Fuccillo, Landers, Navin, Oram, Ossing, & Robey. Motion by Councilor Irish, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the Transfer Request from Undesignated Fund (Free Cash) to Evergreen Cemetery in the amount of $350,000.00 (Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars) for the purposes of Evergreen Cemetery Expansion & Site Work, APPROVED; adopted. IN CITY COUNCIL 5 SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 Motion by Councilor Irish, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the Transfer Request from Undesignated Fund (Free Cash) to Public Facilities in the amount of $120,000.00 One hundred and twenty thousand dollars) for the purposes of repair and replacement of boilers at the Walker Building, APPROVED; adopted. Motion by Councilor Irish, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the Transfer Request from Undesignated Fund (Free Cash) to Pumping Station Maintenance in the amount of $35,000.00 (Thirty-five thousand dollars) for the purposes of installation of an in-line sewage grinder for a pump station pursuant to Special Permit (339 Boston Post Road East), APPROVED; adopted. IN CITY COUNCIL 6 SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 Motion by Councilor Doucette, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the Minutes of following Boards, Commissions and Committees, FILE; adopted. a) Council on Aging, July 30, 2024. b) Conservation Commission, August 15, 2024. c) Library Trustees, April 2, 2024 & June 4, 2024. d) Zoning Board of Appeals, August 21, 2024. Motion by Councilor Brown, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED: That the following CLAIMS, referred to the LEGAL DEPARTMENT; adopted. a) Mary Ward, 69 McNeil Circle, other property damage and/or personal injury. Councilor Irish reported the following out of the Public Services Committee: City Council Finance Committee September 16, 2024 Minutes and Report This meeting convened at 7:00 PM and was held in the City Council Chamber and open to the public. The meeting was televised on WMCT-TV (Comcast Channel 8) or Verizon/Fios Channel 34) and was available for viewing using the link under the Meeting Videos tab on the city’s website, home page (www.marlborough-ma.gov). Voting Members: Chair Irish, Councilors Fuccillo, Brown, Oram and Vital Non-Voting Members: Councilors Ossing, Landers, Preciado and Doucette Mayor Dumais, Acting DPW Commissioner Scott and City Auditor Smith were present. Order No. 24-1009204C-3: Communication from Mayor Dumais with Recreational Facilities Bond in the amount of One Million Dollars for the construction, reconstruction and/or improvement of municipal pools, splash pads and recreational facilities – Referred back to the Finance Committee. Background The following is provided for clarity on how the Recreational Bond Order 24-1009204C was addressed by the City Council prior to the September 16, 2024, Finance Committee meeting: • June 3, 2024 – Mayor submits $10,270,000 capital bond request. The Recreation bond for $1,000,000 is assigned order 24-1009204C and referred to Finance Committee • July 8, 2024 – Finance Committees Approves all 7 bonds with a 4-0 vote including the Recreational bond. • July 22,2024 – Finance Committee reports out the 7 bonds under suspension of the rules. The Recreational bond is postponed to the August 19, 2024, meeting by the City Council (11-0) pending more information from the Mayor. • August 19, 2024 – The City Council votes 11-0 to postpone the bond to the September 9, 2024, meeting pending additional information from the Mayor. • September 9, 2024 – The City Council votes 11-0 to refer the Finance Committee approved Recreational bond back to Finance Committee to discuss the additional information provided by the Mayor. IN CITY COUNCIL 7 SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 Reports of Committee Continued: Finance Report Additional information from Mayor Dumais indicated the bond was insufficient to cover the costs of the proposed recreational facilities at Ward Park and Farrell Field. Ward 3 Councilor Preciado opposed the replacement of the Ward Park wading pool with a splash pad, noting the pool in the ever-warming climate would better serve the families in the neighborhood who may not have the means to travel to other water facilities in the city. Councilors were in support of maintaining wading pools at both Ward Park and Farrell Field understanding reasons the Mayor and Recreation Director Thebado favored a splash pad at Ward Park, including extended season time for the splash pad and a general shortage of lifeguards. Councilor Irish recommended the use of free cash to fund the cost of both pools. Councilor Fuccillo agreed with Chair Irish, indicating the bond is not sufficient to fund both facilities. Councilor Vital expressed concern about the shortage of lifeguards. Councilor Preciado agreed the use of free cash was a better choice and savings on interest costs reason enough to use free cash instead of a bond. Councilor Preciado stated his research indicated there is not a lifeguard shortage. Councilor Ossing questioned the timeline for each project. Commissioner Scott stated Farrell is ready to go and once the work begins could be completed in approximately 3 months. Changing to a pool at Ward Park would require design work and a new pool pump station. Councilor Ossing asked the Mayor if Free Cash was certified. The Mayor indicated Free Cash has been certified in the amount of Nineteen Million Dollars. Councilor Ossing suggested the funding for both pools with Free Cash could move forward as soon as possible. The Mayor expressed concern that the timeline could impact the opening of the pool at Ward Park. Councilor Ossing suggested the schedule could be designed to not impact the pool at Ward Park. The existing pool could be opened next year and work on the new pool started next September. The Mayor reiterated the possibility that Ward Park could be without a water feature next summer. On a motion by Councilor Fuccillo, seconded by Chair Irish, the committee voted to refer the Recreational Facilities Bond back to the City Council with a negative recommendation (deny the bond). Vote 5-0 On a motion by Councilor Oram, seconded by Councilor Vital, the committee voted to request the Mayor to submit a transfer from Free Cash in the amount of $2.1 Million Dollars to fund the replacement of pools at Farrell Field and Ward Park and including the new pump station at Ward Park and to use other means to reduce costs such as the possible use of students from Assabet Valley Vocational School to help construct the pool pump station and the use of receipts from the special revenue fund for parks and fields. Vote 5-0 Motion made and seconded to adjourn; the meeting adjourned at 7:49 PM. Motion by Councilor Navin, seconded by the Chair to adopt the following: ORDERED There being no further business, the regular meeting of the City Council is herewith adjourned at 8:16 PM; adopted.