City Council

METHUEN CITY COUNCIL EMERGENCY MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING 1. Roll Call – all members present – Clr. Pesce, Clr. Saffie, Clr. Soto, Clr. Valley, Clr. Campagnone, Clr. DiZoglio, Clr. Marsan and Chair Faretra 2. Acceptance of the Agenda – MOTION TO ACCEPT by Clr. Marsan, seconded by Clr. Campagnone – UPON VOTE - Unanimous 3. Pledge of Allegiance/Moment of Silence for Mayor Neil Perry – Chair Faretra said, “So this community has suffered a tremendous loss this weekend. On behalf of the City Council, we’d like to offer our condolences to Neil's family, his brother Billy, his children Colin, Kieran, Matthew and Sean. You know, Neil was a great person and an even better friend to all of us. I’d just ask everyone to take a moment of silence, please. 4. Public Participation - none 5. Discussion on the continuation of Methuen Government after the untimely passing of Mayor Neil Perry - Chair Faretra said, “So this is the discussion of the continuation of Methuen government at the untimely passing of the mayor. I'd like to recognize the City Solicitor first to go over what has happened over the past 48 hours and give us an update on where we stand currently.” City Solicitor Ken Rosetti said, “Chair, thank you. Thank you for the floor. This is a meeting no one expected to have, and certainly no one wanted to have and before I get into the mechanics of the Charter, I just want to take a moment to express my condolences to the Perry family. I had the privilege and honor of working alongside Neil Perry, a great man, a man who had so many great qualities. One of which in particular, I'd like to point out, is his strength. His strength of character with the challenges that he faced over the last handful of years. It was always an inspiration to me to see how he soldiered through all of those challenges to serve this city and his constituents, so admirably and so well. May his soul rest in peace. Again, a subject no one wanted us to have to get into, but a subject, nonetheless. The succession is driven by our charter as well as ordinances. Back in January, this body conducted a vote pursuant to its local ordinances, to name Councilor Beauregard as Acting Mayor in the event that vacancy arose in the position of mayor. That ordinance dovetails the provision in our charter, section 37, addressing the absence of the mayor, and we should think of this in multiple parts here. Mayor Perry's passing on Saturday elevated Councilor Beauregard to Acting Mayor. Under the Charter, the acting mayor succeeds to all of the powers of mayor except the power to permanently appoint or remove office holders in the city. However, if he holds the position for 60 days or longer, he will have that authority --- There's also a provision in the Charter that says that the acting mayor cannot approve or disapprove of any measure by the City Council. But that only applies if we know that the mayor is going to be coming back. Since we now know, regrettably, that's not happening. It's my opinion that the only power the acting mayor does not presently have is the power of permanent appointment and removal. Therefore, Acting Mayor Beauregard will be here at Council meetings to furnish the mayor's report. He'll be available to receive your questions and address requests of councilors. He will sign contracts. He will lead the administrative departments of the city. He will hold all of those powers that are incident METHUEN CITY COUNCIL EMERGENCY MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING to the office of the mayor, with the one exception I noted earlier. Now, that's not the only part of succession planning in in the city of Methuen under the Charter. Because Mayor Perry passed in the first year of his term, a special election is required. It will be the duty of this body to order the election on a date, certain. I'm segueing somewhat into the next subject by saying this, but viewers will note number six on the agenda refers to a call of the election. The purpose tonight is to announce that there will, in fact, be a call to the election and that will be at the meeting on October 7, 2024. When this body meets next at its next regularly scheduled meeting, the call for election will be on a date certain. The city is presently consulting with outside Elections Council advising us on making that happen consistent with State Law, so that will be on the agenda for October 7th. The election will then lead to a victor and that victor will serve the remaining portion of the current mayoral term. And that person will also enjoy all of the authority, without question, incident to the office of mayor. As an aside, if we were in the second year of the mayoral term it would be this body that would choose the successor. In my view, the elevation of the acting mayor does not create an opening in the office of At-Large Councilor. I'm not going to get into all of the different what if scenarios at this point, because I think it's premature, but we will certainly visit those scenarios as circumstances warrant going forward. I'd welcome any questions the body may have.” Chair Faretra said, “Thank you, Mr. Solicitor. I'm going to agree with Mr. Rosetti there --- that the ‘what ifs of what happens’ after the special election, if there's a spot open on the Council. This is not the time. Tonight is focused on Acting Mayor Beauregard and what his role is going to entail for these next couple of days and months ahead. This meeting is pertinent to the continuation of government and that's what these questions would be about.” Chair Faretra recognized Clr. Marsan,” So, no questions, but our Charter is very specific on what it says. It is easy for this body to move forward as far as what we have to do legislatively to get this done. You know, as tough as it is to do, it's a good thing that our forefathers had the foresight to do this for us and have it spelled out so that we don't have to do any of that.” Chair Faretra recognized Solicitor Rosetti, “When we had the meeting with outside counsel, there was some discrepancy between our Charter and State Law. Technically, the Charter refers to a 60-day period for convening the election. There is a state law that requires a minimum 64-day period between when the body orders the election to occur on a date certain, and the election itself. In the event that an issue was litigated regarding the enforceability of the Charter provision, I believe that the Charter provision would be adjudicated as preempted by the state law because it’s under the principle of preemption. When you have a state law and a local law, whether it's an ordinance or a charter provision, they're both addressing the same point and there's a conflict, the state law will preempt and prevail. We're looking at operating within that minimum 64-day period between when this body orders the election and the date certain that's set in the body’s order. We would also look to pursue that on the same track with presenting legislation to the General Court for the governor's endorsement to acknowledge and ratify what this body is doing ---in terms of the special elections --- so we feel like we're covering all the bases.” Chair Faretra recognized Clr. DiZoglio, “With that said, could the election hypothetically, be then, after the first of the year?” Solicitor Rosetti said, “The state law requires a minimum 64-day period. As a hypothetical, that's possible. I don't foresee it happening at that point. I actually foresee it being closer to the first half of December, probably the second week. The body should be aware, and the METHUEN CITY COUNCIL EMERGENCY MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING viewers should be aware, that as we are preparing for this special election, that preparation is being done against the backdrop of a presidential election that has with it, mail in voting, early voting in-person voting and of course, same day voting by those who come to the polling places. Logistically, it would be quite a challenge, notwithstanding the excellent work of our city clerk and her team, it would be incredibly challenging to not only have to cross all the T's and dot all of the I's on the presidential election, while also crossing all the T's and dotting all the I's for a special election. There's also the concern that if you're doing something concurrently, if, for example, we looked at trying to call the election at or around the time of the presidential election, or even beforehand. There's the prospect of voter confusion with folks thinking, ‘Oh, I just mailed in my ballot for presidential. But what's this? This ballot must be an extra. I'll just put it in the trash.’ Those kinds of issues of confusion we want to try to avoid. So that's why we're looking more in the December time frame.” Chair Faretra said, “As a follow up to that, because the death of the mayor happened during the first year of his term, even if the special election happened after January 1, 2025, it would still have that provision. We'd still have to have a special election.” Solicitor Rosetti said, “The Chair is correct --- the operative words within the Charter on when the vacancy is created.” Chair Faretra recognized Clr. DiZoglio, “And normal election rules follow with mail in ballots and all the above would be required too?” Solicitor Rosetti agreed. Chair Faretra recognized Vice Chair Soto, “Thank you Chair. Through you to the solicitor. So, the time frame --- my calculations say that the special election would be near Thanksgiving. That's in 64 days.” Solicitor Rosetti said, “No, it would actually be from the date when the body orders the election on a date certain, which will happen on October 7th. So, you would go out 64 days from October 7th.” Vice Chair Soto said, “Thank you for that clarification.” Chair Faretra recognized Acting Mayor DJ Beauregard, “Thank you, Mr. Chair. I apologize. I've lost my voice for the most part, this weekend. I'm slowly getting it back, so I apologize if it's difficult to hear me. I can repeat anything if you can't hear. But I just wanted to share a brief statement in an update relative to the continuity of operations in our city before, obviously, entertaining any questions that come up for me. First of all, I want to pay tribute to a great friend and a mentor of mine, and that is Neil Perry. Mayor Perry was a great man. In my view, what made him special is that he wasn't a politician. He was a good human. He loved Methuen and its people with every fiber of his being. And I know how much he admired and respected all of the employees in our city and our people. He will be deeply missed. And as we grieve and prepare for his upcoming calling hours --- just so the residents are aware --- they will be on Sunday, September 29th from 2:00 to 7:00 PM at the Methuen Memorial Music Hall, and his funeral will be followed by that on Monday, September 30th at 1:00 PM at Saint Monica's Parish. Obviously, the public is certainly welcome to pay their respects to Mayor Perry. Relative to, as I mentioned, the employees of the city, the city is providing free and confidential counseling services through our employee assistance provider. In addition, I'm closing City Hall on Monday, September 30th to give employees who wish to have the opportunity to attend the mayor's funeral the opportunity to do so. I want to point out, though, and I know Mayor Perry would be pleased when I say this, that trash and recycling will continue to be collected as normal. There's going to be a lot of tributes to the mayor, but as an initial tribute to Mayor Perry, I will be proclaiming Monday, September 30th, “Random Acts of Kindness Day in the City of Methuen.” The mayor did METHUEN CITY COUNCIL EMERGENCY MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING this for the first time earlier this year on Leap Day, and he was quite passionate about encouraging residents to just find those opportunities to be kind to one another and to give back to the community. And my hope is that, especially at this difficult time, our community will come together, treat each other with kindness and cast away any differences or divisions that inhibit our ability to exist as One Methuen. So, I'll end this by saying that I have stepped into big shoes --- very big shoes. I will not try to be Mayor Perry. However, I assure you and the entire community that I am committed to two things now --- continuity and stability. I will do all that I can to live up to Mayor Perry's example and continue his legacy by making decisions better and in the best interests of the people of Methuen, always. And I look forward to continuing to work with you, councilors and our department heads who are here, and employees --- thank you for showing up tonight in terms of supporting this special meeting. And we're going to keep moving Methuen forward. We're going to proceed 1 foot in front of the other. Thank you, Mr. Chair.” Chair Faretra recognized CAFO Maggie Duprey, “OK, I'm going to attempt to get through this really quickly, I just want to say something really quickly. Myself, my fellow department heads, city employees were prepared, and we are committed to keep things moving forward in step with the acting mayor. Mayor Perry had a mantra that he used all the time --- Start it, finish it. He started it. We're going to finish it for him.” Chair Faretra said, “We’re not going to take a recess. We knew tonight was going to be tough. Nobody plans for this. This sucks. I'm sorry, there’s no better way to put it. The Mayor gave his life to the city. Literally, he put everything he had into this and it's hard to put that into words. So, are there any other questions on the continuity of government? Solicitor, do we have to vote on the call for a special election even though there's not a date yet? Are we giving permission to the city clerk to start the process?” Solicitor Rosetti said, “This body could vote to direct that the process to start, but when the body returns on the 7th of October for its next regularly scheduled meeting, there will be a formal vote to order the election on the date certain.” Chair Faretra recognized Clr. DiZoglio, “Now I want to also ask, does that mean that if there is a candidate, are they able to pull papers starting next week --- on October 7th? Is there going to be a primary election? Those are questions that are going to come up in the coming weeks.” Solicitor Rosetti said, “We're still working on with our Elections Council on those types of details.” Chair Faretra said, “But I would think that there wouldn't be a primary election, correct? There will be a one-day election. That's my understanding from the phone call we had today. Us voting on this tonight gives the city clerk the authority to start that process and I'm sure she would let the community know once papers are ready to be pulled. I think this vote tonight gives her the authority to start that process and once she is ready to have those papers, we would let the community know that process.” Chair Faretra recognized Acting Mayor Beauregard, “Mr. Chair, I forgot one housekeeping measure item earlier when I was speaking. This is a question that's come up and I just wanted to state this for the record publicly. Relative to the transition, I immediately resigned from my private employment arrangements and I'm serving in a full-time capacity at this point. I know that's a question that's come up and I just wanted to mention that for public knowledge. Thank you.” Chair Faretra said, “Does the clerk have any input? Can we have the clerk speak about our process here?” Chair Faretra recognized Clr. Marsan, “Just asking if you have any input --- if you know the scenarios as far as the special election in December?” Chair Faretra recognized City Clerk Ann Drouin, “As I METHUEN CITY COUNCIL EMERGENCY MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2024 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING know, some people looking to have it at the end of October, it just will never happen. Not with the presidential election on November 5th. December 10th gives us a little bit more time after the election on November 5th. We then have to certify the election, which takes at least a week after that, and then we're going to be preparing for this election. So, it's going to be tight with wrapping up one and going into the next. They're probably going to even overlap a little bit. I'm going to be looking at all the different resources that I'm going to need to help us. I have a staff of five. We're going to have to bring in our seniors. We're going to have to look to utilizing our senior program. We're going to probably get help from people at City Hall, and it's going to be a big team effort for us to get it all done. And I think the December time frame is more realistic and it'll give us time.” Chair Faretra said, “So at this point, if there's no more questions, it would just be entertaining that motion.” 6. Call for special election and authorizing the City Clerk to begin the process of setting up the special election to succeed Mayor Perry per the Methuen Charter – MOTION by Clr. Campagnone, seconded by Clr. Saffie. UPON VOTE - Unanimous 7. Adjourn – MOTION by Clr. Campagnone, seconded by Clr. DiZoglio. UPON VOTE – Unanimous – Time – 7:26 PM. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Yarid Ferry Assistant City Council Clerk I do hereby certify that at a meeting of which a quorum was present, the foregoing minutes were approved by the Methuen City Council by a unanimous vote on November 18, 2024. Linda Gagnon COUNCIL CLERK