City Council

METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING Chair Faretra called the meeting to order. Members present: Councilor Pesce, Councilor Saffie (via Zoom), Councilor Soto, Councilor Surillo, Councilor Valley, Councilor Campagnone, Councilor DiZoglio, Councilor Marsan, and Chair Faretra. Acceptance of the Agenda MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor Pesce to approve. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: UNANIMOUS Pledge of Allegiance/Words of Wisdom/Moment of Silence Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and remained standing for a Moment of Silence for John Caron. Vice-Chair Soto read a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. Public Participation Officer Brandon LaFlamme, 90 Hampshire St, distributed flyers inviting everyone to join the Special Olympics Mobile Plunge on Monday, January 20, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at Nicholson Stadium to benefit Special Olympics. They have raised $15,000. Their goal is to raise $20,000. Tom Grassi, 15 Coolidge Street, Chairman of Methuen Community Studios and Cable Advisory Board said they need some assistance. Their contract on Verizon is expiring. They are in the process of negotiating a new one. They are gathering information for that process. They invite all the residents of Methuen to take a brief survey at MethuenTV.org/survey. They will post it. His board is hosting a public hearing on Thursday, February 20th at 7:00 p.m. in the Great Hall to collect public input for the process. He encouraged all Methuen residents who are customers of Verizon to share their experiences that evening. Written comments may be submitted and email them to Methuen Community Studios. He suggested residents check their Facebook page for all the details or call the studio with any questions. This is so they can get as much information as possible for their presentation to Verizon. Organizational Business Election of Council Chairman Vice-Chair Soto nominated Councilor Marsan for Chair. Seconded by Councilor Campagnone. Councilor Marsan accepted the nomination. Councilor DiZoglio nominated Councilor Faretra for Chair. Councilor Faretra declined the nomination. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: UNANIMOUS. Councilor Marsan elected City Council Chair. Chair Marsan thanked all the Councilors for their support and congratulated Councilor Surillo, welcoming him to the Council. 1 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING Election of Council Vice-Chairman Councilor Valley nominated Councilor Soto for Vice-Chair. Seconded by Councilor Campagnone. Councilor Soto accepted the nomination. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: 8 yes, 1 no (Clr. DiZoglio) Vice-Chair Soto thanked the Council for the opportunity to serve. Election of Acting Mayor Councilor Surillo nominated Councilor Faretra as Acting Mayor. Seconded by Vice- Chair Soto. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: 8 yes, 1 no (Clr. Pesce) Adoption of Council Rules MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor Soto to adopt. MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor Campagnone to amend Rule 1, Section D. This has come up a couple of times this year. At the end of Section D, it discusses all meetings shall be held in the Great Hall for the purpose of broadcasting. Add “or a suitable, accessible replacement location if the Great Hall is not accessible”. That came up this year when the elevator was down. Council should amend our rules that we need to go to a place that the public can get to and that we can air our meetings in case that does happen again. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: UNANIMOUS. MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor Campagnone to amend Rule IX, Appointments by Council. Council has added “Assistant Council Clerk” and would like to add Assistant Council Clerk in Rule IX where applicable. The City Council shall appoint a City Solicitor, a Fiscal Analyst, Council Clerk and Assistant Council Clerk. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: UNANIMOUS. Solicitor Rossetti suggested adding numbers 8 through 10 to the rules. He read the following: Rule I(f), Executive Session (pages 2-3): While the Rules correctly identify seven justifications that allow the Council, in its discretion, to enter executive session, the Open Meeting Law identifies ten (10) reasons for allowing executive session. Reasons 8 through 10 are as follows: (8) To consider or interview applicants for employment or appointment by a preliminary screening committee if the chair declares that an open meeting will have a detrimental effect in obtaining qualified applicants; provided, however, that this clause shall not apply to any meeting, including meetings of a preliminary screening committee, to consider and interview applicants who have passed a prior preliminary screening; (9) To meet or confer with a mediator, as defined in section 23C of chapter 233, with respect to any litigation or decision on any public business within its jurisdiction involving another party, group or entity; and (10) To discuss trade secrets or confidential, competitively-sensitive or other proprietary information. 2 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING  Therefore, the Council could consider adding (8) through (10) into the Council rule; or, for brevity, the Council could simply state, “The City Council may enter into executive session for any of the ten reasons identified under the Open Meeting Law, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 30A, Sections 21(a)(1) through 21(a)(10).” MOTION BY: Councilor Surillo, seconded by Councilor Campagnone to adopt amendment. Councilor Pesce asked for clarification of the Solicitor’s suggestion. The Solicitor said he would suggest either inserting 8, 9, and 10 or instead of naming any of the ten just simply saying “the City Council may enter into executive session for any of the ten reasons identified under the Open Meeting Law, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 30A, Sections 21(a)(1) through 21(a)(10).” Councilor Pesce offered a friendly amendment to use the language “the City Council may enter into executive session for any of the ten reasons identified under the Open Meeting Law, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 30A, Sections 21(a)(1) through 21(a)(10).” Solicitor the Council could air on the side of brevity for executive session for reasons allowed under the open meeting law. Councilor Surillo accepted the amendment and Councilor Campagnone agreed. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: UNANIMOUS Rule II(c), Agenda (page 4): insert “City” after “registered” so that it is clear to all that only Councilors’ City emails are used for dispatch of packets. MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor Campagnone to adopt language. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: 8 yes, 1 no (Chair Marsan) Rule V(a), Quorum (page 6): insert a period after quorum. No discussion. Council will change Rule XI(b-c), Public Participation (page 11): This rule, as written, invites potential violations of free speech rights (and thus liability to the City), for the reasons stated in my email to the Council of October 9, 2024. For brevity, I have attached the prior email in lieu of repeating the points here. He recommended the removal of part (b) and the first sentence of part (c). Solicitor Rossetti referred to XI, page 11. The rule starts on page 10 with subpart a) and goes on to the top of page 11. It has three parts to it, a) through c). He would recommend in light of recent cases from case law from the Supreme Judicial court on the scope of the right of expression under the state constitution that the body entertain a motion to remove subpart b) and the first sentence of subpart c). That is because, according to the Barron Case decided in 2023, the Supreme Judicial court basically held that Rule of Decorum as applied to public participants constitutes a content based restriction on speech that ran afoul of the right of expression under the Massachusetts State Constitution. The SJC also noted that its decision was limited to the State Constitution because questions were raised under the Federal Constitution and under the first amendment of the Federal Constitution. In the Barron Case, a speaker was thrown out of a meeting for comparing a member of a Select Board to Hitler and it was felt that person had, in addition to some other comments that were made, that person had run afoul of the decorum rule 3 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING of that body. The SJC said that was a violation of the Select Board and the person had the right under the State Constitution to make that comment at that public meeting. He recommended making the changes he proposed because those changes would be more in line with the 2023 SJC decision. MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor Campagnone to adopt the above language. Councilor Pesce asked for clarification where the Chair would have referenced “no personal attacks” or anything like that is perfectly acceptable going forward. Personal attacks of Council members, personal attacks of name calling. Solicitor Rossetti said a comparison to Hitler was deemed to be permissible. Councilor Pesce indicated she is shocked. Solicitor Rossetti said reasonable people can differ on the scope of the SJC’s decision. It was met with some controversy in the legal press. But the decision is what it is. There was one Justice who suggested an oral argument that libel would be protected under public participation at a meeting of a public body. That, to him, would be quite a significant development because there are certain aspects of speech that are not protected. Fighting words and threats are not protected. But the sum and substance of the 2023 decision is that speakers at public participation have a very wide latitude in terms of what they are permitted to say. In the court, in the Barron Case, went to great lengths to talk about essentially the fact that democracy is not meant to be gentile. There are going to be strong feelings on all sides of issues and folks have the right to express those views during public participation. That does not mean we cannot have an officer or a Sergeant at Arms at meetings. That is perfectly appropriate, and a public body can likewise direct where a person speaks and for how long a person can speak. Those regulations did not go away with the Barron Case. Council can tell a speaker to stand at the podium and limit it to two minutes. This Council limited it to five minutes. That is all appropriate and permissible. Councilor Pesce noted that is interesting because even the SJC has court decorum that people must adhere to. Courts, in general, have decorum people must follow. It is interesting that the SJC would say that we have no rights of decorum in here. However, what you are saying is if we do this to agree with the SJC decision that while public participants may say what they like, they could also potentially expose themselves to a claim. Solicitor Rossetti said anything is possible. But the view of the court is if you are serving on a public body, you are essentially taking on the responsibility of receiving the opinion of the public. Councilor Pesce commented she wants people to understand that it is not a free for all. That there is always the potential of some sort of recourse. Solicitor Rossetti commented anything is possible. Councilor DiZoglio said defamation of character is a different conversation. If you are standing there calling him an X, Y, Z. He asked if that would be defamation of character. Solicitor Rossetti said he would have to hear the specifics of the commentary. To suggest that libel is protected and that is not his suggestion, but that is a far expanse of protection of speech. He would not bank on that as an extension that is going to be approved down the road. He is simply giving Council an illustration of how courts are increasingly protecting the right of salty speakers to get up and express their views at public participation. 4 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING Councilor DiZoglio, the federal level, the broadcasting secretary recently came out and said if they are going to be coming down on news stations that are national news, for misinformation. ABC just spent nineteen million dollars on a Donald Trump lawsuit. He does not want to give someone an idea that they can come up here and say whatever they want to say, hate speech, anything like that, derogatory, and decorum here must stay normal. If someone comes up there and calls him something that is wrong, he is objecting and is going to stand up and walk out. He would probably ask the whole Council to walk too, if that got to that point, especially someone being called Hitler. To him, that is hate speech. He wants to make sure if Council agrees to this, Council is allowing anything to happen which allows Council a platform of liability. Yes, we are public officials. But the former President, President-Elect just got nineteen million dollars from ABC news because someone said something derogatory about them that was not true. If the person wants to stand up there, he would be asking the Solicitor to file a lawsuit on his behalf because when he is in here, he is indemnified and protected. He asked if he would be indemnified or if anything that comes out of this Council floor where he would need legal advice or legal help, would that come from the City of Methuen. Solicitor Rossetti explained that would be circumstance dependent. He represents the body, the city, and officials acting in their official capacity. Keep in mind the limitation of the SJC decision, which is that it was a decision rendered solely under the State Constitution. There was no Federal Constitution question raised in that case. The Massachusetts declaration of rights is well known for going above and beyond the freedoms under the Federal Constitution in many respects, including the right of free speech. The scenarios that you paint, we would have to look at those as they come in. you do not lose the right to assert causes of action. The members of this body still have a first amendment right to seek redress in the courts for wrongs. The decision from 2023 does not mean you do not have some ability of recourse in the courts. It would depend on what was stated. He is the messenger communicating to the body that a comparison to Hitler of a member of a Select Board was deemed to be permissible. Councilor DiZoglio asked if Council votes “no” on this and does not add this to the rules, is Council liable for anything. Solicitor Rossetti said if it is not applied in a non-constitutional manner it is probably not going to be an issue. There was an instance during Chair Faretra’s service as Chair, during the past calendar year, there was a speaker at Public Participation who used some salty language and had in his view. Had the Chair decided to stop that speaker and have him escorted out of the Great Hall, that could have been problematic. What the SJC is saying is the right of expression of the State Constitution means that people can have strong opinions and to express themselves, in language not necessarily what we would choose by way of expression. Councilor Surillo asked if there is a time limit for public participation. Solicitor Rossetti responded it is five minutes. Councilor Pesce requested a copy of the Barron Case be sent to Council. Solicitor Rossetti said he would circulate it. Councilor Pesce said she is all for protection of free speech. On the other hand, it is very hard for her to not have any rules of decorum. It’s putting a lot on our Chair. Depending upon how this goes, its going to be tough because if Council votes this in and basically whatever happens, happens. If we do not, then it would behoove Council to educate the Chair exactly 5 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING what he needs to do in terms of what rises to that level and what does not to protect Council as a body. Councilor Faretra said he does not think it matters if this is voted into our Council rules or not because whatever the state has ruled is going to trump whatever we do here. If somebody comes up to the podium and speaks how they feel and if Council decides to toss them out and they sue us, its going to be what was ruled on by the state court. It doesn’t matter what is in the Council rules if the state court has already ruled and there is case law against it, it is not going to matter what our rules said, how we want people to act when they come in here. If the SJC has already ruled on it and we say you must be nice when you are in here, it does not matter. It’s whatever the state has already ruled on is what is going to be judged on. The law is the law, and we do not – it really does not matter what Council decides to put in this document. No vote taken Solicitor Rossetti said he found a handful of instances where the Council could consider writing in his/her in place of his. Make the Council Rules completely gender neutral – e.g., replace “his” with “his/her” under Rule I(g) (Council Meetings, page 3), Rule XIII(b) (Miscellaneous Rules, page 12), Rule XV(b)(3) (Code of Ethics, page 15), Public Hearing Procedure, Section A(2) (page 18, twice). MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor Surillo to make the Council rules gender neutral. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: UNANIMOUS MOTION BY: Councilor Pesce, seconded by Councilor Soto to switch Rule XI, subsection b) and c) the first sentence, instead of “shall” replace it to “should”. It is important that public participants have the right of free speech, but this more or less gets rid of it but suggests that hopefully they have a common decency when they come before us, barring the unforeseeable and egregious maybe rare resident. It would read “public members attending Council meetings should observe the same rules of decorum and good conduct applicable to the members of the Council. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: 8 yes, 1 no (Clr. Marsan) MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor Campagnone to adopt the rules as amended. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: UNANIMOUS Re-Appointment of Council Clerk – Linda Gagnon MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor Campagnone to re-appoint Council Clerk Linda Gagnon. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: UNANIMOUS Re-Appointment of City Solicitor – Kenneth Rossetti MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor DiZoglio to re-appoint City Solicitor Kenneth Rossetti 6 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING Councilor DiZoglio said the Council so far has seen some huge improvement on the legal side, from the legal department over the last five years. A lot of it has been directed because of the Solicitor’s guidance. The Council needs to do a better job evaluating their employees. Council should be doing evaluations on all of their employees so that it makes these decisions easier for them so that Council can have them as conversation points with our employees on their appointments and why or why not we are doing what we are doing. Council has not done that as Councilors in his five years that he has been here. In his review of the Solicitor, he is worthy of at least one more re—appointment that he has a vote on. Councilor Faretra said what Council has seen from the beginning of his five years to now when it comes to the legal department, its like comparing apples to dump trucks at this point. We had a part-time Solicitor that who put us into some sticky situations to where we are now, cannot even compare. He also knows that he was part of a group who brought forward an ordinance in 2022 that adjusted the Solicitor and Assistant Solicitor’s pay, that labeled the Solicitor a department head. There is some question whether that legislation maybe throws a monkey wrench into where the Charter labels where the Solicitor is a Charter employee by the Council, which is a two-year term. Department heads by the Charter are a three-year term. When the Charter was written, the Solicitor was an employee of the Council. He was by himself. It was a one-man department. It was only a two-year term. Now, he is a department head and department heads are a three-year term. He would really like to see if Council could get some clarification whether, now because of the department being three, if he would be considered a department head under the eyes of the law and entitled to a three-year term instead of a two-year because he would hate for Council to not give him that extra year if he is entitled to that. After everyone speaks, he would like to make that recommendation that Council would get an opinion from outside Counsel. Council has had experience with John Fauscett. Send him the ordinances that we have had and have him compare that with the Charter and get an opinion from him. Worst case scenario, this waits a couple of weeks and then we make sure we cover all our bases. If this must come back in a couple of weeks, it will come back. That would be his opinion before Council makes that vote but obviously it is the will of the Council. Councilor Saffie said Solicitor Rossetti has done an excellent job moving the city forward and holding people accountable and ultimately watching out for our taxpayers. She found him to be an important asset to our team. She was thrilled to see the staff had feedback letters of support and the residents that also had feedback in support of the Solicitor. He has done a great job protecting the city and us. She would like to see him re-appointed, whether it is tonight or at the next meeting. Mayor Beauregard stated his take on working with the Solicitor on the city side. He is very thorough and in terms of a lot of the ongoing issues that we have as a city, he has been very involved with that. This is Council decision from this point. 7 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING Councilor DiZoglio said Councilor Faretra brings up a good point. If Council votes on this tonight, regardless if it is a yeah or nah, are we doing it out of term if it is supposed to be a three- year department head term or a two-year Council appointment? His recollection of what was presented to Council in 2022 was a reclassification of the salary requirements of that department. That is what he recalls what Council voted on because they changed the salary classification from the rolls and added a third. He does not want his opinion of that to also weigh on what Councilor Faretra’s opinion. He does not know if it would be inappropriate to table this and then outsource an opinion to John Fauscett or KP Law, whoever it is that we have on retainer at this point, just so Council is doing this correctly. If there is no need for a vote tonight that means the Solicitor is still entitled to one more year. If we do re-appoint him, he needs to be re-appointed correctly. Then that needs to happen immediately. With that being unclear, a table is where Council should go with this. He will pause before motioning to table. Councilor Soto – thank you for that, Councilor DiZoglio, but she looked up the last re- appointment. “Are you asking for a second chance to do it wrong again?” The last re- appointment said two years and the legislation had already passed. Her question is: “If it is a three-year department head term, why wasn’t it done then?” “Why does that re-appointment read two years?” That was your time. She is asking those that were here. Councilor DiZoglio said it was just brought to his attention the last three weeks, just like her that this was a problem. It was not in any way, shape, or form brought up from the Mayor’s office to our current Solicitor on that situation. Now that there is conversation about this, he does not want to put the city and Council at legal risk. He would think that would be most of the body’s opinion on this as well. Councilor DiZoglio said he has had many re-appointments or appointments on this Council in the last six years. Council has reclassified the Solicitor’s role twice, if he recalls, from a salary classification. He asked the Solicitor for his opinion and if he would agree that this probably should get a second opinion on it. Solicitor Rossetti agreed it would behoove the body to get an opinion of outside Counsel. He can offer his view. But, would be offering that view as an employee of the city because this concerns the extent to which he has a property interest in continued service as the Solicitor. He would point out that getting that opinion will help guide the Council because there is potential legal exposure if the term of an office holder ends prematurely. That is because decades ago the U.S. Supreme Court held that public employees have a constitutional protected property in continued employment and there continued public employment if they can show there right to some form of tenure or continued employment. The Supreme Court and courts after it have likewise stated that to determine whether there is a protected interest, you look to state and local law to gauge that interest. If a term is terminated prematurely that can subject the public employer to exposure for violation of the fifth amendment. Because of the case he referred to earlier, the Loudermill Case. In the Loudermill Case, the court said that deprivation of a 8 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING property interest without due process is a violation of the fifth amendment and that brings with its exposure to a civil rights claim. Councilor DiZoglio thanked the Solicitor. He appreciates it. But, with the current statement that Councilor Faretra brought up and some of the concerns that he has with this, he’d like to motion to table the appointment and send this situation out to our outside legal counsel for an opinion. Seconded by Councilor Faretra. MOTION BY: Councilor DiZoglio, seconded by Councilor Faretra to table. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: 5 no, 4 yes (Clr. Faretra, Clr. DiZoglio, Clr. Saffie, Clr. Pesce) Chair Marsan just a clarification before we move forward before Council takes a vote. the Charter is very clear, it says that we have fifteen days to the new year on every odd numbered year to appoint or reappoint a Clerk and a City Solicitor. It is very clear. Just another point, he does not believe that an ordinance that this body has the right to create an ordinance to change the term of anyone. Because if that were true, we would, or any Councilor here could make a motion to create an ordinance to change the term of themselves if they could get the backing of it. Solicitor Rossetti said respectfully Chair the rules that were taken up tonight provide the City Solicitor has the floor on questions of legal procedure. He has a question of legal procedure to raise. The Chair recognized the Solicitor to speak. The Solicitor said Under Section 3-9 of the Charter, the city specifically contemplates the designation of a department head by ordinance. It is Section 3-9 of the Charter. He read: Department Heads – the terms of department heads of the City of Methuen shall be three years. The term “department heads” as used herein shall mean the Fire Chief, Director of Public Works, Veterans Service Agent, City Clerk, Treasurer/Tax Collector, and the Executive Director on the Council on Aging, and such other officers who may be designated as department heads under city ordinances. This provision specifically contemplates the passage of legislation by this body and affirmed by the Mayor to designate officers as department heads and in which case those department heads shall have a term of three years. That is why there is a significant question as to whether the term of Solicitor is up this year or next. This provision of the Charter was inserted after the provision of the Charter calling for the appointment every two years of a Solicitor in odd number of years. The question is whether not only whether the Solicitor has three years but whether Section 3-9 trumps 2-8 which is the Charter provision on the Solicitor’s term. Councilor Soto said follow up question to that is “Department Head of how many people?” “One person?” That is what she is trying to make sense of. There are two other Solicitors that work under the Mayor and the City Solicitor works for Council. Under the City Clerk and the Council. Department head means you are a department head, and you are one employee, and 9 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING you are one person in your department? She was not here when this was done and cannot make sense of that either. Councilor DiZoglio and Councilor Faretra Charter Objected Reading and Acceptance of Minutes from Previous Meetings: December 16, 2024 regular meeting MOTION BY: Councilor DiZoglio, seconded by Councilor Faretra to approve. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: 7 yes, 1 abstain (Clr. Surillo), 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) PROCLAMATION/CORRESPONDENCE - None Consideration of Appointments: Matthew Morel – Temporary Police Sergeant to Permanent Police Sergeant MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor Faretra to appoint. Chief McNamara read Matthew Morel’s biography into the record. Mayor Beauregard said the city is continuing to go by the list for these appointments. He thanked the Council for their consideration. Councilor Soto commended Matthew Morel for his impressive resume and being a Methuen High graduate and his accomplishments. She would like to see more officers who graduate MHS come back to serve. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) Sergeant Morel thanked the Mayor, the City Council, and Chief for this opportunity to serve the community he grew up in. Councilor Surillo left the room. Gail Drouin – Methuen Housing Authority (Reappointment, 10 years, will require 6 votes for approval) MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor Faretra to approve. Councilor DiZoglio said his only concern with this appointment is the ten-year record. We need to get more people involved. His vote has to do with the rules of the appointments. Mayor Beauregard explained serving for more than ten years is totally permissible by way of the city’s rules. However, all it requires is six votes instead of five. There is not a prohibition on an individual serving longer than ten years. It just increases the threshold required for the appointment. He stands by these appointments and believes both are the most qualified individuals for service on the Housing Authority. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: 6 yes, 1 No (Clr. DiZoglio) 1 absent (Clr. Saffie),1 out of the room (Clr. Surillo) Moises Fumero – Methuen Housing Authority (reappointment) 10 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor DiZoglio to approve. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: 7 yes,1 absent (Clr. Saffie) 1 out of the room (Clr. Surillo) The Chair declared a brief recess. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: Members present: Clr. Pesce, Clr. Soto, Clr. Surillo, Clr. Valley, Clr. Campagnone, Clr. DiZoglio, Clr. Faretra, and Chair Marsan. Clr. Saffie was no longer on Zoom. PRESENTATION/PROJECTS/DEPARTMENT HEAD City of Methuen 2024-2029 Housing Production Plan Sponsored Mayor and Director of Economic and Community Development Kathleen Colwell, Planning Director of the City of Methuen, spoke briefly about the Housing Production Plan. The Planning Commission received a grant from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs in the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to work with fourteen cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley to Update our Housing Production Plans. On behalf of the commission, Ian is here to provide these updates to Council tonight. The Housing Production Plan identifies the housing needs of a community and the strategies it will use to make progress in facilitating the development of affordable housing. Having a certified Housing Production Plan provides bonus points from many state grants and will help the city retain its housing choice designation. Having a current Housing Choice designation grants, the city special consideration in several grant programs, such as: Mass Works complete streets and green community funding and allows the city to apply for housing choice grants. In the past few years, the city has received a little over a $175,000 in housing choice grants to date. It is important for us to have a certified Housing Production Plan to unlock the capability to apply for grants and get bonus points as we apply for these grants. Methuen was lucky enough in the past few years to have undertaken this Master Plan Process and the MBTA Communities process. Between both of those efforts the goals of the Housing Production Plan stem from that. This plan was an outgrowth of those efforts. Ian Burns, Community Development and Economic Program Manager at the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, reviewed the plan. There were discussions on demographic trends, population, senior population, current percentage of affordable housing (9.825%), 40B, goals of the Housing Plan being the same as Master Plan. Also discussed was increase in the threshold of ten percent when marketing units increase. Kathleen Colwell noted this plan does not make any zoning changes. When Community Development submits an ordinance to the City Council, it will require a public hearing. She said the Community Development Boards has their meeting on Wednesday for discussion and noted this resolution will have a second read before the Council. 11 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING Councilor Surillo thanked Ian Burns for his efforts. He is available to help. Chair Marsan thanked Mr. Burns and Kathleen Colwell for the presentation. Mayor’s Report MHS Project Update Mayor Beauregard indicated he does not have much to add since the last meeting. We have had the holidays and now winter weather getting underway. There are big plans in terms of the roll out of the new amenities at the high school when Spring rolls around. Steve Angelo is our point of contact for ADA matters in the MHS project. He can be reached at 978-983-8590 and via email at SAngelo@ci.methuen.ma.us. For informational purposes only - Complete Cleaning Company $56,250 Methuen Public Schools The Mayor reported before the holidays he ordered inspections of all four grammar schools in Methuen plus the high school. Those reports are available online at Methuen.gov/school safety. He also requested that the Department of Public Health visit the Marsh Grammar School in collaboration with State Representative Hamilton. They made that visit on the Friday before Christmas, seventeen years after the last time they were invited to visit the school in 2007. In terms of overall cleanliness, however, the city inspection reports made it clear that the Timony School should be at the top of the priority list for a deep clean. At the start of the holiday break, Monday, December 23rd, he sent an email communication to the Council to inform them of his plan to invoke Chapter 278 to allow him and the CAFO to approve an emergency contract with Complete Cleaning Company Inc., out of Lynn, MA, to deep clean the Timony and the HVAC exhaust vents at the Marsh and also to expand our existing contract with Pest End, the extermination company. We had Pest End technicians in the schools beginning on Christmas eve in the morning of December 24th and the deep clean of the Timony began shortly thereafter. His plan is to bring in this cleaning company to deep clean the other schools, as needed. He will keep the Council informed as additional cleaning efforts and follow-up inspections at the schools continue. Methuen Arlington Neighborhood Community Policing Program (Req. from Clr. Soto) The Mayor reported that the Chief has been in communication with the Council regarding some updates along these lines. He asked Chief McNamara to share some of the updates. Chief McNamara noted Councilor Soto sent him three questions, the nature of which was you were questioning community policing in the city, specifically the Arlington Neighborhood. You were asking about the program and how it works. When he initially proposed the concept of Community Policing what he did not explain is it is really a department wide effort. When he says department wide effort, every police officer believes it is important here in Methuen to engage with citizens on a personal level whenever they can. Even the uniform police officers 12 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING that are out there driving around in their marked police cruisers they are encouraged and they do in fact get out of their cruisers at least once a day, sometimes more, often more and they interact with residents of the community. That is core community policing. Beyond that, what we hope to do and still hope to do, is as we grow our staffing in our department where it should be and where he thinks it should be is 107 police officers. He initially proposed a hundred and six based on our population just three years ago. We have now grown to take 107. The limitation we currently have is even though we are budgeted for 102 they are running with roughly 95 police officers. The reason for that is there are four police officers in the police academy. He gone through this before as far as how long it takes for one of the recruits to transition through the entire hiring process. It is a long process. Three or four months of pre-employment hurdles, as he refers to them, things like psychological and medical tests, etc. then in six months the police academy followed by four months of field training. We are talking about fifteen/sixteen months before we can get them on board. They are dealing with that as they try to fill some unanticipated openings and beyond that they’ve had a number of unanticipated things that have befallen our agency, people that have left the agency due to injury or illness, some that are injured in the line of duty that are processing toward retirement. Ideally when they were fully staffed, what he would like to do is assign specific police officers, carve them out of their core responsibilities and that is answering 911 calls. Once there are enough police officers to do that, every single day, and they can do it in such a way they are not putting an added burden on those patrol officers, what he would like to do is carve out specific police officers and assign them to specific neighborhoods in our city where they would be free and untethered from the 911 radio to focus on proactive problem solving, working directly with those citizens in those neighborhoods every single day. That would be their core responsibility. Frankly, we are not there yet. We are not where we need to be. He has three officers that are assigned to community policing, but they are being used throughout the city. They are not assigned specific to a neighborhood. Yes, they do work with the Arlington Neighborhood and Linda but not on the vision that he initially hoped for. We are striving towards that. We are going to get there eventually. There are additional questions from Councilor Soto in terms of do we have someone assigned there specifically and if they are assigned there specifically, are they someone that is Spanish speaking or from a demographic that represents that neighborhood? The answer to that is a two-fold no. We do not have anyone specifically assigned there. We have every reason to believe we will by this summer and as a result we do not have anyone that is Spanish speaking because we do not have anyone specifically assigned there now. He assured Council they are fully capable of responding to the needs of any citizen in our community. In the last three years they are hired roughly 28 police officers. He sent out another document to Council tonight. Roughly 47% of new hires are Spanish speaking or minority. Three of the four that are in the academy are Spanish speaking. They’re getting better, getting to where we need to be but in terms of your question “Can we assign someone there?” yes, we will be assigning someone there by this summer that’s Spanish 13 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING speaking that will be assigned specifically to that neighborhood in the manner that he originally proposed. He feels confident about that. You had asked some additional questions about towing that is occurring in the city and how that relates to other areas in the city in general. The fact of the matter is when it relates to certain types of towing, he thinks there is an erroneous perspective out there that the department is doing a lot of emergency snow towing. They almost do none of it. It is governed by ordinance and it is really DPW that makes that call in co-ordination with our Mayor. In 2024 they towed just seven vehicles related to emergency towing. Most of the vehicles that they tow that are police originated, it is going to be for cars that are parked illegally on a public way. There may be some disparity impact in terms of where the enforcement efforts are taking place but that is largely related to the fact that there are certain areas of our city that lack off street parking. As a result, they are parked on a public roadway. When they are parked on a public roadway, they are in an area where they are subject to the laws and regulations of our city whereas they would not be if they are on a private way. Our police officers are particularly the most active police officers are running plates at night. He has been publicizing often that one of the things we are looking for is out-of-state plates because we get quite a bit of calls for that. People are frustrated that they may be paying the appropriate registration and insurance that we all pay when we live here in Methuen, in the state of Massachusetts. And they see that their neighbor has an out-of-state plate. The department is proactive particularly on the midnight shift running people’s plates that are parked on public ways and working with them taking enforcement action when appropriate. But, a lot of that is happening in areas of our city like the Arlington Neighborhood where there is a lot of people parked on the public ways to begin with. He went into more detail in the written response he sent. Councilor Soto thanked the Chief for the explanation, noting that she had not read the email yet. She did not have the opportunity to call Linda Soucy prior to this meeting but she would invite that Linda Soucy to speak with the Chief. She would like to follow up and see what the Chief is saying that what our officers in town do and getting out of their car. “Is that really happening?” She asked if the presence there. The constituents she spoke with said it is not there. Therefore, she put it on the agenda. Linda Soucy is there, she is there all the time. The best feedback she believes would come from someone who is in that neighborhood all the time. The Chief agreed. When he started Methuen had six Spanish speaking police officers in the city and have added considerably to that. Most of the people hired are young police officers that are brand new to the profession. Generally speaking you want them to have three to five years of general foundation experience responding to routine police calls, responding to complex police calls so that they have the foundation to be on their own to do the specialized assignments in our city. He did not have anyone that was really in that class that were available to take some of these special positions when he first started. But due to the robust hiring that they have done in the past three years, we are getting to that point where the officers that we first hired, many of which are Spanish speaking, are coming up on that three-year window. He feels good about 14 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING where we are going to be a short time from now. They should have three police officers starting on January 20th. Two of those three are already academy trained and will hit the ground running. Beyond that we have the four that are in the academy, either they are going to graduate in early March. They will go through fourteen weeks of field training then they are going to be available for the summer. He is hopeful with the Mayor and CAFOs approval they are going to start vetting a new group of police reserves that will ultimately be more Methuen police officers. We are going to staff these positions and the police officers are in that window where they are available to accept these type of specialized positions without doing a disservice to them by doing it too early. Councilor Soto said when she called the Chief on this, she expressed the importance of you when someone is in a situation of need of not being able to communicate effectively. To her, if she is in a space of need and she is not in language, your tenured officers, you could have someone that isn’t tenured that you’re saying they need that time, that is a language, or do we have any app. “What resources do you have that is in language or in culture and say “hey, can you tell me what this person is saying?” Chief McNamara said in the time he has been here he had the opportunity to hire four civilian dispatchers. All four that he hired are Spanish speaking. When he started, they had zero Spanish speaking dispatchers. Now fifty percent of their dispatchers speak Spanish. Beyond that we do have access to an app he believes it is called the Verizon language line where officers can use the speaker feature of their phones and bring in a translator. We do not service the Arlington Neighborhood with the three community police officers we have alone. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year we have a robust marked patrol division and amongst those officers are several Spanish speaking police officers. We can and we will always respond with a Spanish speaking officer if there is a resident that requires such. We are fully capable of doing that. There is no Methuen resident that is in a position where they cannot communicate with a professional Methuen police officer. Mayor Beauregard said today he had the chance to speak with Andy Hudson. Any has appeared on the food network and authored several cookbooks, and he started the Smoke shop BBQ chain of restaurants in the Boston area. He is excited to bring his brand to our city. He is aiming for an official launch date of the Smoke shop BBQ’s latest location in Methuen on Wednesday, January 15th. We will be sure to get out to the Smoke shop BBQ. The do have some plans for a soft launch, but January 15th is the big day. He is also in touch with Brian Ferrel. He is in the process of opening the Claddagh at the Fireside location. He is getting everything squared away and looking to open the Claddagh in the coming days. Hopefully, we are looking at Friday, January 10th for that. We are thrilled to have these two new businesses come to Methuen in the Pelham Street area in the next week. It is a huge economic development 15 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING win for our city. He looks forward to ramping up our efforts to expand Methuen’s commercial tax base in the coming weeks and months. In terms of upcoming events, the Senior center is hosting a New Year’s celebration this Thursday, January 9th from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. and mark your calendars for Saturday, January 25th. the Bridge Club of greater Lowell is hosting a bocci tournament in support of our communities’ veterans starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Sons of Italy. To learn more, you can reach out to Randy Carter or Lisa Simonian at 978-869-7208. Also, now the new year is under way. He will be starting to schedule monthly, one-on- one monthly meetings with each Councilor if they wish to take part in those with him. Look out for an email from the Mayor’s office. The CAFO has some great news about ARPA. MPTC Audit Report CAFO Report CAFO Duprey distributed three documents and will send them to Council electronically. CIP Report Update – there is not too much change from the prior month report, just making progress as we go. Not too many changes there. ARPA Report Update CAFO Duprey said that final column of all the zeros, the unobligated balance available. We have obligated all our ARPA funds and met the ARPA deadline of 12/31/24. That was a huge goal. There are two very big numbers in that encumbered and approved column for contract obligations. We still have 25ish million dollars to spend. But it is all accounted for and we are on the right path. There are plans for all of those. We now have two years to finish those projects, to spend that 25 million and are going to keep moving those forward. Free Cash Update The last document is a packet for fiscal year 24 budget results. She wanted to provide this tonight because we are still waiting for Free Cash to be certified. She wanted to give Council where we ended for 24 so that there is a little comfort there in that we are ending the year positively. We anticipate our Free Cash to be certified without an issue. Free Cash is on the same timeline as last year, which was not approved until January. She anticipates Free Cash to be certified without issue. The first three pages of this document are a summary of the General Fund expenditures. She took the total lines from all the departments and gave an end of where that department ended in the fiscal year. There is a detail to all this which she will email to Council along with the other document. We had positive results for all the city departments and on page 2 and 3 you will also see all the detail for the Methuen public school budget as well. Positive results there too. Page 3, the last section, this is really the number that everybody tends to look for. We underspent our expenditures by 2.6 million dollars (General Fund). That is 16 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING money that falls to Free Cash and we have a surplus in revenues driven predominantly by investment income because of the ARPA funding. That is 4.2 million dollars that will be added to Free Cash. The result is a net of 6.9 million dollars that we will be adding to Free Cash once we do certify that. There are things that go into that calculation above and beyond this, but this is the number that we usually are trying to discuss and get out there on what that looks like. If you go to the following page, she wanted to give this to Council as a reference document. This is how we got from the original budget that was voted in the Spring of 2023 to the final budget that you see on this document, votes that come from Free Cash, transfers within departments, etc. she wanted to give Council a quick map. This is what we voted for vs. this is where we are ending and just kind of a path for where that all came from. The last page is just the revenues like what she did with the expenditures. She provided the total lines for all the revenues. She has the details for this as well that she will send out so Council could see which revenues are up or down. Again, she wanted to give a snapshot of where that is coming from. All of totals there and you can see some lines we are well over. Some lines we are under. That is how revenues work. That is why we try to be conservative with these numbers but also a positive ending there as well. Councilor DiZoglio asked if the remaining money that went over to Free Cash has been certified. CAFO Duprey responded, no. That is why she is giving this to Council because it has not been certified yet. It did not get certified until January last year. We are still on that same timeline. People are getting anxious with it being half-way through the year. She wanted to give Council this information, so they know where we stood and what we are anticipating from that certification. Free Cash – we ended the fiscal year at a little over fifteen million remaining in our Free Cash from 24 because we used a bunch of it. Our starting point is fifteen million from the prior year, this is very rough, but whatever the results here the six million and then again there’s also things that come out of there, any reserve funds, any funds that in a deficit, Chapter 90, those types of things. That will come off that. She does not want to say that it is going to be twenty million dollars. Her point in presenting this is that it is positive. Councilor DiZoglio asked if we are saying that the schools returned four million dollars. CAFO Duprey responded, no, the schools returned $676,000. Councilor DiZoglio asked about the next number below the 2.6 amount almost 2.7. CAFO Duprey explained the very bottom there is the totals. The 4.1 is the surplus in revenue. The 2.6 is the under expenditures and the total amount positive coming out of this budget to actual is 6.9 million. Councilor DiZoglio $676,000 went back from the schools to us. CAFO Duprey responded yes. That is after any transfers to circuit breaker. Councilor DiZoglio said he saw most of it came from transportation. 17 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING Councilor Soto referred to page 3 and asked the CAFO to explain the 832,000. It says other amounts to be raised. CAFO Duprey explained that is like Overlay. There are a couple of things that are in the budget that when we vote the revenues, we include so that we all know exactly what is all inclusive. But it is not actually put into Munis because we only use the Overlay when we do a big abatement and things for the Assessor’s office. She accounts for it here to show Council how they can go from one document to the other because it is a piece of it even if it is not in Munis. Chair Marsan to CAFO how about if you get Council the rest of these documents and then if the Council has questions, they can get them to the CAFO directly and then if Council has to have a meeting before a meeting so they can have an with the CAFO we will set something up in the near future. Request of Councilors • Update on School Audit (Request of Chair Faretra) The Mayor said he referenced during the last meeting we have one bid that was returned. It was submitted by a company called Markum. Markum has been in this line of work for over seventy years. As he is was in the process of getting this to Council, Markum over the past couple of months has been in the process of a buyout and they were bought out by a company called CBIZ. CBIZ has engaged in substantive changes to the contract. Before they bring to Council, they are working on settling the details along those lines to make sure we get the most appropriate draft of that to Council. The Solicitor can provide additional information. They are in touch with CBIZ regarding some of the concerns that we have getting the contract right and ensuring that we are abundantly clear about our desires and intent behind this audit. He had this January time frame in mind working on getting this to you by the January 21st meeting. It is still a work in progress as we finalize that. Along similar lines, later the agenda, is the resolution regarding the Free Cash transfer to fund the audit. Given the fact that we are still waiting on certification at the state level. His recommendation at that point is to leave it on the table. If it comes off the table just ensure that it is tabled again either way however Council decides to do that. That is his recommendation when we get to that point. • Update and status of the new warehouse on top of Old Ferry Road, storage facility on Old Ferry Road & any traffic studies or concerns with the usage of that road to tractor trailers (Req. of Clr. DiZoglio & Clr. Pesce) this is another area that he had a January time frame in mind. There is a meeting this week to settle on the contract that we are going to be bringing to Council on January 21st. This is the response to the RFP relative to the engineering study for that area of the city, namely just the road up there. There will be something actionable for the Council on January 21st. Councilor DiZoglio said he would like to know the status of that building. Have they sold it? or leased it? The Mayor said he did some digging with the Assessor’s office. all of this is documented in a series of emails from the Assessor. He can provide that to Council, in essence the research she had done as it relates to that 18 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING property. Clr. DiZoglio said it does seem like they are going to be hitting in a new tax bracket this year with that building. He wants to make sure that is staying on course. If they are selling it or if it is still for sale. • Update on Harvey Trash Ordinance and ticket distribution (Req. of Chair Faretra) Mayor Beauregard said there have been a lot of ongoing conversations with the Director of DPW. There was a meeting just before the holidays and brought in Matt Higgins who runs the company. They brought up some concerns that we had a lot of issues in the city as it relates to recycling pickup over the past week. They had issues in Councilor Valley’s area. They continue to meet with Mr. Higgins and work on holding the vendor accountable. But we have the questions regarding the ordinance and working on getting some research back from Director Bower and Caleigh from Health and Human Services and Inspections relative to a ticketing system going forward so that we can ensure we are addressing the ordinance properly. • Request to post license application questionnaires (Req. of Vice Chair Soto) The Mayor said this is something that he looks forward to working with Councilor Soto on. Councilor Soto indicated she sent the request to his office. She is fine with taking it off. • Councilor Valley said she has requested twice the status of the grant for trash and recycling, the grant received to educate the residents about recycling. Mayor Beauregard said we will make sure that is on the next agenda. • Request to discuss Route 110 and 495 Interchange Construction Project – please repaint lane lines on road or at least the dotted line for the left lane to go left, the middle lane to go to 495 N and then the right lane to have it going straight (Req. of Clr. DiZoglio) Mayor Beauregard said he reached out to Dan Fielding of Mass DOT to make an introduction for Councilor DiZoglio directly. He is awaiting a response from the highway division of Mass DOT. At this point they have an email thread that includes Councilor DiZoglio. Councilor DiZoglio said he is unsure if Council saw the email from DOT abut the Merrimack River bridge replacements between exits 105 and 107. That is 213 up to 110 exit in Haverhill. They are being replaced over the next year, which means the Merrimack Street corridor. This exit is going to see added traffic especially during the summer months. He appreciates the Mayor putting Council in contact with them. he will be having those conversations, but he also looks at the whole 213/495 interchange too. It is not on topic, but they will be talking about this at the Public Safety meeting on Tuesday. Over the last three years there have been over 1600 accidents in this area. He is looking at the construction that is going to be happening and the added stress it is going to be having on our roadways. He is looking forward to having conversations and how we can minimize the stress of this corridor as it is heavily travelled. • Request to obtain the Greater Lawrence Vocational Technical Schools’ Superintendent Lavoie’s most recent employment contract (Req. of Clr. Faretra) Councilor Faretra said he originally sent an email with the Mayor on December 12th to the Superintendent and his team requesting information from them, including the contract, any agenda items and minutes that had to do with the contract and any 19 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING raises that were approved, all of the approved budgets over the last few years, and his gross salaries at the end of the year. As of today, all he has received is what his gross salaries have been since fiscal year 2015. He received an email today from the Superintendent after sending a follow-up email on Sunday that we should have all the documents by January 9th. He read the salaries into the record FY’15 salary started at 189,065; FY’16 207,369; FY’17 $219,730; FY’18 229,481; FY’19 $243,216; FY’20 $252,963; FY’21 265,673; FY’22 $315,316; FY’23 $323,540; FY’24 315,652 and last year he took a cut to $311,468. After they have all the documents the Superintendent invited the Mayor, himself, and they will ask the CAFO to meet with him at Greater Lawrence to discuss why the city is so interested in these numbers and why we are looking to get this information. Once the information is received, he will forward it. Between fiscal year 22 and 23 there was a $60,000 jump. They have been given some other information as well that we need to find the documents. The one contract he was given does not have any financials tied to is since fiscal year 14. There are no raises. There is nothing in that document. They are going to try to find that information before Council must vote on that budget. Hopefully by the 21st he will have more information. Chair Marsan asked Councilor Faretra to contact him if he does not receive the information by the 9th. Council Soto asked Councilor Faretra what the objective is with understanding this contract. It is a performance-based contract. Councilor Faretra: do you feel a Superintendent of a school of less that 2,000 should make that kind of money. Councilor Soto indicated that is not her position. She feels uncomfortable talking about his salary. Methuen must pay a percentage of that salary. She wanted to know what the objective is. Is he saying we want to know what it is, and we are going to take away our percentage? The ones who suffer is our kids. Councilor Faretra said the kids suffer because we have two individuals at that school making a half-million dollars. That money could be used for other programs. That is part of our assessment. They pay a Superintendent and an assistant Superintendent of a school of less than 2,000 students a half-million dollars. The Superintendent makes more than the City of Boston, the City of Worcester, our Superintendent, pretty much any other Superintendent in this state. He oversees a school of less than 2,000 individuals. No Superintendent is worth that money for a school that small. He does not need an assistant. Plus, he has principals. That structure is top heavy. That is what he is trying to figure out. Methuen sends that school five million dollars a year. Methuen is the highest paying district out of the four. That is what he is trying to figure out. He asked the state representatives and hears that is the state formula. That is, it. we get no help from our state representatives on percentages. They just say that is the percentages. We cannot help you. we need to figure out why this contract is approved year after year after year. He was just given a six-year contract with no financials written into that, not even what the performance basis are. That contract should not have been signed. Methuen should not be on the hook for something like that. Councilor Soto if that is something that is of huge concern to this body, us pulling out on that. It is more like you should be on the GLTS school committee to argue this than here. Councilor Faretra explained the Council approves the funding that goes to GLTS. Chair 20 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING Marsan suggested getting the information, then a discussion and move forward from there. Methuen does not have the option of saying we are not going to fund all of it. we might have some options. Let’s just see where we stand. Councilor Surillo noted the Superintendent’s salary is public record. We need to have verification of why that money is being allocated at that level. He is curious as well. He would like to join the meeting. • Update on the Home Rule Petitions Mayor Beauregard indicated the Home Rule Petition related to the Police he confirmed with the Governor’s office that they signed that on December 19th. Councilor Faretra said when he was Chair, the Council Clerk reached out to the delegation to try to get a list of the outstanding Home Rule Petitions. We have not heard back. • Update on the MCPT Audit Report Mayor Beauregard indicated there is nothing to add. There was no public statement from the Mayor’s office. PUBLIC SERVICE: A) Grants: None B) Licenses: Secondhand Dealer Application (Renewal) George & Mary Simonian, D/B/A Lockhaven Antiques, 512 Merrimack Street, Methuen, MA 01844 MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor Soto to approve. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: UNANIMOUS. Secondhand Dealer Application (Renewal) Game Stop, Inc./GameStop #6544, 90 Pleasant Valley Street, Suite 240, Methuen, MA 01844 MOTION BY: Councilor Soto, seconded by Councilor Pesce to approve. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: UNANIMOUS C) Contracts: C- 25- 55 Bargaining Agreement (cost of living) for Council Clerk – Linda Gagnon MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor DiZoglio to approve. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) C –25- 56 Bargaining Agreement (cost of living) for Assistant Council Clerk – Lisa Y. Ferry MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor Soto to approve. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) C-25-57 National Fitness Campaign, LP, 1740 Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA 94133 for Outdoor Fitness Equipment in the Amount of $126,000.00 (Requested by DPW funded via BCBS grant CIP and remaining Rail Trail Funds) 21 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING MOTION BY: Councilor Soto, seconded by Councilor Campagnone to approve. UPON VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) OTHER OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS Review of Committees MOTION BY: Councilor DiZoglio, seconded by Councilor Campagnone to have four members on the Economic Development Committee. This committee’s membership is now Clr. DiZoglio, Clr. Marsan, Clr. Soto, and Clr. Pesce. Finance Committee – Councilor Surillo filled the vacant position. This Committee’s membership is now Clr. Faretra, Clr. Valley, and Clr. Surillo. Veterans Affairs Committee – Councilor Pesce filled the vacancy. This Committee’s membership is now Clr. Marsan, Clr. Campagnone, and Clr. Pesce. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Resolutions: TR-24-82 Resolution Authorizing Transfer $140,000 from Free Cash, to be transferred to Accounting Expenses to fund an Operational Audit of the School Department, pending completion of state certification (Requested by the Acting Mayor) (Remove from the table) Remains tabled TR-24-84 Resolution Authorizing Acceptance of a $65,000 Municipal ADA Improvement Grant (Requested by CAFO and Mayor) MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor Campagnone to approve. UPON VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) TR-24-85 Order Authorizing an Amendment of Order No.5831 Borrowing to Pay Costs for the Fiscal Year 2024 Capital Improvement Plan (Requested by Director of DPW and Mayor) (remove from table) MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor Valley to remove from the table. UPON VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor DiZoglio to approve. UPON VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) TR-24-86 Resolution to adopt the Merrimack Valley Region Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 2024 (Requested by Director of Community Development and Mayor) MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor DiZoglio to approve. UPON VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) Ordinances: 22 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING TO-24-18 An Ordinance Amending the Wage and Salary Schedule of Chapter 6, Section 6-5 of the Methuen Municipal Code, Department of Public Works Employees Association- Reclassification of Electricians MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor Faretra to approve. UPON VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) NEW BUSINESS Resolutions: TR-25-1 A Resolution Requiring Proof of Required Licensure and Certification Upon Appointment and Reappointment by an Elected Body (Requested by Councilor Faretra, Councilor Saffie and Mayor Beauregard) MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor Valley to approve. Councilor Faretra said we kind of know where this is coming from. There have been issues in the past where individuals maybe have not had their licenses or there is another instance where titles have been changed to fit certain candidates. This kind of lays it out for future Councils and future Mayors and HR on what needs to come in front of this body when an employee comes before them. He took a little bit from when Council had an appointment in front of us when Councilor Pesce asked for certain information about a resume. When an appoint comes in front of Council that the resume that is part of the job posting should be in front of Council. Any of that information should come in front of Council. If there is a situation where there is a license required and that individual maybe has a waiver until that permanent license is achieved. That person is eligible for the job, but we make sure that individual that is provided. But instead of that person getting that three-year appointment that appointment is only good until the end of that waiver. Therefore, if that waiver is only good for 90 days that appointment is only good until 90 days. It comes back on that 90 days. If they fulfill that, they have their now permanent license. We re-appoint for the fulfillment of that three-year term. If that waiver expires, Mayor and HR brings that back to Council, explains what happens and hopefully that job will go back out and be reposted at that point. Because now that person does not have the proper requirements for that job. Chair Marsan said the city has one of those jobs posted right now on our website for the Building Commissioner, where there is a waiver of eighteen months to obtain a license if he doesn’t have a license if he has all the other qualifications. This would be a perfect example of that. Councilor Faretra exactly. He used another example where in the past we a city engineer position had posted, and then it was made an Engineer Administrator. If that is to happen obviously this Council has final say on whether to approve that job or not. But there needs to be a memo from HR and the Mayor’s office on the reasoning on why that is coming in front of us. “Why are we changing that title?” “Why is that being changed?” “Why are we lessening or 23 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING changing the job description?” so that way we are not just looking to fit it for one person. I think it just puts another safeguard or two in place for Council, so they do not have to ask questions on the floor. “Does this person have that?” “Do they meet this requirement?” Hopefully, everything is provided when that individual comes in front of the Council for re- appointment or the initial appointment. Councilor DiZoglio said it also states in here “defined under the Charter”. And under the Charter is the School Committee. He asked if there is any way to add the School Committee in here. Solicitor Rossetti responded, no, because this body, the operation of the School Department falls under the jurisdiction of the School Committee and its on the School Committee to manage the hiring in the School Department. Councilor DiZoglio, correct, but we, as a Council manage the Charter and the School Committee is under the Charter. We do not control the School Committee. We control the Charter. And if he adds School Committee under this in the language, would not that just mean that the School Committee must make sure to do this as well. We are basing it off positions from the Charter. In the Charter the School Committee appoints the Superintendent. Solicitor Rossetti said it is an apples to oranges comparison because what has been sponsored by Councilor Faretra is a resolution. What you are referring to is the Charter which sets up framework for the operation of this city. The City Council does not have jurisdiction over how the School Committee is going to evaluate candidates for School Department positions. Councilor DiZoglio indicated the Chair of the School Committee’s name is on this, as requested. “Is this something that the School Committee is going to adopt on your end as well, a different piece of legislation for your rules?” Mayor Beauregard said he does not have anything drafted at this point. But that is certainly something that we could pursue. He has not had that conversation with the committee. it started here. Councilor DiZoglio said the first thing that comes to mind is what happened six years ago. He cannot think of any other controversy other than smaller things that made the paper. But this was a controversy. And we are talking about the engineering that got away with it for 25 years. There are other things here that he would suggest that the School Committee should adopt, and we are adopting this because this goes hand in hand, in his opinion. Mayor Beauregard agreed. It could be repurposed as a School Committee policy. UPON VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) TR-25-2 Resolution to Adopt the City of Methuen 2024-2029 Housing Production Plan Sponsored by the Mayor and the Director of Economic and Community Development MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor Soto to approve. Councilor Faretra said there are a lot of questions on this. MOTION BY: Councilor Faretra, seconded by Councilor Pesce to table. 24 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING UPON VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) TR-25-3 Resolution Authorizing Acceptance of a $220,000 National Historical Publication and Records Commission Grant (Requested by Director of Nevins Memorial Library, Historical Commission and Mayor) MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor Soto to approve. UPON VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) TR-25-4 Resolution Authorizing Acceptance of a 2024 Sustainable Materials Recovery Program- Recycling Dividends Program Municipal Grant for $36,000 (Requested by Director of Community Development and Mayor) MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor Faretra to approve. UPON VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) Councilor DiZoglio thanked the Director of the Nevins Library and the Historical Commission who were in attendance the entire meeting. Ordinances: TO-25-1 An Ordinance Amending the Wage and Salary Classification Plan, AFSCME A, to add the new position of Building Maintenance Worker (Requested by Director of Council on Aging) MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor Faretra to approve. Mayor Beauregard said this is a very important change for our senior center. Up until very recently, in the past couple of weeks, the senior center in terms of maintenance and basic janitorial work had been staffed by an individual who was working on a personal services contract. This individual stepped down from that position in mid-December. The natural question is okay, we need to go about the process of replacing this individual who retired from this position at the senior center so that we could ensure that programming is ongoing and uninterrupted and supported with maintenance staff. there is only one problem with that because for so many years, the center has been working with an individual who is working from a contract. There was never a position in place. When that person ended up stepping aside, there is not a way to automatically say fill a position because it does not exist. Tonight, with the Council’s consent we are going to be establishing a position for the senior center relative to building maintenance. This is an important and meaningful change for the center, by extension, the seniors of our community to ensure ongoing operations. Councilor DiZoglio that is where I was going with the conversation. But he also wanted to add to this. He recalled speaking to the Director at one point, there was also a potential for a second position coming in part-time. If the CAFO is going to touch base on that, he will yield his time to her. More than one person needs to help manage the custodial maintenance of that building. CAFO Duprey explained right now what they have been doing for years and years is 25 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING having this part-time contracted person. Part-time was nineteen hours. With the needs of the building, right now what we are looking to do is to replace that part-time because that is what they have budgeted at this point for fiscal year 2025. In their discussions with the Director, the needs of the center are going in the direction of needing more support. The idea would be, and is still in discussion, but either to have two part-time people depending on the needs of the department and if they need a split shift type situation or having one full-time position. Either way that would be something that would come in front as part of a budget discussion. But, also would be within the purview of this position. right now, the salary they are putting forward is a full-time salary. They would be looking to fill it at this point with a part-time person with plans to expand that in the next budget process. UPON ROLL CALL VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) ANY OTHER BUSINESS FOR THE GOOD AND WELFARE OF THE COMMUNITY Councilor Faretra said with everything that is going on with the School Department, he would like to see if Council and School Committee could have a joint meeting in February or early March to discuss all the goings on with cleanliness, etc. prior to the budget. Chair Marsan agreed to a meeting before one of the city council meetings. He will get in touch with Mayor Beauregard. Councilor DiZoglio noted it is an ordinance that Council have two meetings a year with them. They have been reluctant in the past. Chair Marsan noted Council has the right to mandate they come here. Councilor Soto said bus service – there has been some missing bus service pick from the School Department. She is not sure that would come up here or through the School Committee. Mayor Beauregard said there is a Transportation Subcommittee of the School Committee. He will follow up with them. Councilor Soto requested specific details. Chair Marsan noted that would go under Request of Councilors at the next meeting. ADJOURN MOTION BY: Councilor Campagnone, seconded by Councilor DiZoglio to adjourn. UPON VOTE: 8 yes, 1 absent (Clr. Saffie) I do hereby certify at a meeting of which a quorum was present, the foregoing minutes were approved by the Methuen City Council by a unanimous vote on January 21, 2025. Linda Gagnon COUNCIL CLERK 26 METHUEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JANUARY 6th, 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. GREAT HALL, SEARLES BUILDING 27