Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters Committee

City of Somerville, Massachusetts City Council Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters Committee Meeting Minutes Wednesday, February 15, 2023 6:00 PM Others present: Adrienne Pomeroy – ADA Coordinator, Kimberly Wells – City Clerk, Bernarbe Rodriguez – Assistant City Clerk, Hannah Carrillo – Legislative Liaison, Peter Forcellese - Legislative Clerk. The meeting took place virtually via GoToWebinar and was called to order at 6:02 PM by Chair Pineda Neufeld and adjourned at 7:35 PM on a roll call vote of 5 in favor (Councilors Wilson, Strezo, Burnley, Clingan and Pineda Neufeld), none against and none absent. . Roll Call Present: Chairperson Judy Pineda Neufeld, Vice Chair Jesse Clingan, Willie Burnley Jr., Kristen Strezo and Jake Wilson 1. Committee Approval of the Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters Minutes Committee Minutes of December 1, 2022. (ID # 22-2074) RESULT: ACCEPTED AYE: Chairperson Pineda Neufeld, Vice Chair Clingan, City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr., City Councilor At Large Strezo and City Councilor At Large Wilson 2. Mayor's Request Requesting confirmation of the re-appointment of Alan Bishop as Constable. (ID # 22-2125) Asst. Clerk Rodriguez introduce the candidate and told the members that Mr. Bishop has been a constable in Somerville since 2001. Mr. Bishop said that 85% of his work is serving papers for the court and that he also serves papers for the housing court and for evictions. Councilor Clingan stated his support for the candidate. Chair Pineda Neufeld explained that the appointment would not be official until it is approved by the City Council at its next meeting on February 23rd. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED AYE: Chairperson Pineda Neufeld, Vice Chair Clingan, City Councilor At Large Strezo and City Councilor At Large Wilson NAY: City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr. 3. Mayor's Request Requesting confirmation of the re-appointment of Darcy Haynes as (ID # 22-2127) Constable. Page 1 of 5 Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters Meeting Minutes February 15, 2023 Committee The candidate was unavailable to attend this meeting. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 4. Mayor's Request Requesting confirmation of the re-appointment of Catello Battinelli II as (ID # 22-2126) Constable. Asst. Clerk Rodriguez introduce the candidate and told the members that Mr. Battinelli has been a constable in Somerville since 2010. Mr. Battinelli said he has been a resident of Somerville for 62 years and that the majority of his work deals with probate issues. Occasionally, he serves some notices to quit but he is not doing evictions at this time. Councilor Wilson asked for more information regarding evictions and Mr. Battinelli replied that he serviced about 25, with 10 being outside of the city. No summary processes were served. Chair Pineda Neufeld explained that the appointment would not be official until it is approved by the City Council at its next meeting on February 23rd. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED AYE: Chairperson Pineda Neufeld, Vice Chair Clingan, City Councilor At Large Strezo and City Councilor At Large Wilson NAY: City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr. 5. Mayor's Request Requesting confirmation of the re-appointment of Mary Battinelli as (ID # 22-2128) Constable. Asst. Clerk Rodriguez introduce the candidate and said that Mrs. Battinelli has been a constable in Somerville since 2016. Mrs. Battinelli told the members that she works in this capacity part time to assist her husband. Chair Pineda Neufeld explained that the appointment would not be official until it is approved by the City Council at its next meeting on February 23rd. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED AYE: Chairperson Pineda Neufeld, Vice Chair Clingan, City Councilor At Large Strezo and City Councilor At Large Wilson NAY: City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr. 6. Mayor's Request Requesting confirmation of the appointment of Deborah Haber to the (ID # 22-2135) Commission for Persons with Disabilities. ADA Coordinator Pomeroy stated that after confirmation of the candidates Page 2 of 5 Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters Meeting Minutes February 15, 2023 Committee on tonight’s agenda, there will still be 2 vacancies on the Commission. Ms. Pomeroy presented the candidate. Ms. Haber stated that she became disabled 15 years ago and cares for her son who also has a disability. She hopes to streamline the IEP process with the schools so that timelines are adhered to and accountability is recognized. She thinks the commissioner’s roll should be to assist people with ADA complaints and also to provide enrichment to those with disabilities. Councilor Strezo asked about her intentions to connect with special needs parents and Ms. Haber replied that it would be good to approach them to find out what they need. Ms. Haber said she wants to accomplish what people need most and that things need to be done for inclusive housing. Chair Pineda Neufeld explained that the appointment would not be official until it is approved by the City Council at its next meeting on February 23rd. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED AYE: Chairperson Pineda Neufeld, Vice Chair Clingan, City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr., City Councilor At Large Strezo and City Councilor At Large Wilson 7. Mayor's Request Requesting confirmation of the appointment of Pauline Downing to the (ID # 22-2137) Commission for Persons with Disabilities. ADA Coordinator Pomeroy presented the candidate. Ms. Downing told the members that she has lived in Somerville since 1979. She would like to see the appointment process streamlined, explaining that it took her a year to get this far in the process. She also said that more needs to be done to include blind individuals in what’s happening in the city and that the use of braille should be incorporated to provide information, adding that if the city had its own braille machine, it would allow information to be printed in-house instead of farming it out to the Perkins School for the Blind. Ms. Downing supports making efforts to educate people how to work with people with disabilities, not to pity them, and she is hoping to get the Police and Fire Departments open to training to learn from people with disabilities. She thinks the commissioner’s roll should be to spend more time on accomplishing things and solving problems instead of spending time on bylaws, adding that there has to be a way to do things more efficiently. With regard to transportation, she believes that the Commission should have a voice in those discussions. Councilor Burnley asked how different disabilities should be represented on the Commission and Ms. Downing replied that there should be more representation by people with a variety of disabilities to round out the Commission. Chair Pineda Neufeld explained that the appointment would not be official until it is approved by the City Council at its next meeting on February 23rd. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED Page 3 of 5 Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters Meeting Minutes February 15, 2023 Committee AYE: Chairperson Pineda Neufeld, Vice Chair Clingan, City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr., City Councilor At Large Strezo and City Councilor At Large Wilson 8. Mayor's Request Requesting confirmation of the appointment of Harriotte Ranvig to the (ID # 22-2138) Commission for Person with Disabilities. ADA Coordinator Pomeroy presented the candidate. Ms. Ranvig told the members that she has been blind since the age of 14 and that she learned that to gain accommodation, you have to advocate. She commented that people don’t get a sense of the work that is being done by the Commission. Street accessibility is very important and Ms. Ranvig noted that the Mobility, Parking, Public Works and Engineering Departments need to expand education for ADA accessibility, adding that the apex ramps are not conducive for blind individuals or wheelchairs. Some of the other issues she noted were: · the commission needs to have a broader membership of marginalized people, · the search function on the city’s web page does not work with voice prompts, · the Commission should have its own website, · the city should obtain and maintain a braille machine. Ms. Ranvig thinks the commissioner’s role is to disseminate information and to make connections with city government. Presently, the Commission has access to parking violation funds and she would like to use some of that money for scholarships. City Clerk Wells explained that the commissioners’ terms are staggered so all members won’t be up for appointment at the same time. Councilor Clingan asked for term information for any future appointments coming before the committee for confirmation and Clerk Wells noted that her office is working on compiling that information now. Chair Pineda Neufeld explained that the appointment would not be official until it is approved by the City Council at its next meeting on February 23rd. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED AYE: Chairperson Pineda Neufeld, Vice Chair Clingan, City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr., City Councilor At Large Strezo and City Councilor At Large Wilson 9. Officer's City Clerk requesting confirmation of the appointment of F. Kelley Communication Landolphi to the position of Assistant Clerk of Committees. (ID # 23-0040) This item was withdrawn by the candidate. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE WITHDRAWN Page 4 of 5 Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters Meeting Minutes February 15, 2023 Committee 10. Officer's City Clerk requesting confirmation of the appointment of Michael Potere to Communication the position of Assistant Clerk of Committees. (ID # 23-0041) Clerk Wells clarified that, with the withdrawal of item# 23-0040, the Council would 3 committee clerks. She introduced the candidate who has a background in public policy and an interest in municipal government. Councilor Burnley asked the candidate what his points of focus on the ADA Commission were and Clerk Wells explained that the candidate was being considered for the position of Assistant Clerk of Committees, not for a seat on the Commission for Persons with Disabilities. Mr. Potere told the members that he wants to learn about the workings of deliberative government and what goes on behind the scenes and that he hopes to learn and grow from this experience. Chair Pineda Neufeld explained that the appointment would not be official until it is approved by the City Council at its next meeting on February 23rd. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED AYE: Chairperson Pineda Neufeld, Vice Chair Clingan, City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr., City Councilor At Large Strezo and City Councilor At Large Wilson 11. Order By Councilor Wilson, Councilor Pineda Neufeld and Councilor Kelly (ID # 23-0072) That the Director of Human Resources update this Council on the number of current job vacancies and the number of positions filled in 2022. See attached memo. Councilor Wilson put this item forward to get an update on staffing in the city and he would like a comparison of the data in the attached memo to the figures from last year. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE MARKED WORK COMPLETED Referenced Documents: • C of APM - 2023-02-15 FY23 RECRUITING VACANCY LIST as of 1-31-2023 (with 23-0072) • C of APM 2023-02-15 FY23 FILLED VACANCY LIST as of 1-31-2023 (with 23-0072) Page 5 of 5