City Council

MUNICIPAL COUNCIL AGENDA CHESTER R. MARTIN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 15 SUMMER STREET, TAUNTON, MA 02780 APRIL 19, 2022 - 7:00 PM City Clerk's Office Notice of Posting INVOCATION ROLL CALL Time;__J{.~~ fJ.//J RECORDS Date: L{Js 3 ·dd,;L- OPPORTUNITY FOR INPUT BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC • Comments will be received for the record • Please state your name and address • Please limit comments to 3 minutes or less • Supplemental written comments may also be provided • Comments should be respectful and courteous HEARING: Continued Hearing: On the petition submitted by the City of Taunton, 15 Summer St., Taunton relative to : Proposed Changes to the Taunton Zoning Ordinance dated January 11, 2022: Section 440-704 - Off Street Parking COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR • Autism Awareness/Acceptance Presentation • Community Update • COVID-19 Update APPOINTMENTS • Reappointment of Frank Biedak, 39 Hopewell Street, Taunton to serve on the Board of Election Commissioners for a term of four (4) years expiring April 2026 COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITY OFFICERS Pg. 1 Com. from Chairman, Taunton Planning Board - Notifying of a Public Hearing and Meeting Pg. 2 Com. from Assistant Library Director - Notifying of a Buyout Pg. 3-4 Com. from City Solicitor Procurement of a Sludge Disposal Facility/Status of Contracts with Aries Clean Energy, LLC Pg. 5 Com. from Attorney William Rounds, 115 Broadway, Taunton - Request to Amend Host Community Agreement Pg. 6-8 Com. from City Solicitor - Proposal to Change Procedures in Zoning Matters to Include Plot Plans and Abutters Lists with Notices of Public Hearings Pg. 9-11 Com. from City Solicitor Process for Releasing Executive Session Minutes COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS PETITIONS Billiard Table License - RENEWAL 1. Will-0-Bee, Inc. -DBA- Willy J's Pub located at 599 Winthrop St., Taunton (3 Tables) Temporary Fixed Vendor License - RENEWAL 1. RJ Trees located at 404 Winthrop Street, Taunton to se~l Christmas Trees Claims Claim submitted by George and Judith Caras, 62 Erin Road, Taunton seeking reimbursement for damages to their automobile from hitting a pothole near 475 East Britannia St., Taunton. (Already referred to the Law Department and DPW) Claim submitted by Kaitlyn Breen, 135 Sao Paulo Ave., Taunton seeking reimbursement for damages to her vehicle from hitting a pothole on East Britannia St., Taunton near the Taunton Gun Club. (Already referred to the Law Department and DPW) COMMITTEE REPORTS UNFINISHED BUSINESS - NONE ORDERS, ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS Ordinance {or a first reading to be passed to a second reading AN ORDINANCE Chapter 19 Sec. 19-27 Civilian Traffic Control Officers Be it ordained by the Municipal Council of the City of Taunton as follows: The Chief of Police may, at his discretion, appoint individuals of good moral character, to the position of Civilian Traffic Control Officer. Civilian Traffic Control Officers shall work under the oversight and direction of the Chief of Police or his/her designee. Civilian Traffic Control Officers monitor, direct and control traffic through or around road construction sites. The Civilian Traffic Control Officers' responsibilities shall include, but not be limited to, directing vehicular and pedestrian traffic through or around construction zones, informing motorists of possible detour routes, rep01iing disobedient drivers to law enforcement officials, and answering motorists' questions. Civilian Traffic Control Officers must demonstrate a firm commitment to carry out assignments in a competent, timely and professional manner. The Chief of Police shall develop a policy, subject to approval by the Mayor, relative to Civilian Traffic Control Officers to include qualifications, standards of work, physical fitness requirements, pay, and uniforms. Civilian Traffic Control Officer assignments shall be made in accordance with the City of Taunton Police Department's detail hiring procedures as approved by the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police may revoke the appointment of any person to the position of Civilian Traffic Control Officer. At a minimum, retired police officers otherwise eligible for appointment must maintain first responder certification. Non-police applicants must become certified under and approved certification program established under 701 CMR § 7.07(2). Civilian Traffic Control Officers under this Ordinance are subject to all regulations governing "road flaggers" as set forth in 701 CMR sec. 7.00 et seq. and all guidelines promulgated thereunder. All ordinances or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon passage. NEW BUSINESS Respectfully submitted, ~JJJ~UtK-~~ Rose Marie Blackwe City Clerk  City of Taunton OFFICE OF THE MAYOR City Hall · 15 Summer Street · Taunton MA 02780 · (508) 821- 1000 MAYOR SHAUNNA O'CONNELL Ed Correira Patrick Delio Russo, Jr. CHTEF OF STAFF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Ligia Madeira Gill E. Enos DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF BUDGET DIRECTOR April 12, 2022 Council President Phillip Duaite Members of the Taunton Municipal Council 15 Summer Street Taunton, MA 02780 Dear Honorable Members of the Taunton Municipal Council, Please be advised that I am reappointing Frank Biedak of 39 Hopewell Street to serve on the Board of Election Commissioners for a term of four (4) years which will expire in April 2026. Thank you for your consideration. Respectfully, i ~'\ \ '-~~VVVV\~--·- Mayor Shaunna O'Connell  TAUNTON PLANNING BOARD J, 1298 Cohannet St. - Office Address 141 Oak St.- Mailing Address Taunton, Massachusetts 02780 Phone 508-821-1051 Denise J Paiva, Secretmy dpaiva(cl)taunton-ma.gov April 12, 2022 Honorable Shaunna L. O'Connell, Mayor Members of the Municipal Council 15 Summer St. Taunton, Ma. 02780 C/O Rose Marie Blackwell, City Clerk RE: Site Plan Review - 1133 County St. Dear Mayor O'Connell and Members of the Municipal Council: The Taunton Planning is in receipt of a Site Plan Review for property at 1133 County St. for the addition of 45 trailer storage spaces to the rear of the existing building, submitted by Brem Asanta Sana LLC & EIP-RLF County Street LLC The next scheduled meeting for this petition will be on Tuesday, April 26, 2022 at 8:30 AM in the Taunton Planning Board Office, 1298 Cohannet St., at which time the application shall be reviewed by the DIRB and again on Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 15 Summer St., which this petition will be reviewed by the Planning Board. Sincerely, ~~~(/J_e) Anthony Abreau, Chairman TAUNTON PLANNING BOARD AA/djp  ·j,(Uitl l(·tl c j)ti j)(l( P.j )~(t\lf /!. (-,(1 12 PLEASANT STREET TAUNTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02780 (508) 821-1~10 FAX {508) 621-1414 Date: April 5, 2022 Amy Kazlauskas City of Taunton Human Resource Department 15 Summer St Taunton, MA 02780 The following is the retirement payout calculation for Daisy Delano. Her retirement date was March 25, 2022. I Vacation 345 Hours X $52.75 =$18,198.75 per COTMA contract time earned in current and prior FY Sick 1161.96 Hours X $52.75 = $13,000.00i/maximum payout \/ Personal 66.25 Hours X $52. 75 = $3,494.69 ../ Furlough 97.50 Hours X $52.75 = $5,143.13 Total $ 39,836.57 / Kindly confirm the information provided is correct at your earliest convenience. Thank you. I! ..::.,- c_. (.__, ( . 1.f\ ·s·1. Lf\ U\ C- 0 (\. L'--· ., ~ " 0 Li.... \ L"-- C• Sincerely, rr, "'"'1>.J \{) ('J -=f ['-- (\j U\ c· '.C Ll \ (1'· ({\ ,-:::;~ c _, ~-, ', - (/\ Li\ ..::;- u c. c --:1 I'·· '•, j-. c. -· c u Ci_· '"- r·: \ u 0 l'C\ Linda Coelho Assistant Library Director  City of Taunton LAW DEPARTMENT 15 Summer Street Taunton, Massachusetts 02780 Phone (508) 821-1036 Facsimile (508) 821-1397 Shaunna O'Connell Peter F. Winters, Esq. MAYOR FIRST ASST. CITY SOLICITOR Matthew J. Costa, Esq. Thomas P. Gay, Jr., Esq. CITY SOLICITOR SECOND ASST. CITY SOLICITOR Dav_id T. Gay, Esq. SP. ASST. CITY SOLICITOR April 11, 2022 Mayor Shaunna O'Connell Council President Phillip Duarte Members of the Municipal Council City of Taunton/City Hall 15 Summer Street Taunton, Massachusetts 02780 Re: Procurement of a sludge disposal facility/status of contracts with Aries Clean Energy, LLC Dear Mayor O'Connell, Council President Duarte and Members of the Municipal Council: This communication is in response to the above referenced matter. As you know, the City issued an RFP in the summer of 2021 and Aries Clean Energy, LLC provided the sole responsive proposal. It has come to our attention that the RFP was not properly published on COMMBUYS. This was due to an employee error when attempting to post the RFP. We have also uncovered one other instance in which an RFP was not properly posted by said employee. This has been addressed with retraining. The Law Department has had multiple communications with the Office of the Inspector General during this process. Following our most recent discussions with the OIG, and after careful consideration, the Law Department advises that the Uniform Procurement Act (M.G.L. Ch. 308) requires the City to re-initiate the procurement process, including the issuance of a new Request for Proposals for the procurement of biosolids disposal services for the City. Issuing a new RFP will provide the opportunity to address this issue, incorporate input provided by the Inspector General, and will place any resulting contractual arrangement in the best possible legal position. Any contract(s) to be executed in response to the RFP will need to be approved by the Municipal Council. Please be advised that this letter, in addition to having provided the procurement file, serves as a response to the Committee on Solid Waste's agenda items regarding the procurement process. A copy of this letter is being provided to the City Clerk to appear on next week's Municipal Council agenda. Respectfully submitted, 711ai:tMw- 0. {lud;a,, Matthew J. cdta, Esquire City Solicitor MJC:tmg CC: David Gay, Esquire, Special Assistant City Solicitor CC: Rose Marie Blackwell, City Clerk  WILLIAM D. ROUNDS Attorney at Law 115 BROADWAY TEL: (508) 880-5444 TAUNTON. MASSACHUSITTS 02780 attyrounds@aol.com April 12. 2022 Municipal Council City of Taunton City Hall 15 Summer Street Taunton. MA 02780 Re: Host Community Agn:ement with LMCC. LLC 30 Sherwood Drive (Cannabis Cultivation Facility) Dear Council Members: As you know, I n.:prcscnt LMCC. LI ,C regarding the above-referenced matter. On behalf of my client. I respectfully request that this Host Community Agrct.:mcnt be amended to allow my client until April 24, 2023 to commence operations. The Cannabis Control Commission issued a provisional license for cultivation and manufact11ring just last week. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or concerns.  I ' 'U City of Taunton LAW DEPARTMENT 15 Summer Street Taunton, Massachusetts 02780 Phone (508) 821-1036 Facsimile (508) 821 -1397 Shaunna O'Connell Peter F. Winters, Esq . MAYOR FIRST ASST. CITY SOLICITOR Matthew J. Costa, Esq . Thomas P. Gay, Jr., Esq. CITY SO LICITOR SECOND ASST. CITY SOLICITOR David T. Gay, Esq . SP. ASST. CITY SOLICITOR April 11, 2022 Council President Phillip Duarte Members of the Municipal Council City of Taunton City Hall 15 Summer Street Taunton, Massachusetts 02780 Re: Proposal to change procedures in zoning matters to include plot plans and abutters lists with notices of public hearings Dear Council President Duarte and Members of the Municipal Council: This letter is in regard to the motion that was made at the Council meeting of March 22, 2022 to obtain the Law Department's input on a proposal to include plot plans and abutters lists with the notices that are sent to abutters with respect to public hearings on zoning matters. The present procedure that is utilized is based on the requirements of the Massachusetts Zoning Act, M.G.L. ch. 40A. Section 11 of the Zoning Act states the notice requirements for public hearings for all zoning petitions. With respect to the notices to abutters, all abutters within 300 feet of the property line of the petitioner receive a notice of the hearing. Under the statute, the notice "shall contain the name of the petitioner, a description of the area or premises, street address, if any, or other adequate identification of the location, of the area or premises which is the subject of the petition, the date, time and place of the public hearing, the subject matter of the hearing, and the nature of action or relief requested , if any." The public notice is also advertised in the Taunton Daily Gazette for two successive weeks prior to the date of the hearing . Page 2 April 11, 2022 Council President Phillip Duarte Members of the Municipal Council Re: Proposal to change procedures in zoning matters to include plot plans and abutters lists with notices of public hearings Based on the requirements of the Zoning Act, described above, all abutters within 300 feet of any property that would be the subject of a public hearing on a zoning matter receive a notice that states the address of the proposal (by street address and Assessors' parcel ID), the name of the applicant, the type of zoning relief that is being sought, and the date, time and location of the hearing. Additionally, the notice states that the application materials are on file with the City Planner's office and are available for inspection there, with the phone number for the City Planner's office. With respect to the proposal to additionally include abutters lists and plot plans, the Law Department advises against that procedure. As to the abutters lists, in certain neighborhoods and especially when projects abut large multi- family developments or condominiums, abutters lists can sometimes run 10, 15 or even 20 pages. This would present an administrative problem to mail to all of the abutters, as on such a project the mailing would amount to hundreds of pages. Additionally, the abutters list does not provide any information about the nature of the hearing, and therefore would not advance the goal of public notice regarding the nature of the zoning petition. Including the abutters list would substantially increase the cost of mailing and administrative work for the City Planner's office. With respect to including plot plans, we also would advise against that. In some situations including the plot plan could be potentially misleading to people who do not fully understand the process, because changes can be made at the hearing regarding the exact layout of the proposed development. Additionally, some of the large scale prints when reduced to a smaller 8 % x 11 inch size can become very difficult to review if included in a mass mailing. Also, some projects include plan sets that are multiple pages and this would also present the problem of the multiplication of paperwork and administrative tasks for City personnel. Presently, the City follows a uniform procedure that is more or less the same across the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Cities and towns uniformly issue notices in the manner described in M.G.L. ch. 40A §11. Finally, the notices issued by the City of Taunton include a statement that the application materials are available at the office of the City Planner and are available for inspection there. Therefore any interested party who would like to review the plans and the full application has the option to go to the City Planner's Page 3 April 11, 2022 Council President Phillip Duarte Members of the Municipal Council Re: Proposal to change procedures in zoning matters to include plot plans and abutters lists with notices of public hearings office and see those items in advance of the hearing. Also, obviously interested parties have the opportunity to attend the hearing and see the plans there and to be heard with respect to the proposal. For all the above reasons, the Law Department advises against the inclusion of plot plans and abutters lists with the notices that are mailed to abutters regarding public hearings on zoning matters. Respectfully submitted, ~a.qui~ City Solicitor MJC:tmQ CC: Kevin Scanlon, City Planner  City of Taunton q LAW DEPARTMENT 15 Summer Street Taunton, Massachusetts 02780 Phone (508) 821-1036 Facsimile (508) 821-1397 Shaunna O'Connell Peter F. Winters, Esq. MAYOR FfR ST ASST. CITY SOLICITOR Matthew J. Costa, Esq. Thomas P. Gay, Jr. , Esq. CITY SOLICITOR SECOND ASST. CITY SOLICITOR David T. Gay, Esq. SP. ASST. CITY SOLICITOR April 11, 2022 Council President Phillip Duarte Members of the Municipal Council City of Taunton City Hall 15 Summer Street Taunton, Massachusetts 02780 Re: Process for releasing executive sessions minutes. Dear Council President Duarte and Members of the Municipal Council: At the regularly scheduled Council meeting of January 25, 2022 there was a motion passed instructing the Law Department to come to the Committee of the Council as a Whole to discuss the process for releasing the minutes of executive sessions. I am taking this opportunity to provide written input on the subject. Under the Open Meeting Law public bodies are not required to disclose the minutes, notes, or other materials used in an executive session if the disclosure of these records may defeat the lawful purposes of the executive session. In other words, for as long as the reason that justified the executive session meeting continues to apply, the minutes of such meeting may remain confidential and are not subject to public disclosure. Once disclosure of the minutes would no longer defeat the purposes of the executive session, the minutes and other records from the executive session are then subject to disclosure unless they fall within an exemption to the Public Records Law definition of "public record" (M .G.L. ch. 4 §7 clause 26) or the  /() Page 2 April 11, 2022 Council President Phillip Duarte Members of the Municipal Council Re: Process for releasing executive sessions minutes. attorney/client privilege applies. Therefore, if the executive session was for the purpose of providing confidential legal advice, the minutes of such a meeting would remain confidential. For other types of executive sessions once the purpose for holding the executive session has ceased to exist, the minutes generally become subject to disclosure as public record. The Attorney General's Open Meeting Law Guide contains additional advice regarding aspects of executive session meeting minutes. Instead of restating those in this letter I am enclosing page 19 of the Open Meeting Law Guide which contains additional information about handling executive session meeting minutes. Thank you for the opportunity to provide this legal advice. Respectfully, ~Ja. ~ City Solicitor MJC:tmg Open Session Meeting Records The Open Meeting Law requires public bodies to create and approve minutes in a timely manner. A "timely manner" is considered to be within the next three public body meetings or 30 days from the date of the meeting, whichever is later, unless the public body can show good cause for further delay. The Attorney General encourages minutes to be approved at a public body's next meeting whenever possible. The law requires that existing minutes be made available to the public within ten days of a request, whether they have been approved or remain in draft form. Materials or other exhibits used by the public body in an open meeting must also be made available to the public within ten days of a request. There are two exemptions to the open session records disclosure requirement: 1) materials (other than those that were created by members of the public body for the purpose of the evaluation) used in a performance evaluation of an individual bearing on his professional competence, and 2) materials (other than any resume submitted by an applicant, which is subject to disclosure) used in deliberations about employment or appointment of individuals, including applications and supporting materials. Documents created by members of the public body for the purpose of performing an evaluation are subject to disclosure. This applies to both individual evaluations and evaluation compilations, provided the documents were created by members of the public body for the purpose of the evaluation. Executive Session Meeting Records Public bodies are not required to disclose the minutes, notes, or other materials used in an executive session if the disclosure of these records may defeat the lawful purposes of the executive session. Once disclosure would no longer defeat the purposes of the executive session, however, minutes and other records from that executive session must be disclosed unless they fall within an exemption to the Public Records Law, G.L. c. 4, § 7, cl. 26, or the attorney-client privilege applies. Public bodies are also required to periodically review their executive session minutes to determine whether continued non-disclosure is warranted. These determinations must be included in the minutes of the body's next meeting. A public body must respond to a request to inspect or copy executive session minutes within ten days of the request. If the public body has determined, prior to the request, that the requested executive session minutes may be released, it must make those minutes available to the requestor at that time. If the body previously determined that executive session minutes should remain confidential because publication would defeat the lawful purposes of the executive session, it should respond by stating the reason the minutes continue to be withheld. And if, at the time of a request, the public body has not conducted a review of the minutes to determine whether continued nondisclosure is warranted, the body must perform such a review and release the minutes, if appropriate, no later than its next meeting or within 30 days, whichever occurs first. In such circumstances, the body should still respond to the request within ten days, notifying the requestor that it is conducting this review. 19 I Page  f\CC EIV EO .- ,., ~· l iK·; OFFICE ZOZl APR l 3 P 2: 05 APRIL 19, 2022 ._ __ _ CITY CLERK HONORABLE SHAUNNA l. O'CONNELL, MAYOR COUNCIL PRESIDENT PHILLIPE. DUARTE AND MEMBERS OF THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL PLEASE NOTE: THE FOLLOWING COMMITTEE MEETINGS HAVE BEEN SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2022 AT 5:30 P.M. AT TAUNTON CITY HALL, 15 SUMMER STREET, TAUNTON, MA, 02780 IN THE CHESTER R. MARTIN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 5:30 P.M. THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND SALARIES 1. MEET TO REVIEW THE WEEKLY VOUCHERS & PAYROLLS FOR CITY DEPARTMENTS 2. MEET TO REVIEW REQUESTS FOR FUNDING PLEASE NOTE: A "MEETING" OF THE ENTIRE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL, AS SAID TERM IS DEFINED IN MASS. GEN. l. C. 30A, §18 MAY OCCUR CONCURRENTLY WITH THIS COMMITTEE MEETING THE COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL AS A WHOLE 1. MEET TO DISCUSS REQUEST OF BLAZIN' D'S DELIVERY LLC TO AMEND THEIR HOST COMMUNITY AGREEMENT PLEASE NOTE: A "MEETING" OF THE ENTIRE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL, AS SAID TERM IS DEFINED IN MASS. GEN. l. C. 30A, §18 MAY OCCUR CONCURRENTLY WITH THIS COMMITTEE MEETING THE COMMITTEE ON POLICE AND LICENSE 1. MEET FOR UPDATE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ON STATUS OF COLLECTION BINS, SPECIFICALLY REGARDING COMPLAINTS ABOUT ST. VINCENT DE PAUL 2. MEET FOR AN UPDATE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND SAFETY OFFICER ON PUBLIC SAFETY/TRAFFIC ISSUES IN THE AREA OF 106/110 HIGHLAND STREET 3. MEET WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ON REFERRAL FOR DISCUSSION ON TRANSIENT VENDOR LICENSE 4. MEET WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR UPDATE/REPORT ON NEIGHBOR ISSUES AND POLICE RESPONSES ON DWINELL ROAD  5. MEET WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND SAFETY OFFICER ON STATUS OF LARGE DELIVERY TRUCKS PARKING ALONG BAY STREET IN FRONT OF 7-11 6. MEET TO DISCUSS ISSUES WITH POLICE COVERAGE AT CITY WIDE CONSTRUCTION DETAILS 7. MEET TO DISCUSS THE EMBEDDED SOCIAL WORKER PROGRAM AT TAUNTON POLICE DEPARTMENT 8. MEET FOR AN UPDATE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND SAFETY OFFICER ON STATUS OF SPEED AND SPEED LIMIT SIGN PLACEMENT ON UPPER/LONGER END OF HIGH STREET 9. MEET WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO DISCUSS STATUS AS TO NOISE LEVEL AND OFF ROAD VEHICLES AT THE INDUSTRIAL PARK 10. MEET FOR AN UPDATE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, SAFETY OFFICER AND CITY ENGINEER ON THE STATUS/REPORT OF NO PARKING SIGNS AT THE END OF KILTON/OAK STREET PLEASE NOTE: A "MEETING" OF THE ENTIRE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL, AS SAID TERM IS DEFINED IN MASS. GEN. l. C. 30A, §18 MAY OCCUR CONCURRENTIJ.Y WITH THIS COMMITTEE MEETING THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY 1. MEET TO DISCUSS ASSESSORS PARCEL 29-14 OWNED BY THE CITY OF TAUNTON LOCATED OFF OF PRINCE HENRY DRIVE & ADJACENT TO THE MYLES STANDISH INDUSTRIAL PARK PLEASE NOTE: A "MEETING" OF THE ENTIRE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL, AS SAID TERM IS DEFINED IN MASS. GEN. l. C. 30A, §18 MAY OCCUR CONCURRENTLY WITH THIS COMMITTEE MEETING Respectfu Ily, I b/L~Uxv Colleen M. Ellis Clerk of Council Committees