City Council

City oftJ'aunton 9dunidpa{Council9deetino :Minutes City 1fa{{, 15 Summer Street, tJ'aunton, ~ :M.inutes, Jlunust 16, 2022 at 7.·17 O'cfoci._/P.:M.. <R§gufar Meeting Mayor Snaunna £. O 'Conne{[presitfing CJlrayer was offerea 6y tne Mayor CJlresent at ro{[ ca{[were: Councifors Cl'oste{[, Quinta~ Sanders, Coute, Cl'ottier, McCau~ CBorges, (J)uarte ana©ooner Record of preceding meeting was read by title and approved. So voted. Opportunity for input by the general public. David Littlefield, 192 Erin Road, talked about street acceptance for Erin Road. He wanted to make sure that the Council knew that the former Hoye Administration did some work with the DPW in regards to the road sinking in. The middle of the road is still a crater. He would like to see Erin Road patched up and move forward with getting the Road on the street acceptance list. April Funches, President of the Taunton Diversity Network located at 20 Kings Court, spoke about the process that has been happening with choosing the new City Clerk. She understands and appreciates wanting to extend the opportunity to someone who has been put into an acting position role when someone vacates a position. She explained how she is disappointed in the way that this process went as far as things being changed in the middle. It seems rules will change to accommodate whatever said Councilors feel like things aren't going their way. She feels this shouldn't be the case. When you are considering someone to be in a position to serve the City, she hopes that they are looking for their level of experience, what they are going to bring to the table and certainly considering for all means and purposes, diverse candidates as well. That representation is certainly missing on the City Council, as well as missing in City government and some of these offices. Her explanation continued. Lisa Potter, 38 Lakeview Place, said hiring anyone should be based on experience, leadership skills, passion for the job, continuing education, certification of relative skills and also approval of the person they will be working for. It is not in the best interest of their manager or the applicant to hire anyone that does not meet this criteria. She thinks it's offensive that there was a process change to affect a certain outcome. Her explanation continued. Kara Civale, 110 Dean Street, also spoke about the hiring process for the City Clerk position. She is pleased to hear that Jenn Leger was able to be recommended for the position. From her experience with Jenn, she has been extremely professional and helpful in everything she has tried to do in the City. She is still concerned about the process and this policy. From the beginning, there has been a lot of concerns. There has been issues  2 whether it was ethical and legal. There was also an issue with the Clerk of Committees position on whether the vote was changed at that time and if the vote was changed for certain Councilors. She wants to know if there is a way we can look at this through the Ethics Commission, the AG or the Mass Municipal Council to really figure out this process. Her explanation continued. Hearings: Upon the petition submitted by Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant proposing to place one new sole electric pole location; ELI5IL3 which includes one pad-mounted transformer and associated conduits to be located on Winthrop Heights Drive in the City of Taunton. Two maps of the location were submitted. Motion was made to open the public hearing and invite the parties into the enclosure. So voted. Councilor Coute asked to be noted as present for this discussion and recused himself. Tyler Arruda, Engineer from TMLP introduced himself. He explained that pole ELI5IL3 which includes one pad-mounted transformer is to serve the two projected lots for Winthrop Heights Drive. They will have to set a new pole on the back of the sidewalk, in the grass area, and then trench and install a pad-mounted transformer to service electric utilities to these lots, IA & 2A. Councilor Sanders asked about the sidewalk. Mr. Arruda said it's behind the sidewalk in the grass. The sidewalk won't be affected. There will be no ADA issues. Motion was made to open public input. So voted. Nobody spoke for public input. Motion was made to approve the petition and close public input. So voted. Motion was made to close the public hearing. So voted. Upon the joint petition submitted by Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant and Verizon New England, Inc. proposing to place one new joint pole location; ELI Y2 on Cambridge Street in the City of Taunton. A map of the location was submitted. Motion was made to open the public hearing. So voted. Tyler Arruda, Engineer from TMLP explained they are proposing to set a new joint pole ELI Y2 on Cambridge Street to service house #2I. During the storm in October their service wire actually crossed wetlands and trees caused their service to go down. They were out for multiple days. They are going to set a new pole in the public way so they can get a service line right to their house, directly getting out of the wood lines. Councilor Sanders asked about sidewalks. Mr. Arruda said there is no sidewalk. Motion was made to open public input. So voted. Nobody spoke for public input. Motion was made to close public input, approve the petition and close the public hearing. So voted. Upon the petition submitted by Verizon New England, Inc. and Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant proposing to place one new jointly owned pole, #I4.5 across from 20I South Walker Street in the City of Taunton. A map of the location was submitted. Motion was made to open the public hearing and invite the interested party into the enclosure. So voted. Ross Bilodeau, representing Verizon New England introduced himself. He explained they are looking to replace one new jointly owned pole, #I4.5 on the easterly side of South Walker Street. Approximately 2-feet back from the curve, across from 20I South Walker Street. This was a project started by TMLP. They asked Verizon to set this pole because Verizon is maintaining this side of the City. They are asking for this pole so they can put some new transformers up and tie-in all the new lines they are running up and down South Walker Street. He said it states to be 2-feet back from the curb, which there is a sidewalk behind that curb, but there is a grass strip in the middle, so they will be setting this pole in the grass strip in between the edge of the road  3 and the sidewalk. Motion was made to open public input. So voted. Nobody spoke for public input. Motion was made to close public input, approve the petition and close the public hearing. So voted. Communications {rom the Mayor: Mayor O'Connell took a moment to congratulate Mrs. Leger. They still have some processes to go through but she wanted to recognize her. We currently have sixty-one (61) active reported Covid cases here in the City of Taunton. She also took a moment to thank everyone who participated in the Whittenton Block Party last week. It was a lot of fun. They had a lot of great organizations there, tons of fun for the kids and smiles all over the place. Many thanks to the Broken Chains Biker Church for hosting that event. She said it is a pretty cool church is you want to go inside. It's like nothing you have ever seen before. She said it's like a big cafe. There were a lot of community partners there and it was put on by the Neighborhood Community Partnership, which is made up of different businesses and individuals in the Whittenton area. Its part of our transformative development initiative in Whittenton were they are doing a lot of economic development. She believes this will be an annual event. Congressman Jake Auchincloss is hosting a series of Coffee with your Congressman at local cafes. He is interested in hearing what you have to say. The first one will be on Tuesday, August 23rd from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Los Jefes Cafe. As of August 9th, the drought level status was raised to Level 3, which is critical. This is not done by the City, it is done by the State. This is due to high temperatures and lack of precipitation in July. So per the State Law, the critical drought status requires a ban of none essential water uses. Except as otherwise authorized. Essential uses defined by MassDEP are for health & safety reasons, by regulation for the production of food and fiber, for the maintenance of livestock or to meet the core functions of a business. All other uses are considered to be none essential. The City of Taunton is authorized to permit one day per week of non-essential water use. This day will be on Saturday. On Saturday, citizens may utilize water for non-essential purposes before 9:00 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m. They do appreciate everyone's cooperation in adhering to the water ban at this critical time. If you have any questions you can call the Water Department and all ofthis information is listed on the City of Taunton website. Appointments: NONE Communications {rom City Officers: Com. from Thomas Bernier, Golf Course Commission, requesting to pay prior year bills from the John F. Parker Gold Course Enterprise account in the amount of twenty-five thousand, three-hundred and forty eight dollars ($25,348.00). A breakdown and dates of the invoices were provided. Motion was made to refer to the Committee on Finance and Salaries. So voted. Com. from the First Assistant City Solicitor regarding recommending that the Municipal Council adopt the provisions of M.G.L. Ch. 59 §21A. This section allows a municipality to compensate members of the Assessors' office up to $1,000.00 in additional compensation for achievement of certification with the Association of Massachusetts Assessors or the International Association of Assessing Officers. The adoption will also allow the City Auditor to approve the payment of the additional compensation that has already been allocated for payment to the previously qualified members of the assessing  4 department. Motion was made to refer to the Committee of the Council of the Whole and the Law Department to see if this should be added to future contracts. So voted. Com. from the Director of Elections requesting a Police detail at City Hall during the Early Voting period of August 27th through September 2nd. A schedule of dates and times were provided. Motion was made to approve and refer to the Police Chief. So voted. Com. from the Chairman of the Taunton Planning Board notifying of a public meeting and hearing regarding a Special Permit/Site Plan Review for 112 & 231 Broadway (Property I.D. 47-73, 47-74 and 47-99) for the construction of a new 4,500 sq. ft. convenience store with 6-gasoline dispenser islands with an overhead canopy and 20- seats (8-interior seats & 12-exterier seasonable seats) submitted by 231 Broadway Series of PB & C Series, LLC & 223 Broadway Street Series of S&P Realty Series, LLC. The DIRB will review the petition on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. in the Taunton Planning Board Office at 141 Oak Street And then the Planning Board will review this on Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 5:30 p.m., located at City Hall, 15 Summer Street. Motion was made to receive and place on file. So voted. Com. from the City Solicitor submitting correspondence dated July 29, 2022 from Xfinity in regards to changes to TV services. Effective September 13, 2022, EPIX will no longer be available on channel 881, but can continue to be viewed on channel 322; EPIX HD will no longer be available on channel 885 and 1790, but can continued to be viewed on channels 323 and 1871. Also, effective September 30, 2022, Olympic Channel will cease operations. Motion was made to receive and place on file. So voted. Com. from the Special Assistant City Solicitor in regards to a donation to the Taunton Animal Shelter from the Lincoln Fund in Memory of L. Ruth Lincoln and Letitia A. Lincoln. They are pleased to advise to the City Council that the City has once again received an annual distribution in the amount of one-thousand dollars ($1,000.00) from the Lincoln Find. This donation has been coming to the City since 1997 and according to Attorney Richard Bentley, Jr., the trustee, the City has received a total of thirty-seven thousand, five-hundred and eighty-four dollars and fifty-three cents ($37,584.53). Although he requested information as to how much longer this Trust may be making distributions, Attorney Bentley did not respond to this question. Motion was made to approve and send thanks to the Trust. So voted. Communications from Citizens: Com. from Attorney Philip Nessralla, Jr., 1063 North Main St., Brockton requesting an extension of Herbal Logic's HCA for a 12-month period. To date, he has secured a premises, as well as financing. He has also completed drafted construction plans and entered a consulting contract and prepared to undertake the construction leading to opening the retail facility in a timely fashion. He would appreciate the opportunity to appear before the Council on August 23rd. Motion was made to refer to the Committee of the Council as a Whole. So voted. Petitions: Hours of Operation License - RENEWALS 1. Creative Fitness Solutions, Inc. located at 225 Cape Highway, Taunton  5 2. MPG Corporation -dba- Rapid Refill #105 located at 231 Broadway, Taunton 3. CVS Pharmacy, Inc. -dba- CVS Pharmacy #41 located at 284 Winthrop St., Taunton. Motion was made to refer to the Committee on Police and License and refer to the Police Chief. So voted. Billiard Table License - RENEWAL Taunton Portuguese American Civic Club located at 175 School St., Taunton (1 Table). Motion was made to refer to the Committee on Police and License and refer to the Police Chief. So voted. Junk Dealer's License - RENEWAL Burnham's Converter and Scrap Metals located at 12 Railroad Ave., Taunton. Motion was made to refer to the Committee on Police and License and refer to the Police Chief. So voted. Committee Reports: Motion was made for Committee reports to be read by title and approved. So Voted. Recommendations adopted by the Committee on Finance and Salaries, the Committee on the Department of Public Works, the Committee on Ordinances and Enrolled Bills, the Committee on Public Property and the Committee of the Council as a Whole for item #1 only. So voted. Council Pottier deferred to the Council President Duarte for item #2 on the Committee of the Council as a Whole. Councilor Duarte said item #2 was to meet to select the City Clerk from the finalists which prevailed on a six to three vote. Six people voting for Jennifer Leger and three voting present. Motion was made to adopt the recommendation from the Committee of the Council as a Whole on a roll call vote. So voted. On discussion, Councilor Coute said he wanted to point out that during the discussion he brought up the fact that the rules were changed mid process and that wasn't done with the required 2/3's vote that are in the written rules of the Council. So there is some question on the validity of changing the rules and it was referred to the Law Department. On a roll call vote, nine (9) Councilors were present, five (5) Councilors were in favor (Councilors Duarte, Borges, Pottier, Sanders and Postell), four (4) Councilors were in opposition (Councilors Dooner, McCaul, Coute and Quintal). Motion passed. Councilor Duarte said the second motion under that item was what Councilor Coute mentioned. Motion was made to refer to the Law Department that fact that the process was changed mid-stream without the required 2/3's vote as the written Council rules require. So he believes changing the process was not a valid change on a roll call vote. On a roll call vote, nine (9) Councilors were present, five (5) Councilors were in favor (Councilors Postell, Sanders, Coute, McCaul and Dooner), four (4) Councilors were in opposition (Councilors Quintal, Pottier, Borges and Duarte). Motion passed. Unfinished Business: Councilor Postell said as they heard earlier at public input, he made a motion awhile back regarding the condition of the street on Erin Road. Motion was made to receive a follow-up from the DPW on the status of the repair on Erin Road as well as status for Erin Road being added to the street acceptance list. So voted. Councilor Pottier said about a week or so ago, he made a motion for the Zoning Enforcement Officer, Mr. Pirozzi to look into some noise concerns on Barton Street from  6 the Reed & Barton building where the vendor is, he believes the vendor also talked to Councilor McCaul, but they are operating some kind of vacuum or something that is causing much noise in the area. After talking to Mr. Scanlon, he recommended Mr. Pirozzi take a look, they may be in violation on their Operation Permit. Motion was made to ask Mr. Pirozzi take a look and report back to the Council at his earliest convenience. So voted. On discussion, Councilor McCaul said he had the same conversation as Councilor Pottier and the Zoning Enforcement Officer, Mr. Pirozzi will be going out there with decimal meter to get an idea what noise is taking place. He believes the problem could be a wood chipper that's in the building that is going into a trailer but it's going from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The hope to get some answers on this very soon. Orders, Ordinances and Resolutions: NONE New Business: Councilor Borges made a motion to refer the letter received by the Council from Attorney Winters in response to the contamination of the fuel at the Taunton Municipal Airport for the agenda next week and also to the Committee on the Needs of the Airport. So voted. Meeting adjourned at 7:47 P.M. A true copy: Attest: JLL/KLD  7 CITY OF TAUNTON MUNICIPAL COUNCIL AUGUST 16, 2022 I THE COMMllTEE ON FINANCE AND SALARIES PRESENT WERE: I 8 ' "_,. COUNCILOR PHILLIP DUARTE, CHAIRMAN AND COUN~LO~S PO:irrlER ;":: ~· § - ·;fA ""!:-, ,,,..,,_t--:-:J AND MCCAUL p ~ p '''"'~ Etl! - -..,.1® ~ ... !J MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 5:35 P.M. en ~ 1. MEET TO REVIEW THE WEEKLY VOUCHERS AND PAYROLLS FOR CITY DEPARTMENTS MOTION: MOVE APPROVAL OF THE PAYROLL WARRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,327,615.66. SO VOTED. MOTION: MOVE APPROVAL OF THE INVOICE WARRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,874,683.19. SO VOTED. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 5:36 P.M. Respectfully submitted, CITY OF TAUNTON AUG 1 G2022 Colleen M. Ellis IN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL Interim Clerk of Committees REPORTS ACCEPTED. RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED. <J11 Jt ,;Jiu, }{' ,YU / (/,---"/) CITYCLEr  8 CITY OF TAUNTON MUNICIPAL COUNCIL AUGUST 16, 2022 1 ........, f ___, = ,......, ,...., )ir" :r:o. THE COMMITrEE ON THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS I (Jj c:· ::.r~. c en - PRESENT WERE: COUNCILOR JOHN MCCAUL, CHAIRMAN AND COUNCl~RS~UINTAL, COUTE, POSTELL AND DUARTE ~ j! J> MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 5:37 P.M. I tx: -.. en 1. MEET TO DISCUSS THE REAPPOINTMENT OF BRUCE EMOND, DPW STREET SUPERVISOR FOR A TERM OF THREE (3) YEARS EXPIRING AUGUST 2025. The DPW Commissioner by letter dated August 2, 2022 requested that the Committee nominate Bruce Emond as DPW Street Supervisor for a term of three years, expiring August, 2025. MOTION: TO REAPPOINT BRUCE EMOND AS DPW STREET SUPERVISOR FOR A THREE (3) YEAR TERM EXPIRING AUGUST, 2025. SO VOTED. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 5:38 P.M. Respectfully submitted, CITY OF TAUNTON AUG 16 2022 Colleen M. Ellis IN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL Interim Clerk of Committees REPORTS ACCEPTED. RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED. ""'c"'IT;iE~ Ab<.,,,_.,,,.--ri.  9 CITY OF TAUNTON MUNICIPAL COUNCIL AUGUST 16, 2022 I THE COMMITTEE ON ORDINANCES AND ENROLLED BILLS I ~- ~ ~ I }ii'· C") .. 01 PRESENT WERE: COUNCILOR BARRY SANDERS, CHAIRMAN AND COU~IL~RS D,S60NE~~'g AND MCCAUL --< - . ·< gz :i: ·... )::;~ . .rc:n )> "'"' G1 ·-riG;J MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 5:39 P.M. :=v -::- !J ::x; en CJ N rq 1. MEET TO DISCUSS ADDING NO PARKING SIGNS A. ON ONE SIDE OF HOWARD STREET MOTION: TO REFER THIS TO THE SAFETY OFFICER. SO VOTED. B. IN THE AREA OF 43 WASHBURN STREET The Safety Officer in his report dated 6/21/22 has recommended an ordinance for no parking from curb cut to curb cut in front of 43 Washburn Street. He also recommends that an ordinance be adopted that no parking signs be placed in this location. The distance is approximately 64 feet on the south side of Washburn Street MOTION: MOVE APPROVAL OF THE SAFETY OFFICER'S RECOMMENDATIONS. SO VOTED. 2. MEET TO DISCUSS THE REQUEST FROM SUPERINTENDENT OF TAUNTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO EXTEND SCHOOL ZONE ON WILLIAMS STREET A letter dated 5/11/2022 from the Superintendent of Schools was read requesting this extension as currently the Williams Street school zone is approximately 200 feet extending from 77 Williams Street to just past the entrance to Harris Street. The Safety Officer through his speed analysis in the area found that 73% of the vehicles were traveling at speeds greater than 30 MPH. With a school zone limited to 200 feet it is challenging to enforce the speed limit. He is recommending the school zone on Williams Street be extended to the area of 43C Williams Street. (See Attached Letter). MOTION: MOVE APPROVAL OF THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SAFETY OFFICER. SO VOTED. 3. MEET TO DISCUSS PLACING A YIELD SIGN AND A BLIND DRIVEWAY SIGN IN THE AREA OF 220 HIGHLAND STREET MOTION: MOVE APPROVAL. SO VOTED. 4. MEET TO DISCUSS ADDING STOP SIGNS AT THE FOLLOWING INTERSECTIONS: A. PUFFIN WAY AT BLACKBIRD LANE B. HUMMINGBIRD LANE (BOTH SIDES) AT MOCKINGBIRD LANE C. BLUE JAY LANE (BOTH SIDES) AT CARDINAL CIRCLE D. WREN STREET (BOTH SIDES) AT CARDINAL CIRCLE  10 PAGE TWO AUGUST 16, 2022 THE COMMITTEE ON ORDINANCES AND ENROLLED BILLS- CONTINUED The Safety Officer requested that stop signs be placed in the following locations: One stop sign installed on Puffin Way at the intersection at Blackbird Lane and Puffin Way. Two stop signs installed at the intersection at Mockingbird Lane at Hummingbird Lane, on both sides of Hummingbird Lane. Two stop signs at both intersections of Blue Jay Lane at Mockingbird Lane, on Blue Jay Lane both sides. Two stop signs installed at the intersection at Wren Street at Cardinal Circle, on both sides of Wren Street. MOTION: MOVE APPROVAL. SO VOTED. E. SHERBORNE STREET (BOTH SIDES) AT FAIRBANKS AVENUE The Safety Officer has requested an ordinance and two stop signs be placed on Sherborne Avenue at the intersection of Fairbanks Avenue with both signs being placed on Sherborne. MOTION: MOVE APPROVAL. SO VOTED. F. KILMER AVENUE AT OAK STREET The Safety Officer is requesting that a stop sign be placed on Kilmer Avenue near the Fire Safety Building. MOTION: MOVE APPROVAL. SO VOTED. 5. MEET TO DISCUSS ADDING A SPEED LIMIT SIGN IN THE AREA OF 57 WORCESTER STREET The issue of speeding on Worcester Street was referred to the Safety Officer. The Safety Officer placed the radar unit on the pole in front of 57 Worcester Street from 6/7/2022 to 6/15/2022. The radar unit counted 11,337 vehicles. The average speed was 30 MPH. Worcester Street is a rural residential area. The speed limit on that roadway is 30 MPH not posted. The radar unit indicated that the enforceable violations on Worcester Street are 2%. The fastest speed recorded was 60 MPH. With the information from the radar unit, Worcester Street does not appear to have a large issue with speeding at this time. MOTION: TO PLACE 30 MPH SPEED LIMIT SIGNS AT 57 WORCESTER STREET. SO VOTED. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 5:52 P.M. CITY OF TAUNTON Respectfully submitted, AUG 1 6 2022 ~~ Colleen M. Ellis IN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL Interim Clerk of Committees RTS ACCEPTED. RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED. CITY~  11 CITY OF TAUNTON MUNICIPAL COUNCIL AUGUST 16, 2022 I ,.____, I = ,.__, r·•-.....J THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY _, -·· .- :'~',1- f ~,/ G'") · r~1 ·-·;r) G• _, ::' ...o ·,,:. r11 PRESENT WERE: COUNCILOR CHRISTOPHER COUTE, CHAIRMAN AND COONG'.ILORS -·:< MCCAUL, BORGES, QUINTAL AND DOONER. ALSO PR~N~ERP ~;;;; WILLIAM ROTH AND JIM HOWLAND FROM THE OFFIC~F ECONGJMIC ~ AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ~ ~ MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 5:54 P.M. 1. MEET WITH OECD DIRECTOR TO DISCUSS RFP FOR LEONARD SCHOOL Mr. Roth said they have been looking at a concept for Leonard School. They are recommending, instead of just auctioning it off to the highest bidder and having no control over the site and what could be done there, to sell it through an RFP process outlining what they want to see there. The school building itself has been heavily vandalized. It was formally turned over to the City in December of 2021 and there are leaks and it is heavily infested with mold. It is highly unlikely it is salvageable due to the extent of deterioration and the cost to make repairs. The proposal would be to sell the school property and the adjacent property for what they would consider to be a cottage style community which is single family detached but is under a condominium. This is referenced in the Master Plan as being a type of housing that has not been addressed. It is currently zoned urban residential. Condominiums would require a Special Permit through the Municipal Council and the maximum density for zoning is 18 units per acre. They would also encourage a second means of access through one of the numerous public streets. If a second means of access is not appropriate or due to grade topography and other things there is also the ability for looping water lines and utilities providing multiple sites. Cottage style is single family units, one and two bedrooms and typically on the smaller side. They have shared common parking and some styles also have the ability to have garages. The units themselves are single family and everything else is common, the parking, parking garages, open space and landscaping. Typically sometimes these units have amenities like a community center but that depends on the number of the development and what would work. They also typically have a small backyard patio that is their own. Mr. Roth said a similar style would be a cluster style which are larger homes. It would be less density but still under the condominiums, so it would just be whatever size units the Council would want. These would be a bit larger footprint, 900-1100 square feet. Cottage style is a smaller unit, cluster style would be a larger unit and also have the ability to be 3 bedrooms. The yard space and the set back of the buildings would be dictated by the RFP so if the Council says they want a certain setback or perimeter that would be all part of the RFP.  12 PAGE TWO AUGUST 16, 2022 THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY - CONTINUED Mr. Roth said the process would be to complete the appraisal, complete an RFP and evaluation criteria, obtain Council approval and they would then submit the procurement. This would provide a single family product, having control over the type of development and what they want to see there versus just plain auctioning it off and getting whatever the Zoning Board, Planning Board and a variance to whatever anyone can allow. Councilor Coute noted that the RFP the Council has does not narrow this down to any particular type of development to which it was answered that is correct and that they strictly wanted to get feedback from the Public Property Committee on how they want to proceed. This is a starting point. Councilor Coute then asked if Mr. Roth thought there was any benefit to having a public meeting in the next few weeks and notifying abutters 300 feet from the property and getting some feedback. Nir. Howland said he does feel they should do this because anytime they can get public feedback it makes more sense. If it is the desire of the Committee they could do that. This property has sat dormant for 20 years so this will be a major change to the neighborhood. All members of the Committee agreed that this would be a good idea. Councilor Borges noted that when this was discussed previously it was cottage style but they have added the cluster style to this now which she does not think is a bad idea either. Councilor Borges said she would like to see the fa~ade of the school building used in some way just like they did with City Hall as it is a historic building. Councilor Coute asked about the affordability piece and their thoughts on market rate, work force, affordable, to which Mr. Roth said they really like the cottage style, it is referenced in the Master Plan. They are the one and two bedrooms, and even though they are not "affordable", they are going to be at a price point that is much lower than a 1900 square foot, three bedroom cluster style. Councilor Coute asked ifthey thought they should include in the RFP a requirement for some affordable units, to which Mr. Roth said that is really up to the Council but he thinks a market rate product would sell very well there. Councilor Coute asked how they, if the RFP process goes forward, will it be done by their office or on the Council floor in public. In response Mr. Howland said he would assume that would be up to the Procurement Office but would also assume that they would have one or two members of this Committee, potentially either he or Mr. Roth and somebody from procurement. He would assume maybe 4-5 members of a team that would be put together to evaluate the responses and make a recommendation on what ones they should bring forward. Councilor Pottier said both Councilor Coute and Councilor Borges are in the business so he would recommend having them on this review committee.  13 PAGE THREE AUGUST 16, 2022 THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY - CONTINUED Councilor Postell cautioned that they need to keep in mind the potential use of City owned land for public safety buildings. Councilor Sanders said he appreciates seeing under preliminary design concepts some value in making sure that there is open and wooded green space available for residents and that would make it a highly advantageous or superior proposal. He also would like to see energy efficiency concepts flushed out more and made clear as a goal for the development. Councilor Duarte said he supports the cottage style over the cluster development. He feels there is a need for one and two bedroom homes. The preference for environmentally friendly measures should be spelled out and also feels that preference for some affordability be included because they are currently not meeting the State mandated 10%. Councilor Borges said she feels that they need to add that affordability component as well. She would just like to have the Chair, and she will put this in the form or a motion later, to work with OECD to schedule a community meeting but not just one at night but maybe one during the day for people who do not come out at night, and also provide an e-mail address on the City's website so that people can e-mail their comments or ideas. Then come back to this Committee with all of that information, then the Committee can decide what final language they would like to see in the RFP before it goes out. She feels that this can be done within the next 8 weeks. Councilor Coute said he thinks they should include a public meeting here at City Council and that a meeting during the day with OECD handling that is a good idea, then a meeting here and notify the abutters within 300 feet and put it in the newspaper as they do for any public hearing. He then asked OECD how long they would need to advertise for a public meeting with the City Council, to which it was answered they think they could get something set up right after Labor Day, so the second or third week in September. The following motion was then made: MOTION: TO SCHEDULE A MEETING THE SECOND OR THIRD WEEK IN SEPTEMBER, ONE WITH THE COUNCIL WITH PROPER PUBLIC NOTICE AND PERHAPS HAVE A CONCEPT SITE FOR A CLUSTER WITH WHAT THEY THINK APPROPRIATE DENSITY WOULD BE AND TO PLACE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE FOR COMMENTS AND IDEAS FROM THE COMMUNITY. SO VOTED.  14 PAGE FOUR AUGUST 16, 2022 THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY - CONTINUED MEETING ADJOURNED AT 6:37 P.M. Respectfully submitted, · CITY OF TAUNTON AUG 16 2022 ~f/&JA, Colleen M. Ellis IN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL Interim Clerk of Committees TS ACCEPTED. RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED. f( <//b/A-.-- CITYc£illk-  15 CITY OF TAUNTON MUNICIPAL COUNCIL AUGUST 16, 2022 THE COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL AS A WHOLE I PRESENT WERE: COUNCIL PR,ESIDENT PHILLIP DUARTE AND COUNC~ORS DOOfieR, . BORGESLfylCCAUL, POTTIER, COUTE, SANDERS, QUI TA~NDEDSTEtl::1• ALSO PRESENT WAS JOHN DESOUSA OF NORTHCO NTY'GROLfli ·-· rri f2 ~- ~;.~: ~' _, zc:=-l ....D ...,:.:;:_ r~;1 MEETING CALLED TO ORDERAT-6.:40 P.M. -:( • ,;r:;< ::i:: )> ·liii!Gl " ., r(.1) > _ ,.,.,6 1. MEET FOR A PRE-REVIEW ON THE ISSUANCE OF A SPECIAL PERM.I FOR ROM RT J;; BASTIS, 2440 MAPLE SWAMP RD., N. DIGHTON, MA TO ALLOW AN 11-UNn:JGROUP HOME WITH INCIDENTAL 150 SQ. FT. OFFICE AT 38 WINTHROP STREET, LOCATED IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT Mr. Desousa said when they started working on the project they did a structural evaluation of the property. In the basement they found all temporary columns in there which cannot be utilized for structural integrity as they are meant as a temporary fixture to help raise joists, beams, etc. however these were actually cemented in the ground. The beams in the basement were varnished and had a sealer on them which actually helped to keep the termites out of them. In the attic, there was a fire up there so with a good portion of the attic the rafters were compromised as well as the sheathing in the attic was compromised as well. They pulled a structural permit and did some renovations to stabilize the structure. They kept the fa~ade the same, changed the colors, the columns are actually white now. There is one that is a little angled so they have to fix the base on it. They have refaced it, replaced the windows and have already gone to Planning Board, Zoning Board and Conservation Commission and they have all those approvals already. Now they are here for the last approval. Councilor Borges would like to know if there is going to be an agency that is going to be involved with this and how that is going to work. Who is going to manage it and all of the details pertaining to that. Councilor Coute said he would like to hear about the operations of the Lounge 44 building that was done by Mr. Bastis as it has gone very well. He would like to hear about the operations of that and if it is going to be the same team, the same basic blueprint, so he would like to hear how he plans to recreate the success of the other project. Councilor Sanders asked for information on any state licensure that is going to be needed for this group home, and also would like to hear about environmental issues and how they will decrease the environmental impact. 2. MEET TO SELECT NEW CITY CLERK FROM FINALISTS The Council President said pursuant to a previous meeting of the Council As A Whole, Jennifer Leger was put forward for consideration. The City Clerk Hiring Committee on a  16 PAGE TWO AUGUST 16, 2022 THE COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL AS A WHOLE - CONTINUED 4-1 vote with Councilor Sanders opposed also voted to put forward Rogeria Medeiros- Kowalczykowski and Susan Barber for consideration. Councilor Pottier made the following motion: MOTION: THAT THE COUNCIL TAKE A ROLL CALL IN SO FAR AS WHICH OF THE THREE APPLICANTS THEY PREFER The motion was seconded by Councilor Borges and on discussion said that she has had the opportunity to review all of the resumes, that Jennifer Leger has worked side by side with the former City Clerk and has done a great job so she will support Jennifer Leger to be the new City Clerk. Councilor Postell said while he was not able to be here last week and meet with each candidate, he was able to speak with each candidate. In reviewing their resumes as well as speaking to each of them he feels they are in a very good position with three viable candidates. All three would do a fine job. Councilor Coute said he agrees that they do have three good candidates but he does have some serious concerns with the way the process went. He said it was himself, Council President Duarte and Councilor Sanders that made up the Hiring Committee on the Council side and they got a total of 75 applicants and they interviewed 4 people. They did not interview 95% of the applicants. If they are to seek the best and most qualified people for the City of Taunton, they did not interview 95% of the applicants. He said he continued to push to open it up to more because they had some really good resumes and wanted to interview those people and actually do their due diligence and interview more than 5% of the candidates. There was no appetite for that because he thinks the selection was predetermined. Obviously the Hiring Committee was made up of five people so the majority of the Hiring Committee did not support moving someone forward so what was done in the middle of the process was that the rules were changed, it took that away and required that person to move forward. Thcit is exactly what happened and Councilor Coute said everything he says is a fact. The rules were changed in the middle. He has questions as to whether the rule change was binding because according to the Rules of the Council to suspend the rules they have to have a two thirds vote and they did not have a two thirds vote on that. If the argument is to be made that they did not suspend the rules they changed the rules, so using that argument anytime you want to suspend the rules and you do not have a two thirds vote you would just change it to changing the rules instead. He feels that they should get an opinion from the Law Departmen~ as to whether that vote is binding because they did suspend the rules and did not have a two thirds vote. Councilor Coute has a big issue with the fact that despite his pleas, they did not interview 95% of the applicants. He feels this is a flawed process and everything he stated tonight is 100% fact. They changed the process, they changed the rules in the middle of the process and they did  17 PAGE THREE AUGUST 16, 2022 THE COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL AS A WHOLE- CONTINUED not interview 95% of the applicants. The Council President said just to reclaim the Chair of this meeting, this meeting tonight as posted is not a discussion about the process. The process was discussed last week. A motion made last week to again to discuss the process was not approved, so this is a meeting to select a new City Clerk from the finalists. There is a motion on the floor and unless anyone has commentary on the actual finalists that are being voted on, any comments about the process are out of order. Councilor Borges made the following motion: MOTION: TO PRESS THE MOTION. THE MOTION TO PRESS WAS SECONDED AND ON A ROLL CALL VOTE COUNCILORS DOONER, MCCAUL, COUTE AND QUINTAL VOTED IN OPPOSITION, COUNCILORS BORGES, POTTIER, SANDERS, POSTELL AND DUARTE VOTED IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIES. Councilor Dooner said she did interview all three applicants and applauds Councilor Postell for taking the time to speak to the applicants. She feels they have a good group of candidates and that there is one that is not only the most qualified for the job but a strong leader and would be a positive asset for this City and that office. Councilor Mccaul said that Councilor Postell had previously said that he was going to take as long as he had to in order to interview all the candidates. If that was the case, they did not interview all of the candidates. There was an additional 14 that needed to be looked at and Councilor Postell was saying that he wanted to interview all of the candidates to see who would be the best fit for the job. He further said he supported Councilor Postell so th.at he could interview the 14. The bottom line is they changed the process when they decided to have the process to interview everyone. Then a couple of weeks later, Councilor Pottier changed it right away. He does not think that was right. Councilor Postell said first he did not have the opportunity to interview the candidates, that was the Committee's job. His job is to meet with them and make a selection so that is completely different than an interview. He did say that they should have the opportunity to meet with candidates that are brought forth or apply for a position. The issue that he had with that is that they were going to open it up for another 14 or more candidates because he found it very difficult to believe that they could not find a qualified candidate in a packet of resumes that weighed two or three pounds. He feels that candidates should be interviewed publicly as this is a public employee but only three Councilors were afforded that opportunity in this process. Councilor Pottier said this is a Council appointment, not a Mayoral appointment. He has said before that he has never voted against a Mayoral appointment regardless of who the Mayor is or has been because that is a Mayoral appointment. This is a Council appointment in his opinion and the opinion of some of the Councilors, but they lost  18 PAGE FOUR AUGUST 16, 2022 THE COMMITIEE OF THE COUNCIL AS A WHOLE - CONTINUED that vote on a 5-4 vote as they thought that it should have been only a Council appointment. But, they lost that vote and a policy was then enacted. The policy that was voted on by a 5-4 vote was in fact followed. The H.R. Director herself said they should only consider those applicants that apply by the deadline because they cannot have a rolling deadline. Only after that time if they do not have any qualified applicants, should they open it up again. You cannot have rolling applications. The H.R. Director said promoting the next one up is good for morale and in fact it has been done for the Auditor as well as in the Assessor's office, so not to consider a 20 plus year employee would be bad for morale, which is why he made the motion that was passed 5-4 that the courtesy be given to such an applicant. Councilor Sanders said he has some strong feelings about the process as well, however, out of respect to the Council President's decision which he thinks is an appropriate one to not have that discussion tonight, he will save his remarks for a later time. He did say that he did not vote for this process but he is confident that he did everything in his power to make sure that this is the process that was followed because it is the process that the Council approved. It is time to do the work that is on the agenda, which is to select a new City Clerk from the finalists in front of them and he hopes that they will get to that soon. Councilor Coute said just to recap the Hiring Committee recommended two folks for that position, Rogeria Medeiros-Kowalczykowski and Susan Barber. Both Councilor Pottier and Councilor Sanders said they need to follow the policy. That message works except when you want to change the part of the policy you do not agree with which is what happened. To say the policy wasn't changed is just a flat out lie. The policy was changed in the process to get the desired result that was pre-determined . That is what happened here. The policy was changed. The policy was changed because the result was not going to be the result certain people wanted so the rules were changed. He will state again, to change or suspend the rules it needs a two thirds majority. It is in the Council rules. They did not have a two thirds majority so he does not even think it is binding. That went down on a 5-4 vote. He does not think it is a binding vote and feels they should get an opinion from the Law Department. He again pointed out that on a 4- 1 vote the two people the Hiring Committee recommended were Rogeria Medeiros- Kowalczykowski and Susan Barber, almost a unanimous vote. It was said that if changing the process on a 5-4 vote is not correct, the process was adopted on a 5-4 vote. As a point of order, Councilor Sanders said that it was already stated that they were not going to have conversation about the process as it is not on the agenda and he would appreciate it if the President would stick to the original agenda.  19 PAGE FIVE AUGUST 16, 2022 THE COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL AS A WHOLE - CONTINUED The Council President, as Chair will recognize the point of order in this meeting and agree with the point of order that this conversation is not on the agenda so unless anyone has anything else to say about the finalist, the Clerk will call the roll call. ON A ROLL CALL VOTE, THE FINALISTS WERE VOTED ON AS FOLLOWS: COUNCILOR POSTELL- JENNIFER LEGER COUNCILOR QUINTAL-PRESENT COUNCILOR SANDERS-JENNIFER LEGER COUNCILOR CO UTE - PRESENT COUNCILOR POTTIER - JENNIFER LEGER COUNCILOR MCCAUL- PRESENT COUNCILOR BORGES- JENNIFER LEGER COUNCILOR DOONER -JENNIFER LEGER COUNCILOR DUARTE-JENNIFER LEGER JENNIFER LEGER WAS APPOINTED CITY CLERK BY A SIX TO THREE VOTE AND WAS SO VOTED. Councilor Coute then made the following motion: MOTION: TO GET AN OPINION FROM THE LAW DEPARTMENT AS TO WHETHER THE CHANGING OF THE RULES WAS VALID BASED ON NOT HAVING A TWO THIRDS VOTE. Councilor Quintal seconded the motion. ON A ROLL CALL VOTE, COUNCILORS DOONER, MCCAUL, COUTE, QUINTAL AND POSTELL VOTED IN FAVOR, COUNCILORS BORGES, POTTIER, SANDERS AND DUARTE VOTED IN OPPOSITION. MOTION CARRIES. Councilor Dooner said she does not know if it is possible to redo the roll call as she meant to vote Present, she did not want to vote in favor of Jennifer Leger. She made the following motion: MOTION: TO RECONSIDER The motion was seconded by Councilor Mccaul. THE MOTION FOR A RECONSIDERATION WAS VOTED ON A ROLL CALL VOTE WITH COUNCILORS POSTELL, QUINTAL, COUTE, MCCAUL AND DOONER VOTED IN FAVOR. COUNCILORS SANDERS, POTTIER, BORGES AND DUARTE VOTED IN OPPOSITION. MOTION DOES NOT CARRY.  20 PAGE six AUGUST 16, 2022 THE COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL AS A WHOLE - CONTINUED MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:10 P.M. Respectfully submitted, ~~ CITY OF TAUNTON AUG·l s·zozz Colleen M. Ellis IN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL Interim Clerk of Committees REPORTS ACCEPTED. RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED. ON ITEM #2, TO SELECT THE CITY CLERK FROM THE FINALISTS WIIlCH PREVAILED ON A SIX TO THREE VOTE. SIX PEOPLE VOTING FOR JENNIFER LEGER AND THREE VOTING PRESENT. MOTION WAS MADE TO ADOPT THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL AS A WHOLE. ON A ROLL CALL VOTE, NINE (9) COUNCILORS WERE PRESENT, FIVE (5) COUNCILORS WERE IN FAVOR (COUNCILORS DUARTE, BORGES, POTTIER, SANDERS AND POSTELL), FOUR (4) COUNCILORS WERE IN OPPOSITION (COUNCILORS DOONER, MCCAUL, COUTE AND QUINTAL). MOTION PASSED. MOTION WAS MADE TO REFER TO THE LAW DEPARTMENT THE FACT THAT THE PROCESS WAS CHANGED MID-STREAM WITHOUT THE REQUIRED 2/3'S VOTE AS THE WRITTEN COUNCIL RULES REQUIRE. ON A ROLL CALL VOTE, NINE (9) COUNCILORS WERE PRESENT, FIVE (5) COUNCILORS WERE IN FAVOR (COUNCILORS POSTELL, SANDERS, COUTE, MCCAUL AND DOONER), FOUR (4) COUNCILORS WERE IN OPPOSITION (COUNCILORS QUINTAL, POTTIER, BORGES AND DUARTE). MOTION PASSED. TYC ERK/f ~