City Council

City of<faunton :MunicipalCouncil:M.eetina :Minutes City 1fa[[, 15 Summer Street, rtaunton, ~ In tne Cnester ~ :Martin :MunicipalCouncil Cnam6ers :Minutes, January 3, 2023 at 7:02 O'cloc~/P.:M.. ~aufar :M.eetin9 :M.ayor Sli.aunna £. O'Connellpresidina <Prayer was offereti 6y tne :M.ayor }I. moment of sifence was offereti 6y :M.ayor O'Connellfor tne passi.n9 of James (]), CBufftnaton, father of Jason (]), CJ3uffin9ton anti fovin9 hus6anti of 55-years with :M.aureen CBufftnaton. Jfe was a Covina tiatf to Jason anti <Peter. Jfe serveti tliis Country in tne VnitetiStates :Navy for 6-years anti also was a 'Taunton Pire Pfehterfor tne City of 'Taunton for 32-years. James was a fon,atime mem6er of tne 'Taunton Pisli anti game C{u6 anti tlie 'Taunton £odiJe of P.~. Jfe was a 6ase6all coacli at 'Taunton 'West £ittt:e £e49ue anti'Taunton CJ3a6e CJQ.ttli. Jfe also was a fon9time floor hoc{ey coacli at tne CBoys e,'f,<;Jirls C{u6. <Iliis community 6enefiteti trementfous{y from James's Cove of servina this community anti a Cove tli.at ne passeti on to liis sons, Jason anti <Peter. 'Tlieir thoUfJhts antiprayers willremain witli tne famiCy. <Present at roll callwere: Councifors <Postell, Quinta~ Santfers, Coute, <Pottier, :M.cCau~ CJ3or9es, ©uarte anti©ooner Record of preceding meeting was read by title and approved. So voted. Motion was made to go out of the regular order of business to Appointments, full- time Police Officers. So voted. Appointments: Appointment and Swearing in of Three (3) Permanent Full-time Police Officers: 1. Samantha Mulcahey 2. Ruben Cruz 3. Malik Wilkes Motion was made to approve the list as read on a roll call vote. On a roll call vote, nine (9) Councilors were present, nine (9) Councilors voted in favor. So voted. Motion passed. Mayor O'Connell congratulated the three Police Officers. She said they are grateful for their service to the City. They wish them God's blessing as they start their service with our City and much safety. The City Clerk swore in all three Police Officers. Motion was made to take a 5-minute recess. So voted.  2 Motion was made to revert back to the regular order of business. So voted. Opportunity for input by the general public. No one spoke during public input. So voted. Hearings: On the petition submitted by Brianna Correira, Esq., Correira Law Office, LLC., 123 Broadway, Taunton, MA 02780 on behalf of her client Huendel da silva Furlan of Astor Transportation, LLC., 170 Gore Road, Revere, MA 02151 for a Special Permit to allow: A 4,032 sq. ft. Truck Terminal Use in conjunction with the existing 66-vehicle auto sales use located at 397 Winthrop Street in the Highway Business District. Motion was made to open the public hearing and invite the parties into the enclosure. So voted. The City Clerk read the communications. Com. from the City Planner submitting comments and DIRB recommendations. Com. from the Conservation Agent submitting comments. Com. from the City Engineer submitting comments. Motion was made to make communications a part of the record. So voted. Attorney Brianna Correira with an office at 123 Broadway, Taunton, introduced herself. Huendel da silva Furlan of Astor Transportation, LLC., 170 Gore Road, Revere, introduced himself. Jeff Tolman from Northeast Engineers and Consultants, 99 South Main Street, Fall River, introduced himself. Atty. Correira said she was there on behalf of her client who owns the 397 Winthrop Street. There looking for a Special Permit for a truck terminal which has been the designation by the City Planner. As mentioned in their pre-review, the City Planner is designating this use as a truck terminal although they originally had thought this would be services and storage use. They gave a presentation on some background of the site and the company itself. Councilor Pottier asked about picking up and loading cars. Atty. Correira said they typically would be using there F250 with a two-car trailer or the five- car trailer. It usually takes them all day to pick up five-cars. Then, they bring them to the site to load them. Councilor Pottier asked when they bring them to Florida, is there an essential place such as Miami or Daytona, or is it just all over the state. Mr. da silva Furlan said all over the state. He said he does have a couple spaces in Miami where he can keep the trucks. Councilor Pottier asked for a ballpark of what it would cost to bring a car down to Florida. Mr. da silva Furlan said it all depends on the size of the car and time of the year. Average right now for cars going down is between $900-$1200 for each car. From there to here, is around $400-$600 for each car, this is due to the snow birds. Councilor Pottier gave his appreciation for coming in to to be in compliance and do everything the correct way. He feels it's a great use for the property. Councilor Borges thanked them for the presentation. She said she visited the site and feels this would be a great fit. She has no opposition to this. She said a traffic study was mentioned, but she doesn't feel one is even necessary or needed. Councilor Postell feels this will be well used for this piece of property. Councilor Postell asked if there will be any vehicles other than the ones they explained in the presentation that are company owned, such as client vehicles being stored on this property for a period of time. Mr. da silva Furlan said probably for a couple of days on the car trailers before they leave with the load. Councilor Postell asked if there will be any structure that will put protection over these vehicles. Atty. Correira said no. Councilor Postell asked ifthere will be security cameras. Mr. da silva Furlan said yes, these are expensive vehicles. Councilor Postell feels this is a great use and wished him them the best. Councilor Sanders asked if they have the letter from Mr. De Abreu dated November 22nd about agitating the millings annually. Will this be a thing they will be doing there. Atty. Correira said they actually had a conversation  3 with the Planning Board when they were before them in December and the consensus of that Board was to not do that. It's not the best way to handle this for the site. Planning Board member Robert Campbell had mentioned that perhaps doing some type of drainage would be better for the site rather than the agitation which would be going in and mixing up all of the repurposed asphalt. Mr. Tolman said the surface they have here is basically reprocessed asphalt. So when you put that on the site and it's leftover a long period of time, especially in the summer with the heat, it bonds and it becomes asphalt. The agitation would be to basically mix that up so it would be pervious again. As oppose to an impervious layer. When they went to the Planning Board, they weren't really in favor of this because from an environmental perspective, he feels it causes more harm than good even though the runoff can go through it and into the ground. All the agitation and loose pieces runoff into the wetlands which is what you would try to avoid. If they are proposing to keep the surface as is and not do the agitation, they will have to do some type of drainage improvements which they had talked about doing. They think that is a route they are willing to go which would require filing with Conservation. They plan on doing that. They have the room to do it. There is a wooden fence that goes right down the middle of the property that Mr. da silva Furlan is going to replace due to it being in pretty bad shape. In process of doing that, they could put a swell in to handle the runoff that they are talking about, treat it and discharge it into the wetland through the upland area were the storm water runoff goes now, with permission of the Conservation Commission. This will be a safer and cleaner way to treat the runoff coming from this site overtime. Atty. Correira said they did reach out and spoke with Hyde Paving who would be able to accommodate if they did have to do the agitation if they did have to go that route every year. It was the consensus of the Planning Board that they would prefer the other way. Councilor Sanders asked if they were familiar with all of the other conditions that was given to them by the DIRB. Atty. Correira said there is just one condition that the Planning Board had spoken to them about that they would prefer the two entrances remain. She believes the DIRB was trying to close one of the entrances. She doesn't know if there was a misunderstanding of it being closed previously but it's their understanding that both entrances are used and that's what the Planning Board would prefer. Mr. Tolman said at the DIRB meeting, their understanding was that when the State came through and did the work recently, the sidewalks and stuff that they closed off the eastern most entrance to the property, which isn't the case. This entrance is still open. It's able to be used without doing any work within the State highway which would have a moratorium on it. Councilor Sanders said as he is someone who drives a RV, two entrances coming in and going out really seems like a good deal. Mr. Tolman said it's perfect for this type of business. Councilor Sanders said as in terms of the abutters, the condo complex, the barrier that they are going to setup, he assumes the people who live over there are not going to want to look out and see the backend of a bunch of trucks. He said if your leaving about 6, 6:30 a.m., the neighbors might not like trucks running for long periods oftime to get them warmed up and etc. Atty. Correira said she believes they leave at that hour to try to avoid traffic in the morning. She said she's sure they would be amendable at a different time if the Council would prefer. Mr. da silva Furlan said he agrees with Councilor Sanders concern. He said most of the trucks when they are started up, if they have straight pipe, they are much louder. That is not their case. They have quitter vehicles. Councilor Sanders said so they are not going to anticipate his phone to ring with noise complaints about trucks at 5/6 a.m. in the morning. Mr. da silva Furlan said he doesn't like those noisy trucks. Atty. Correira said if that happens she's sure Mr. da silva Furlan would be more than happy to accommodate any hours that would be more  4 amendable. Mr. Tolman said we are probably talking about this happening once a week, not every day. Councilor Sanders inquired about their comment stating "they didn't know that the permit was required". He asked if this has been a business that they have already been doing for a while. Atty. Correira said yes, for a few months. They were in communications with the City Planner, the Building Department and the Engineer working on the site. There's not a particular use that really is specific to this. There isn't a transportation use in our Ordinance. So it took some time to speak with the City Planner to find the right designation in his eyes. Councilor Sanders asked if there was going to be anything different about this, they would have already been seeing it over the past couple months. Atty. Correira said absolutely. Councilor McCaul said thank you for investing in our community. He asked Mr. da silva Furlan why he decided to invest in Taunton after being in Revere. Mr. da silva Furlan said location and to avoid all the traffic going through Boston. He said it's not fun driving over there with the large trucks. Motion was made to open public input. So voted. Nobody was present to speak. Motion was made to close public input and grant the petition. So voted. Communications from the Mavor: Mayor O'Connell said as a reminder, Christmas tree pickup is the week of January 9th, on your regular trash day. They are thrilled to welcome Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll here to Taunton today. They will be sworn in on Thursday. They went to the Boys & Girls Club and a lot of Councilors and community members were there. It was very nice to have them visit and show their commitment to Taunton and communities across the Commonwealth. They look forward to working with this administration and having a great collaborative working relationship. She is very fortunate to know Governor Driscoll from the Mass Mayor's Association. It's very nice to have a former Mayor as our Lieutenant Governor. They wish them much success. Appointments: • Election of Municipal Council President Councilor Duarte said as the outgoing Council President, after having spoken with both Councilor Dooner and Councilor Quintal who are both up, Councilor Quintal has agreed to defer. He has the distinct honor to put forward Kelly Dooner for nomination as Council President. Motion was made to nominate Kelly Dooner as Council President on a roll call vote. On a roll call vote, nine (9) Councilors were present, nine (9) Councilors voted in favor. So voted. Motion passed. Councilor Dooner thanked outgoing Councilor President Phillip Duarte for leading them with great dignity and leadership this past year. Anytime he was faced with the challenge he handled it with grace. She appreciates that. She also thanked the Council for electing her, she looks forward to this upcoming year and working with all of them and the current Administration as far as working collectively to address some long standing issues and to just keep moving our City forward. One goal and something she knows they are all looking forward to, is the Public Safety Complex. She looks forward to bringing this forward in the next few weeks along with Councilor Postell. She's really excited for this next upcoming year! • Election of Various City Officials The City Clerk read the list for a three-year term expiring January 2026: Board of Assessors Lisa M. Labelle City Auditor Ian Fortes Board of Health Dr. Bruce Bodner  5 Trustees of the Library William F. Hanna, III Edgar Gay, III Audrey Reese Kevin Downing Patricia Morris Motion was made to approve the list as read on a roll call vote. On a roll call vote, nine (9) Councilors were present, nine (9) Councilors voted in favor. So voted. Motion passed. Communications from City Officers: Com. from the Chairman of the Taunton Planning Board notifying of a meeting and public hearing for a Special Permit for the property at 220 Segreganset Road for the renewal of an Accessory Dwelling Unit, submitted by Wade Reyes, 220 Segreganset Road, Taunton. The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Thursday, February 2, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. at 15 Summer Street, Taunton. Motion was made to receive and place on file. So voted. Com. from Mayor O'Connell updating the Council on matters pertaining to Lake Sabbatia. In 2021 her office began coordinating efforts with multiple stakeholders to devise and implement a treatment plan that addressed the longstanding issue to invasive species and improves the health of the lake. A core group, consisting of Lake Sabbatia residents Pegi Conte, Craig DeMoura, and Lisa Potter, Conservation Commissioner Steven Turner, Conservation Agent Michele Restino, Dept. of Fisheries Doug Cameron, Councilor John McCaul, and Chief of Staff Ligia Madeira have met frequently throughout the treatment season and continue to meet on a monthly basis with additional input from Police, DPW, and Finance regarding usage of the boat ramp, parking lot and other issues. She also listed out summaries regarding treatment, parking lot improvements, law enforcement issues and funding. Motion was made to receive and place on file. So voted. Councilor Pottier expressed his appreciation to all who was involved, everyone who is mentioned in the letter and all who has helped to restore this jewel in the City. Mayor O'Connell said this certainly has been a collaborative effort and community led, which is nice to see. Councilor Sanders asked under law enforcement issues, Mayor 0' Connell noted that washing of boats at the Lake is not illegal. He remembers when he was Chair of Environmental Affairs, having a conversation with folks from the Conservation Commission that this is a significant problem. Washing of boats at the Lake brings invasive species into the Lake. He wonders if this would be helpful to refer this item to the Committee on Ordinances and Enrolled Bills for the possibility of an Ordinance making it illegal to wash boats at the Lake. Motion was made to refer washing of boats at the Lake to the Committee on Ordinances and Enrolled Bills and the Law Department for their advice. So voted. Councilor Dooner thanked everyone for their collective effort on this and she knows the parking lot improvements is phenomenal due to this being an ongoing issue for many years. Councilor McCaul thanked Mayor O'Connell for her help. He said things are really improving. The first year of treatment they have seen a lot of changes on the Lake but there is a lot more work that needs to get done. Com. from the Chief Financial Officer requesting to present an update to the Committee on Finance and Salaries and residents on January 10, 2023 regarding the investment and revenue performance of the City over the past nine months. Motion was to refer to the Committee on Finance and Salaries. So voted.  6 Communications from Citizens: NONE Petitions: Class II License RENEWAL 1. Leo's Auto Sales and Service located at 350 1/2R Winthrop St., Taunton. Motion was made to refer to the Committee on Police and License to be scheduled next week and the Police Chief. So voted. 2. Amaro's Family Auto Sales located at 503 Middleboro Ave., Taunton. The City Clerk read the communication (page #5) that was submitted by the City Planner submitting comments. Motion was made to refer to the Committee on Police and License to be scheduled next week, the Police Chief and make the communication a part of the record. So voted. Marijuana Application - RENEWAL Application submitted by Attorney William Rounds, on behalf of his client LMCC, LLC for the RENEWAL of their Marijuana Retail license to be located at 83 County Street, Taunton. Motion was made to refer to the Committee on Police and License to be scheduled next week and the Police Chief. So voted. Committee Reports: Motion was made for Committee reports to be read by title and approved. So Voted. Recommendations adopted to reflect the votes as recorded in committee reports, noting that Councilor Duarte did not take part of the Committee of the Whole discussion. So Voted. Unfinished Business: Mayor O'Connell took a moment to thank Councilor Duarte for his past year as serving as the Council President. She said it's really been a pleasure to work with him. She really appreciated his willingness to listen and consider facts, his thoughtful and consideration of issues and decision making and collaborating with them on a lot of different issues and initiatives. Thank you for this past year. Councilor Duarte thanked Mayor O'Connell and all of his colleagues for their collegiality and working together. While we might not always agree, we can always disagree without being disagreeable. He looks forward to continue serving with all of them. Orders, Ordinances and Resolutions: NONE New Business: Councilor Postell motioned to refer to the Parking Commission and DPW on the issues with litter and usage of the Trescott Street Parking Lot, including the plowing of snow and possible illegal dumping of snow as it impacts general and handicap parking. Councilor Postell asked for this motion to also be passed to the Committee on Public Property for a discussion. So voted. Meeting adjourned at 7:55 P.M.  7 A true copy: Attest: JLL/KLD  8 City of Taunton Municipal Council January 3, 2023 2023 JM-t -5 A 8: ltg The Committee on Finance and Salaries r:~ ~ Y CLEi\1\ ~--- The meeting was held at Taunton City Hall, 15 Summer Street, Taunton, MA 02780 in the Chester R. Martin Municipal Council Chambers. Present were Councilor Phillip Duarte, Chairman and Councilors Pottier and McCaul. The meeting was called to order at 5:40 PM. 1. Meet to review the weekly vouchers and payrolls for City departments. MOTION: Approve the payroll warrant in the amount of $1,494, 715. 78. So voted. MOTION: Approve the accounts payable warrant in the amount of $2,215, 853. 74. So voted. The meeting adjourned at 5:41 PM. Respectfully submitted, CITY OF TAUNTON · )'/1. /I ~1 1 / . . JAN. 0 3)023 ! f' VA..-(j?Jz..-e- 1 . [ · - L-/L_C~.z_- / . \ ·.. Maggie E. Clarke IN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL Clerk of Council Committees ORTS ACCEPTED. RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED. YCL RK ~  9 City of Taunton Municipal Council January 3, 2023 zcr:J JAN -s A a: tis The Committee on Police and License The meeting was held at Taunton City Hall, 15 Summer Street, Taunton, MA 02780 in the Chester R. Martin Municipal Council Chambers. Present were Councilor Jeffrey Postell, Chairman and Councilors Sanders and Borges. Also present were Detective William Rutherford and Attorney Nick Adamopoulos. The meeting was called to order at 5 :44 PM. 1. Meet with Detective Rutherford to discuss the application for the renewal of a marijuana retailer license for Tree Market Taunton, LLC at 9 Cape Road. Detective Rutherford explained that Tree Market's license had expired in June and, at that time, the Council had given a 6 month extension. He reported that construction was almost complete and that they are in the final stages of receiving all of the necessary licensure from the state. Attorney Adamopoulos gave an update on the facility and reported that construction was complete. They had received a temporary certificate of occupancy at the end of November with just the handicapped ramp incline to be fixed. They also secured a bond to cover required landscaping items that will be completed in the spring. He provided photos of the facility and is looking for an extension to June. MOTION: Make the photos part of the record So voted. Councilor Postell asked about work to the rear of the site and Attorney Adamopoulos indicated that the rear landscaping and berm were the reasons for the bond and that it would be completed prior to June I. Mr. Postell asked about the branding change on the building and Mr. Adamopoulos explained that they had received a dba to be in line with their other facilities. Councilor Postell further asked about security and Detective Rutherford indicated that the state would be doing the fmal inspection during their walk through. He informed the Council that a manager would be named and approved prior to opening. Councilor Borges praised the company for the progtess that has been made and expressed her interested in a site tour. Councilor Sanders expressed his thought that extending to June makes sense. MOTION: Approve the renewal until June 30, 2023. So voted. The meeting adjourned at 5:55 PM. The Committee on Police andLicense 113/23 Pagel of2  10 CITY OF TAUNTON JAN 0 3. 2023 Respectfully submitted, IN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL //}} /j 1 7 - - I ll{_ ~>(_,°"'AJ(__.- ct), . .,/__1 . .,//IA _ v\. .,,t.._ -'<-r1 .. (., __) (_J Maggie E. Clarke Clerk of Council Committees REPORTS ACCEPTED. RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED. ~ The Committee on Police andLicense 113/23 Page2of2  11 .~;~r-:.;:-=G City of Taunton · ·•· ; ::-r:cE Municipal Council 'i':?") January 3, 2023 .... _Ir._._,.; JAN -5 A 8: 48 The Committee of the Council as a Whole . ~c-- -- --·-~ t:',-: l l "f c-~t.:·ti_~y-, '~ t:;-l.l l'.I· The meeting was held at Taunton City Hall, 15 Summer Street, Taunton, MA 02780 in the Chester R. Martin Municipal Council Chambers. Present were Councilor Phillip Duarte, Chairman, and Councilors Dooner, Borges, McCaul, Pottier, Coute, Sanders, Quintal, and Postell. Also present were Attorney William Rounds and Kyra Fernandez of HTC Trinity. The meeting was called to order at 5:59 PM. 1. Meet to discuss the request for renewal of a Host Community Agreement for HTC Trinity, LLC at 354 Winthrop Street, a marijuana retailer establishment. Councilor Duarte read a letter from Attorney Rounds requesting the extension on behalf of HTC Trinity and explained that there was originally consideration given to renegotiating at this time in light of new laws. Councilor Coute asked for an update on construction and Ms. Fernandez reported that the building is now weather tight so they will be working on the interior through the winter. Windows that were ordered last March should be delivered next week. Mr. Coute asked when construction should be completed and Ms. Fernandez expressed her hope that they will finish in the spring as they are working as diligently as possible and making progress. Councilor Coute expressed his support for granting a 6 month extension. Councilor Pottier expressed his support for an extension and asked Ms. Fernandez if she has supplies locked in. She indicated that she has been networking with different people and will have product. Councilor Borges asked Ms. Fernandez for her feelings on a 6 month extension and Ms. Fernandez indicated that it makes sense to tie the date to the license expiration which is June. MOTION· Extend the HCA until June based on the date on the license. So voted. The Councilors gave their thanks to outgoing President Phillip Duarte. Councilor Duarte recused himself from the meeting. 2. Meet in executive session to discuss the pending litigation of Greater Goods, LLC vs. City of Taunton Municipal Council. The Committee of the Council as a Whole January 3, 2023 Page 1 o/2  12 With Councilor Duarte recused, Councilor Pottier became the acting chairman. MOTION: Enter into executive session. On a roll call, the Council voted 8-0 to enter into executive session. So voted. MOTION: Come out of executive session. On a roll call, the Council voted 8-0 to come out of executive session. So voted. Councilor Pottier reported that two votes were taken in executive session as well as a vote to come out of executive session The meeting adjourned at 6:48 PM. CITY OF TAUNTON Respectfully submitted, JAN 0 3,2023 /"1' . C) ,r''/ :. ·.. /)i\_f.LQ,,-~v'-- ( - ( -( (,t,_.l__/L-L... ()(j ,__ ·-·· IN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL Maggie E. Clarke Clerk of Council Committees REPORTS ACCEPTED. RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED. COUNCILOR DUARTE DID NOT TAKE PART OF THE DISCUSSION. ~ The Committee of the Council as a Whole January 3, 2023 Page2 of2