City Council

City of'Taunton 9'.unicipa{Councii9'.eetitl{J !Minutes City Jfa{{, 15 Summer Street, 'Taunton, ~ In tfi.e Cliester ~ 9'.artin 9'.unicipa{Councii Cli.am6ers - 9'.inutes, Octo6er 10, 2023 at 7:03 0 cfoc"/P.9'.. 1 ~tfee offlfkgiance <Jl.lguia:r 9'.eeting 9'.ayor Sliaunna £. O'Connellpresiding 9'.ayor O'Connellsaitf tliis past wu{entf Israe{ suJ:fmtfa tfevastating attac{maijng it one of tlie tfar(est tfays in tlieir 75-year li.istory. flt tli.is point wer one-tli.ousantl lives liaw 6een Cost inc{w{ing a6out efeven flmericans. fl moment of silence was lie/if in memory oftlie lives Cost in tliis lieart wrencli.ing trageily anti tli.ey prayetfor an entf. (Jlresent at rollcalfwere: Councifors a'oste!I, ~intal, Sanli'ers, Cout:e, a'ottier, 9'.cCaut; <Borges, (})uarte anti<Dooner Record of preceding meeting was read by title and approved. So Voted. Opportunity for input by the general public. Mark Landolfi, lives at 99 Codding Drive and owns 84 Winter Street, spoke about the City of Taunton to install a set of traffic lights at the intersection of Winter Street and School Street. He recently inquired from Safety Officer Chaves records of accidents at this intersection. Police reported eighty-three accidents from 2018 to present day. Just from August 17th to October 7th, there has been seven accidents that have taken place and reported. Not to include the minor accidents that weren't reported. This should be a raise for concern. The volume and traffic on Winter Street makes it difficult for the traffic on School Street to tum onto Winter Street. Recently on September 14th, 2023, two vehicles crashed into his property at 84 Winter Street and just missed his house and caused total destruction to his 100-foot fence. He has tenants with children who recently said to him they are leaving if there is no changes at this intersection. Parents are afraid for the children to play outside in the yard. He continued to explain his frustrations. He has also talked to many of his neighbors and they are very concerned. He has many signatures petitioning for the new traffic signal. He's asking for help to create a safer environment for everyone in the community. He provided the signed petition by the residents to the City Council. Mayor O'Connell said she sees many people signed-up for the same reason. They definitely want to hear from them. She just wants to say very broadly that they have taken some mitigation steps and they are in the process of taking more and they will be giving an update to the Council on the agenda next week.  2 Brian Ratcliffe, 4 Dale Street, spoke about clearing his name and reputation against false accusations made against him by Sgt. Kevin Medas of the Taunton Police Department. On August 3, 2022 he was awarded the position of Traffic Control Officer with the City of the Taunton for the Police Department. Three months later on November 1, 2022 he received a letter from the City of Taunton and the HR Department saying that they no longer required his services as a Traffic Control Officer with the Taunton Police Department. His reaction to this letter is the same as it was a year ago, "what the hell is this all about". This must be a mistake. He gave some background on the alleged incident that occurred on October 2, 2022 where he was working a detail. On August 19, 2022 around noon time there was a car erratically driving through his work zone. When he approached the vehicle he saw a child choking and the driver was seeking medical attention. He began tapping the child on the back until the object became dislodged. He then accompanied the child and parent to Morton Hospital where he was picked up by Sgt. Medas and returned to his work site. He continued to work through October 27, 2022 without incident, no comments, reprimands or warnings. He received the letter from Human Resources on November 1, 2022. After speaking with Sgt. Medas, he was told he saw him flip off an Amazon driver on October 2nd detail. He continued to explain his frustrations and his uncertainties of why he was no longer needed. Nancy Ratcliffe, 4 Dale Street, who is Brian Ratcliffe's wife, spoke about three things which included a few highlights from Mr. Ratcliffe's speech, her wanting to serve as his character witness and also to express their deep disappointment in the City of Taunton over this incident. Ann-Marie McCabe, 84 Winter Street, said she and her 15-year old daughter moved into the first floor apartment at 84 Winter Street in May of 2021. The very first month they were there they saw at least two accidents. People are constantly blowing through the blinking red light and t-boning people who are coming through with the blinking yellow light. It had gotten to a point where every time they heard a thud, they thought it was another accident. She also felt that 911 was going to be familiar with her telephone number because she was constantly dialing 911 every time an accident occurred. There are three things that really pushed her to do this. Her daughter gets picked up by the school van right in front of their home, the second day of school that van was hit. The next thing is that when she came home from work one morning, she saw both sides of the fence completely mowed down. The final blow, was the past Saturday when she heard loud screeching tires and a very loud boom. She opened her front door to see a car with its back-end against the stone wall of her next door neighbor's property. The engine was on fire, a neighbor was running across the street with a fire extinguisher while someone else got the woman and her three-year old child out of the car. She had broken the telephone pole right in half and the pole was on fire as well. Her explanation of her frustrations continued. She really hopes that something gets done. Oldair Miranda, 219 School Street, said they just recently opened a business on School Street. He was there for nine-months doing renovations and during those none-months there were plenty of accidents. He put a sign up but was told by a Commissioner to take the sign down because it was blinding. He had a discussion with the Commissioner telling him about the accidents. He was told these accidents are being studied, research is being done. It has been seven-years. He asked how much more research do we need to do. The stop signs are not working. The blinking lights are not working. The bakery has  3 already gotten hit. They have kids waiting for school buses over there all the time, mornings and afternoons. They have kids riding bicycles on sidewalks all day, all the time. The last accident they had, he would consider being a major accident. If you think about it, that pole could have been a child. He continued to explain his frustrations. He said let's not wait for a fatality for us to do something. Hearing: NONE Communications from the Mayor: Mayor O'Connell said they have a special presentation. She invited Maria Gonzalez and anyone who wanted to join her at the podium to celebrate Ms. Gonzalez. Mayor O'Connell said they are thrilled to have her and her family here to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. They are honored to celebrate Maria Gonzalez this evening on being selected by Amplify Latinx as one of the Inaugural 100 Honorees. She was also one of only a handful of small businesses recognized by Amplify Latinx and the only business (a woman owned business) in the Southeastern Massachusetts area. Ms. Gonzalez is the founder and Principal Manager of M&A Supplier Diversity Consultants. Her company offers an array of services to widen diversity, to educate and to connect businesses. This is really an extraordinary recognition on a statewide level for Ms. Gonzalez and her family. Mayor O'Connell said they are so proud and proud that she is a Tauntonian. We are blessed Ms. Gonzalez is a part of our community and here in Taunton. Ms. Gonzalez is recognized as a leader and an advocate on many levels. She is on the Bristol County Commission Status of Women supporting women, Board of Directors at the Chamber supporting businesses, a part of our Professional Women's group and many other things. It is women like Ms. Gonzalez who really bring our community together who celebrate diversity and who offer meaningful support to women and really make a difference in this community as a role model and to inspire others. She thanked Ms. Gonzalez and gave her a citation in honor of her Inaugural 100 Honoree recognition and all she does right here in the City of Taunton. Ms. Gonzalez' grandson Isiah Tabitas said congratulations to his Merna for winning her award and he loves her very much. Ms. Gonzalez gave her thanks to everyone including her friends, colleagues and her family. She explained how she is honored and touched that a group of friends, women in business, pulled their resources together to nominate her and she will forever be grateful. She was tickled pink that she was the only one from the South of Massachusetts and the only one from Taunton who received this award. She is going to keep doing what she has been doing for the community and anyone who needs help or advice, you know where to find her. Mayor 0' Connell said they have a presentation regarding drug endangered children. She invited their guests April Funches, Steve Turner and Patrick Dello Russo into the enclosure. Mayor O'Connell gave a few words. Mr. Turner talked briefly about Ms. Funches who he has known since she was in high school. He said she really stepped up even as a sixteen/seventeen year old young women. She really did a lot with their substance abuse round table, suicide prevention or anything they needed from the Police Department to the community, Ms. Funches was really the one they always went to. He has had the great luxury to become good friends with Ms. Funches as she has become a very impressive woman in his eyes. He explained how he and Ms. Funches went to Kansas City for a conference. Ms. Funches said thank you to the Mayor 0' Connell for being able to sponsor this opportunity for them. The Drug Endangered Children's  4 Alliance when they started, was something they all felt very passionate about being that it's a sub-committee of the Taunton Opiate and Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force. Often times the people that are forgotten are the children. When it comes to substance abuse and addiction they talk about getting people into treatments, into recovery and occasionally they talk about the families, but often times, the family that are supporting those in recovery and taking care of their children, are the ones that are forgotten. That's why they really got into some ofthis work. This all started with the Children's Advocacy Center hosting a training some time ago. The alliance is a sub-committee of the Taunton Opiate Task Force. The National DEC Alliance is kind of who has been driving all this type of information their way. In 2018 they attended a training in Dartmouth and it was folks from all different walks of life in regards to their professional fields whether it was police officers, service providers, different types of social organizations, the courts, the DA's office, they were all at this training together. They did break them off into cohorts which in Taunton, are Mr. Turner and Ms. Funches. They started this alliance to really get on the same page for when these traumatic incidents happen within our City, that the children are not forgotten. They gave some more details on how this alliance was formed. They gave the definition of what Drug Endangered Children (DEC) is and the concept of it. They went into some details on what "Handle With Care" meant and how they handle these types of situations. They listed a few of the topics in the workshops they attended. They shared a few stories on their gains they received from these workshops. They shared the DEC approach which is a compressive strategy that focus on the formation of community-based partnerships that engage professionals from multiple disciplines in developing a collaborative response to rescue, defend, shelter and support children living in drug environments. The common elements of change include some of the following: recognition of an unacceptable situation, shared vison for a desired outcome, strong leadership, guided activities of many and persistence. The overall goal is to re-activate Taunton DEC Alliance, conduct awareness seminars for multiple sectors in the community and establish a DEC Fund to provide resources for kids in need. They thanked the Mayor and Patrick for their excitement. Mayor 0' Connell thanked them for their leadership on this. They are forming this alliance, getting it back together, having those collaborations, doing the education and all the things they have talked about. These are all the things that are very serious issues that they have to address and they are certainly willing to support however they need to make these things happen. Councilor Pottier said he really appreciates the Administration for bringing this to the Council's attention. He said he will be the first to admit that he lives in a bubble just like everyone else. He goes to work, he goes home and gets away from things and probably refuses to believe things like this can happen in our own community but to think they don't, we are fooling ourselves. They spoke about "Handle With Care" and how it's not just for drug endangered children but for all children in many number of different circumstance were their day could be altered. Councilor Postell said this is a very important topic for their community, our youth and our families. He said it certainly resonates with him. He has been a huge advocate for the past six-years of drug education in our schools. He feels these programs are extremely important. He also has been a big advocate of the D.A.R.E. program and this really kind of takes the D.A.R.E. program and encompasses a lot more. He continued to explain his support. Councilor Dooner gave her thanks to the team. She wasn't aware of the "Handle With Care" program. She thinks this is awesome because you never really know what's going in a home or what a child has gone through. She also thanked the team for touching upon the child trafficking topic and what could come of this. She believes it's a topic that isn't talked about enough. Councilor Borges echoed  5 what the other Councilor's said. She said she doesn't know where they find the time to be so involved as much as these two are in the community but she thanks them for everything that they do. She feels this is a great program. Councilor Coute thanked Steve and April. This is a very important topic and a great presentation. They can definitely depend on his help and support personally. He would love to be involved in this project. He asked in regards to funding, will they have an avenue for donations and that type of funding. Mr. Dello Russo said they can certainly setup a donation account. Councilor McCaul gave his thanks to the team. He expressed how people don't think your community has issues like these until you hear how close it is and how he could see it filtering down to our community. Councilor Sanders thanked the team for their presentation and they certainly will have his full support. Mayor O'Connell thanked the team for working with them to re-activate the alliance and they will keep moving forward with this and build it stronger with their help. Mayor O'Connell said they have another presentation for the Sign and Fa9ade Program. She invited Patrick Dello Russo, Jay Pateakos and Jim Howland into the enclosure. Mr. Pateakos said they prepared drone footage of all the signs that have been funded and when they tried to do a dry run, the drone footage didn't work. They thanked John Pierson from the Police Department for doing the drone footage. They will send the Councilor's the PowerPoint presentation so they can see it. Mr. Pateakos gave some history and how the Sign and Fa9ade Program works which was started about roughly two-years ago. Mayor O'Connell was looking to revitalize the downtown area and approve the aesthetics of a lot of the businesses. How it works is that its $40,000.00 maximum is allowed, up to 75% of the cost of a sign and fa9ade. He gave some surrounding area maximum amounts that didn't compare to the number that Taunton has. These funds come from the ARPA Funds. Mayor 0' Connell now has expanded this program to the Whittenton and Weir areas as well. They showed some examples from all three of these areas. Mayor O'Connell offered a few words and gave her thanks. Councilor Borges thanked the team for all the work they have done. Mayor O'Connell said the Liberty and Union Festival is next Saturday, October 21, 2023 at the Old Colony History Museum. They will be hosting the Annual Taunton Liberty & Union Festival from 11 :00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Church Green. There is a lot of activities such as live music, local food trucks, beer gardens, local brewery's, walking tours downtown, Mayor O'Connell doing a tour of City Hall, reenactment's and of course the ever special Liberty & Union Raising of the Flag ceremony. She hopes the community will come out and join them. Appointments: Appointment of Kerrie Mullen, 106 Crane Avenue South, Taunton to serve on the Taunton Cultural Council for a term of three (3) years expiring October 2026. Motion was made to move approval. So voted. Appointment of Peter Hoye, 7 Vinson Street, Taunton to serve on the Taunton Cultural Council for a term of three (3) years expiring October 2026. Motion was made to move approval. So voted.  6 Reappointment of Daniel Rapoza, 42 Davis Street, Taunton to serve on the Cable Television Advisory Commission for a term of five (5) years expiring July 2028. Motion was made to move approval. So voted. Reappointment of Lewis Pacheco, 7 Saints Way, Berkley to serve on the Parking Commission for a term of three (3) years expiring February 2026. Motion was made to move approval. So voted. Reappointment of James Moran, 83 Oak Street, Taunton to serve on the Parks, Cemeteries and Public Grounds Commission for a term of five (5) years expiring October 2027. Motion was made to move approval. So voted. Reappointment of Brian Friary, 790 Norton Avenue, Taunton to serve on the Parks, Cemeteries and Public Grounds Commission for a term of five (5) years expiring October 2028. Motion was made to move approval. So voted. Communications from City Officers: Com. from the Chief Financial Officer requesting to meet with the Committee on Finance and Salaries to propose the establishment of a new stabilization account labeled Opioid Settlement Stabilization Account. The verbiage for the proposed Order was listed. Motion was made to refer to the Committee on Finance and Salaries. So voted. Com. from the Chief Financial Officer requesting to meet with the Committee on Finance and Salaries on October 17, 2023 to present the traditional quarterly report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 as well as provide a progress report on capital items approved in the Capital Improvement Plan. Motion was made to move approval. So voted. Com. from the Taunton Planning Board, Chairman stating that the Taunton Planning Board is in receipt of a Site Plan Review for property at 36 Allison Avenue for the construction of a 17,250 sq. ft. machine shop replacing the existing solar array to the rear of 36 Allison Avenue, submitted by Jeff Burek, DW Clark/Burek LLC. The next scheduled meeting for this petition will be on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at 8:45 a.m. in the Taunton Planning Board Office at 141 Oak Street at which time the application shall be reviewed by the DIRB and again on Thursday, November 2, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 15 Summer Street at which this petition will be reviewed by the Planning Board. Motion was made to receive and place on file. So Voted. Com. from Mayor 0' Connell regarding an amendment of designation. Due to the vacancy left by the departure of Attorney Peter Winters from the Law Department, Mayor O'Connell is amending Attorney Lisa Bond's designation to be First Assistant City Solicitor. Attorney Bond's initial term will remain through December 31, 2023, as required by ordinance. Motion was made to receive and place on file and move approval. So voted. Communications from Citizens: Com. from Laurel Hughes, 16 King Street, Taunton requesting for the Taunton Diversity Network (TDN) to be publicly recognized at the upcoming City Council meeting. TDN members were invited to attend the ACLU' s Bill of Rights dinner at the Omni Seaport in Boston on September 22, 2023. April Funches-President, Kara Civale-Vice President,  7 Kyra Fernandez-Treasurer, Jessica Daye-Historian, CJ Daye-Founding Member and Lindsay Hoy-Programming Chair were in attendance at the dinner and were highlighted during the recognition ceremony. These members proudly represented Taunton citizens by their groundbreaking accomplishments. Motion was made to refer the Mayor's office. So voted. Com. from Blake Mensing, The Mensing Group, LLC, 100 State Street, 9th Floor, Boston, MA on behalf of his Client Medicine Man Solutions, LLC requesting to renew, extend, and amend their Host Community Agreement with the City of Taunton. Medicine Man Solutions LLC holds a Host Community Agreement effective as of January 3, 2023. They are in the process of pursuing a Special Permit for a new location and would like the Host Community Agreement extension to include an updated reference to the new address of 446 Winthrop Street, Taunton, MA 02780. They are requesting a one-year extension to allow sufficient time for the interior buildout and the Cannabis Control Commission's licensing and inspection process to occur. Motion was made to refer to the Committee of the Council as a Whole. So voted. Petitions: Special Permit Petition submitted by Edmund J. Brennan, Jr., Esq., Brennan, Recupero, Cascione, Scungio, McAllister LLP, 174 Dean Street, Unit B, Taunton, MA 02780 for a Special Permit to allow a 28-unit multifamily development at 10-18 Porter Street, Taunton, MA 02780 located in the Urban Residential District. Motion was made to refer to the City Clerk's office to schedule a Public Hearing. So voted. Pole Location Joint Petition submitted by TMLP and Verizon New England, Inc. proposing to place one new joint stub pole location; Pole 124S on Bay Street, Taunton. Motion was made to refer to the City Clerk's office to schedule a Public Hearing. So voted. Personal Kennel License - NEW Petition submitted by Annisa Reed, 72 Whitehill Street, Taunton for a NEW Grade 2 (7-12 Dogs) Personal Kennel License/NOT Business Use to be located at 72 Whitehill Street, Taunton. Motion was made to refer to the City Clerk's office to schedule a Public Hearing. 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. So Voted. Unfinished Business: Councilor Pottier made a motion to refer the intersection of Burt Street and Winthrop Street to the Safety Officer, State Transportation and also send a letter to their delegation as he is sure they can probably help the State look at this intersection. So voted. There was another serious accident there yesterday where someone under the influence struck a Berkley Police Officer who was in pursuit.  8 Orders, Ordinances and Resolutions: Order to be accepted on a roll call vote Ordered That, The City of Taunton shall establish a Helping Hand Program Fund to be administered by The City of Taunton Human Services Division in collaboration with the Mayor's Office whereas allowable expenditures shall be as follows: • City Taxes • City Utilities • Defray Cost of Home Wellness Program • Defray Cost of Contracted Services to administer the program and efforts related there to It is further ordered that funding must be approved by the finance department and follow internal controls in order for the disbursement of funds. Motion was made to accept on a roll call vote. On a roll call vote, nine (9) Councilors were present, nine (9) Councilors voted in favor. So voted. Order to be accepted on a roll call vote Ordered That, That the City of Taunton shall establish a Special Revenue or Gift Account in accordance with M.G.L. c. 44, §53A which shall be a separate interest-bearing account established by the Treasurer. The Library Director or Designee is hereby authorized to accept monetary donations for purposes of the account and such donations shall be deposited into said account. The account will be assigned its own general ledger number from the City Auditor. These funds will not be general fund receipts and the specific use of said funds will be as followed: • Purchases of materials for the Library • Library programming • Special projects of the Library Motion was made to accept on a roll call vote. On a roll call vote, nine (9) Councilors were present, nine (9) Councilors voted in favor. So voted. Order for a third reading to be ordained on a roll call vote AN ORDINANCE REPEALING THE ORDINANCE REGARDING PHYSICAL EXAMINATION Chapter 105, §105-2 Physical Examinations  9 Be it ordained by the Municipal Council of the City of Taunton and by authority of the same as follows: SECTION 1. Chapter 105, §105-2 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Taunton, as amended, is hereby repealed. SECTION 2. All ordinances or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon passage. Motion was made to ordain on a roll call vote. On a roll call vote, nine (9) Councilors were present, nine (9) Councilors voted in favor. So voted New Business: Councilor Borges requested to discuss the area of 68 Wales Street as a communication from a constituent was received regarding flooding. Motion was made to refer to the Council of the Whole and invite the City Engineer. So voted. On discussion, Councilor Borges asked the maker of the motion to refer this to the DPW Committee. Motion was amended to refer to the Committee of the Department of Public Works and invite the City Engineer. So voted. Councilor Borges requested to refer a discussion of the orange trash bags to the Committee on Solid Waste as the vendors seem to be out of the trash bags. So moved. Councilor Borges requested to refer to the City Treasurer's Office a request to provide the Council a report with the balance owed from all of the vendors that are stocking our orange trash bags. So moved. On discussion, Councilor Borges said she had met with the CFO this evening regarding this topic and she thinks that she has received her answers and this motion is unneeded. Motion was made to withdraw the motion. So voted. Councilor Pottier requested a motion to change the date and time of the Municipal Council Meeting scheduled for November 7, 2023. Councilor Pottier said the thought on this is due to Election Day. Typically they have done this on Monday morning at 7:30 a.m. Motion was made to schedule the Municipal Council Meeting for November 6, 2023 at 7:30 a.m. So voted. Councilor Pottier requested to refer to the Safety Officer the area of Whittenton Street and Washington Street for traffic crash collision report as well as measures to increase safety. So moved. Councilor Pottier requested to refer to the Safety Officer the intersection of Liberty Street, Middleboro Avenue and Old Colony Avenue. So moved. Councilor McCaul requested to refer to the Tree Warden to look at the roots of a City tree that is intruding a sewer line in front of 71 West Water Street causing a backup of water in the basement of the businesses in this building. So moved. On discussion, Councilor Pottier suggested to also include the Committee on the Department of Public Works. Motion was amended to also include the Committee on the Department of Public Works. So voted.  10 Information only, Councilor Borges said as a community update, next week on Saturday, October 14th, Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical High School is having their open house from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. She hopes many people attend. List of Documents and Other Exhibits: • Agenda • Petition submitted by Mark Landolfi and Residents Regarding Intersection of Winter Street and School Street • National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children Information Packet • PowerPoint Presentation-National DEC Alliance • OECD's Sign and Fa9ade Program Completed Projects Meeting adjourned at 8:33 P.M. A true copy: Attest: JLL/KLD  11 RECC::lVED City of Taunton CITY CLERK'S OFFICE Municipal Council October I 0, 2023 2023 OCT I 2 A 11: ll I TAUNTON. HA The Committee on Finance and Salaries ..... ______ Cl TY Cl.ERK The meeting was held at Taunton City Hall, 15 Summer Street, Taunton, MA 02780 in the Chester R. Martin Municipal Council Chambers. Members Present: Councilor Phillip Duarte, Chairman Councilor David Pottier Councilor John Mc Caul Also Present: Patrick Della Russo, CFO Christine Clymens, Treasurer/Collector Ian Fortes, City Auditor Jay Pateakos, Director OECD Andrew Sukeforth, Director of Procurement The meeting was called to order at 6:06 PM. 1. Approval of minutes from October 3, 2023. Motion by Mr. Pottier and seconded by Mr. Duarte to approve the minutes. So voted. 2. Meet to review the weekly vouchers and payroll for City departments. Motion by Mr. Pottier and seconded by Mr. Duarte to approve the payroll warrant in the amount of $1,552,596.66. So voted. Motion by Mr. Pottier and seconded by Mr. Duarte to approve the accounts payable warrant in the amount of $2,521,441.22. So voted. 3. Meet with the Finance Department to discuss the submission to the Government Finance Officers Association for consideration for a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting. Motion by Mr. Pottier and seconded by Mr. Duarte to invite in the parties. So voted. Mr. Della Russo explained the process to achieve this award. He indicated that this took six months of going back and forth with the auditors. The submission is now officially under review with GFOA and, typically, it takes 1-2 weeks from this point. He reviewed the table  12 of contents from the draft document. Mr. Dello Russo noted that there is information from departments such as the Treasurer/Collector and OECD. 25 pages make up the financial section which contains the same type of information that is reported to the State. 80 pages are related to pension plans, OPEB, cash flows, net position etc. TMLP is also included. There is also a statistical section that shows how Taunton stacks up year over year and as compared to other communities. Mr. Pottier noted that this is an intense analysis by a nationally well-known organization for excellence in government accounting and financial reporting. He asked how often they would need to reapply and Mr. Dello Russo stated that the Mayor intends to do this annually. Mr. McCaul gave his thanks to the team. Mr. Duarte asked when they expect to hear back and Mr. Dello Russo indicated that he anticipates a 2-4 week timefrarne and that they probably will have some questions. Mr. Duarte asked how many hours this took and Mr. Dello Russo indicated that it takes probably about 25-30% more time equating to hundreds and hundreds of hours. Motion by Mr. Pottier and seconded by Mr. McCaul to thank the group and excuse the group. So voted. Motion by Mr. Pottier and seconded by Mr. McCaul to adjourn at 6: 16 P.M So voted. List o[Documents and Other Exhibits Used: The Committee on Finance and Salaries Meeting Minutes from 10/3/23 Payroll Warrant #57 Bill Invoice Warrant #56 List of items over $100,000 Letter from Patrick Dello Russo dated 9/27/23 Draft Annual Comprehensive Financial Report ··-·1 CITY OF TAUNTON ! i Respectfully submitted, OCT 1 0 2023 IN MUNICIPAL COUNC;'. i '-------·--····-·..J Maggie . Clerk of Council Committees REPORTS ACCEPTED. RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED. ~jtLp- Committee on Finance and Salaries October I 0, 2023 Page2 of2  13 City of Taunton Municipal Council October 10, 2023 2023 OCT I 2 A II: 4 I TAUNT ON. MA. The Committee on Ordinances and Enrolled Bills ----·----.Cffy CLERK The meeting was held at Taunton City Hall, 15 Summer Street, Taunton, MA 02780 in the Chester R. Martin Municipal Council Chambers. Members Present: Councilor Barry Sanders, Chairman Councilor John McCaul Members Absent: Councilor Kelly Dooner Also Present: Edward Walsh, Chief of Police The meeting was called to order at 6: 18 PM. 1. Approve minutes from September 19, 2023. Motion by Mr. McCaul and seconded by Mr. Sanders to approve. So voted. 2. Meet to discuss the proposed ordinance change which would require an office on each Class II licensed property. Mr. Sanders summarized the history of this topic. This was originally discussed in November of 2018 and referred to the City Solicitor. Attorney de Abreau provided proposed language for a change to the Ordinance. In January of2019 his letter was discussed and, at that time, input from the City Planner and Building Department were requested. Correspondence was received from the City Planner noting that there are plumbing codes related to restrooms to be considered. Mr. Pirozzi, the Building Commissioner, also replied in February of2019 about plumbing requirements. Mr. Sanders read the draft ordinance that was suggested to be included in the Class II License Ordinance. Motion by Mr. McCaul and seconded by Mr. Sanders to refer the letter from December 23, 2018 and subsequent notes from the file to the Law Department for their review and have them to join the Committee in 3 weeks. So voted.  14 3. Meet with the Police Chief for a preliminary discussion on ordinances related to access to Lake Sabbatia Motion by Mr. Sanders and seconded by Mr. McCaul to invite in Chief Walsh. So voted. Chief Walsh informed the Committee that the administration has a meeting scheduled for the next day to begin working to address some of the issues. One issue is access to the Lake. There is some City owned land that they might be looking at. Other considerations are to possibly limit horsepower, speed on the Lake, and the types of engines allowed. He suggested that the administration needs first to sit with the key stakeholders before coming to the Council. Mr. McCaul suggested that the speed limit should be looked at, not horsepower. The Chief indicated that sometimes boats are just too big for the Lake. The Committee requested that the Chief or someone from the administration come back in 5 weeks with an update on progress. Motion by Mr. McCaul and seconded Mr. Sanders to adjourn the meeting at 6:32 PM So voted. List o(Documents and Other Exhibits Used: Committee on Ordinances and Enrolled Bills Meeting Minutes of 9/19/23 Committee on Ordinances and Enrolled Bills Meeting Minutes of 11/27/18 Letter from Attorney Daniel de Abreau dated 12/23/18 Committee on Ordinances and Enrolled Bills Meeting Minutes of 1/8/19 Letter from Robert Pirozzi dated 2/4/19 Letter from Kevin Scanlon dated 1/23/19 Letter from Jason Roomes dated 9/7/23 CITY OF TAUNTON Respectfully submitted, OCT 1 0 2023 JUoA o C. ~/LR-- A.- Q _/ IN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL ~a~i:i G:~e Clerk of Council Committees REPORTS ACCEPTED. RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED. <j::t! '4f- Committee on Ordinances and Enrolled Bills October 10, 2023 Page 2 of2