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2008-01-07 Regular Meeting Page 1 of 4 Beverly Meeting Minutes From: Fran MacDonald [fmacdonald@beverlyma.gov] Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 2:26 PM To: minutes@beverlyma.gov Subject: 08.jan7.doc Regular Meeting - Inauguration Beverly City Council 12:00 Noon January 7, 2008 Roll Call: Councilors Present: John J. Burke, William Coughlin, Judith A. Cronin, Patricia A. Grimes, Kevin Hobin, Donald Martin, D. Wesley Slate, Jr., Maureen Troubetaris, Timothy P. Flaherty Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag: Appointments: Acceptance of Minutes: Communications from His Honor the Mayor: #1 - INAUGURAL ADDRESS Today is a day of celebration. A day for those of us fortunate enough to have been voted into office last November to say thank you to the citizens of Beverly for granting us the privilege of serving you. Today is the day for those of us elected to public office to take the helm of the ship of Beverly and steer it carefully and responsibly over the next two years. The seas will no doubt be stormy on occasion, but as I said, this is a day of celebration. There will be an opportunity to probe the issues that we face during the State of the City speech, which I intend to deliver at the City Council meeting on February 4th. By that time the Governor's budget for next fiscal year will be known and I will be able to provide you with a more insightful picture of the fiscal year to come. Thus I will focus today on our opportunities and the positive. Let me begin by congratulating the Dean of our City Council, Maureen Troubetaris, who today begins her ninth continuous term in office, certainly a modern day record. Maureen possesses much common sense, a rather uncommon trait, which she has demonstrated well, especially at difficult moments over the past 16 years. Close behind Maureen in service are Bill Coughlin and Don Martin, who today begin their seventh terms. Tim Flaherty is no rookie either as he begins his sixth term as councilor and for the second time serves as Council president. Councilors Hobin, Grimes, and Burke each begin their third term today. We also welcome two new members to the Council in Judith Cronin and Wes Slate. Like Bill Coughlin and Don Martin, I too begin my seventh term today and I thank the voters very much for the opportunity to continue to serve you as your Mayor. In the round, it is clear that your government is led by people with much experience and commitment, and that you the citizens of Beverly have the right to expect us to perform well. The School Committee has lost its former Chair in Nancy Brusil but remains intact otherwise. We welcome back returning members David Manzi, Paul Manzo, Jim Latter, Annemarie McNulty-Cesa, and Maria Decker and welcome Karen Fogarty as the new representative from Ward 4. While not a subject for today, the School Committee's workload will be especially challenging in the year ahead. As Beverly enters the New Year our primary task continues to be broadening of the tax base with carefully controlled new construction to generate new tax dollars. These new revenues, often called new growth, will provide the financial means to undertake the projects and initiatives needed to put Beverly in first class physical shape and continue to provide a reasonable level of services to our residents. 8/24/2009 Regular Meeting Page 2 of 4 With that thought in mind let's look at some of the projects that are underway. The most important is the High School renovation/construction project. As most of you know, we recently learned that the Massachusetts School Building Authority included our school on the list of those eligible for continued consideration. An important meeting will be held with MSBA officials in Boston early next month regarding the project, and I will give you timely feedback on that meeting as well as progress on the project over the coming months. Design of the project is nearly complete and we hope to advertise for bids this spring and break ground during the summer. There are, however, two highly desirable features which we would like to include in the scope of work but which were not part of the original design or cost estimate. The first is to use alternative energy from wind and solar sources to meet half the High School's expected future electrical needs. We have the opportunity to provide the High School with the largest percentage of renewable energy, to the best of my knowledge, of any school in the entire State of Massachusetts. We all know what is happening to the price of fossil fuels with gas now over $3/gallon. Including alternative energy features in the project is a wise investment in our children's future, and current and future taxpayers will benefit if we display foresight on this issue. The second desirable feature is to build two artificial turf athletic fields at the High School site, with one of them to include spectator stands so that athletic events now held at Hurd Stadium can instead be held at the High School. In doing so our sports teams could take advantage of the support facilities at the refurbished High School and at the same time we would avoid the otherwise necessary and expensive task of replacing the aging stands at Hurd Stadium. Hurd then could continue to serve as a neighborhood recreation field in the future, while the two new turf fields at the High School would significantly expand our available athletic fields, improving recreational opportunities for both young and old. The High School project is challenging. We are building this school to last many decades in order to meet the needs of our children and their children. I want us to do the best job we can do. It is my hope to raise much of the funds needed for these additional features through grants and private donations, large and small. I will have much more to say about this on a different day, but any of you who want to help in this endeavor please contact me. We will need the help of many to meet this challenge. I will spend part of my seventh term continuing to pursue the City's program to solve flooding issues in all parts of Beverly. We completed the Raymond Farms drainage project in 2007 and we are in the permitting stage with the North Beverly drainage project. Design is largely complete and we expect to begin construction this spring. We also intend to complete the design for additional improvements to the Chubbs Brook drainage area and begin construction during 2008. Progress on redeveloping the City's waterfront continues. Recently the Department of Environmental Protection determined that an Environmental Impact Report would not be needed. That is good news. State permitting for a new restaurant on the former McDonald's site is underway with local permitting to follow. We expect that construction will start later this year. The City will need to make its own improvements along the water's edge simultaneously, including upgrades to the marinas, bulkheads and buildings, as we begin the restoration of our waterfront. A Request for Proposals has been issued for the McKay School property to redevelop it for residential use. This project is similar to that of the highly successful Edwards School redevelopment project. The site is bigger and the views of the golf course and pond are excellent. RFP responses are due back on February 29th. We are optimistic that this site will be seen as very desirable despite the difficult real estate market. Perhaps the most central issue in the future of Beverly is the "smart growth" development potential along Rantoul Street near the Depot train station. The construction of a sizeable garage for commuter parking and local needs is the catalyst necessary to stimulate reinvestment, promoting residential construction and increased commercial activity in the area. Cabot Street has thrived and will continue to do so as we invest during 2008 in streetscape and parking lot improvements. Rantoul Street - and in particular the area around the Depot train station - holds the same promise. For that reason I am working closely with Congressman John Tierney, Senator Fred Berry, Representative Mary Grant, and dozens of State officials to make the commuter parking garage a reality. Projects like these have complex financial, legal and logistical aspects and the cooperation of the community and the City Council will be needed to fully implement this opportunity for smart growth and new tax dollars for Beverly. Ultimately, of course, we must find a way to upgrade and consolidate our middle school at the Memorial site and to build appropriate new public safety facilities, and in my view successful smart growth in the Rantoul Street area will be the major financial contributor to those as- yet unsolved problems. A safer Brimbal Avenue/Route 128 interchange is being designed and an Environmental Impact Report is nearly complete. This work has been funded entirely by the State and has many plusses - among them the removal of 400/0 of the traffic from Brimbal Avenue and the creation of direct access to Route 128 for the adjacent land to the North and South, including the North Shore Music Theater. The construction will necessarily be funded by the State and the economic and tax benefits to both the State and the City of Beverly clearly 8/24/2009 Regular Meeting Page 3 of 4 justify its construction. This project will fit nicely with the State's plan to improve Route 128 from Centennial Park in Peabody to Grapevine Road in Wenham. We are in possession of a well thought out response to the City's Request For Proposals for a skating rink near Beverly Airport. Such a facility would provide skating and other recreational opportunities to all Beverly citizens of all ages. The facility would be privately built and operated on land to be leased from the City, adjacent to the two athletic fields recently created at the former Vitale site, now known as Birch Plains Park. We will investigate this prospect carefully to determine if it can be sensibly accomplished. Aside from specific projects, there is more good news. Real progress has been made this year in the area of recycling, and I offer my thanks to the citizens throughout the City for their efforts. Through November 2007 Beverly reduced the amount of trash generated annually by over 6.5 million pounds from last year, saving nearly $250,000. This is a truly staggering result. This favorable variance is welcome news as these savings will be available to commit to snow removal costs and other pressing financial needs. I continue my efforts to negotiate fair compensation from property owners whose land is exempt by State law from taxation. In that regard, I am very pleased today to advise you that Endicott College has agreed to contribute $250,000 to the City of Beverly over the next three years. Part of this contribution recognizes that non-educational use of the newly-constructed inn is appropriately taxable. The City will also receive hotel room taxes on such visits, adding to the 400 plus jobs and considerable economic spin off benefit we enjoy from the college today. Over the past 20 years under the direction of Dr. Richard Wylie, Endicott has grown continually stronger benefiting the entire region and Beverly in particular. Current department heads have served well and the organization is stable. I thank each of them for their hard work and commitment to public service. During the last year Mark Ray was promoted to Police Chief, and his appointment has led to increased energy throughout the Department and an improved attitude of the citizenry toward the police. The walking beats and directed patrols have been well received and we expect continued progress to mark the Chief's first full year. Similarly, the City's new Director of Inspectional Services, Steve Frederickson, brings experience and terrific communication skills to the department. He spent 19 successful years in Lexington as its building commissioner and is in the forefront of improved record keeping technology and permitting processes which will payoff handsomely in the future. In the last year Beverly has been able to expand its public library hours of operation while other communities have cut theirs back, or even closed their libraries. Beverly also received another bond rating increase, a symbol of the rating agency's confidence in how we run our City. So, there is much good news. But Beverly does not exist in isolation unaffected by regional issues. Indeed there are some clouds in our future that will, as I mentioned, be discussed in some depth in the State of the City speech in several weeks. Nonetheless, we have made terrific progress in this City by the majority of us working together - the City Council, the School Committee and the Administration. We will continue to do what is best for Beverly and make every effort to advance the quality of life in our City and our region. In this respect we do have a pressing need for volunteers to serve on our various boards and commissions. Our volunteer boards and commissions are vital to the success of our community and are one of our least recognized assets. Please take the time to drop me a line indicating your experience and area of interest. Our need for volunteers is very real and we do need your help. On a last note before closing, I would urge all of you to join us at the Inaugural Ball. It is an occasion to celebrate election victories, but it is also a chance for residents to celebrate democracy and have a good time doing it. The ball will be held next Friday, January 18th from 7 - 11 p.m. at the Danversport Yacht Club. Tickets are $25 apiece and are available by calling 922-9699. All profits from the Ball will be donated to Beverly High School. In closing, on behalf of all the elected officials here, all 16 of us, we pledge to do our best to make Beverly an even better place during the next two years. We thank you for joining us here today. #2 January 7, 2008 Honorable City Council City Hall 8/24/2009 Regular Meeting Page 4 of 4 Beverly, MA 01915 Dear Honorable Council: I hereby appoint, subject to your review as provided in Sec. 2-10 of the Beverly City Charter, the following to serve as Department Heads for a period of three years: William Burke, Director of Public Health Tina Cassidy, Director of Planning John Dunn, Municipal Finance Director Michael Collins, Director of Public Services Steve Frederickson, Director of Inspectional Services Roy Gelineau, City Solicitor Pauline Teixeira, Human Resources Director I further appoint, subject to your review, Frank Killilea to serve at the Director of Engineering for a term of six months. Very truly yours, William F. Scanlon, Jr., Mayor Refer to Public Services #3 January 7, 2008 Honorable City Council City Hall Beverly, MA 01915 Dear Honorable Council: I hereby appoint, subject to your review and recommendation, Mrs. Miranda Gooding, 10 Hopkins Avenue, Beverly, MA 01915, to serve as a member and Chairman of the Harbor Management Committee. She will fill the term left vacant by the resignation of John Frates and her term will be effective until December 31, 2009. Very truly yours, William F. Scanlon, Jr., Mayor Refer to Public Services Communications from Other City Officers and Boards: Reports from Committees: Unfinished Business: Meeting Adjourned: 1:15 PM Attest: Frances A. Macdonald, CMC City Clerk 8/24/2009