2012-01-03Regular Meeting
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Beverly Meeting Minutes
From: Kathy Connolly [kconnolly @beverlyma.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 11:06 AM
To: Wesley Slate; Paul Guanci; James F. Latter; Donald Martin; jsilva @beverlyma.gov; Brett Schetzsle;
shouseman @beverlyma.gov; sdullea @beverlyma.gov; mtroubetaris @beverlyma.gov;
minutes @beverlyma.gov
Subject: 12.jan3.doc
Regular Meeting - Inauguration
Beverly City Council 12:00 Noon January 3, 2012
Roll Call: Councilors Present:, D. Scott Dullea, Jason Silva, Paul M. Guanci, Scott D. Houseman, James F. Latter, Donald
Martin, D. Wesley Slate, Jr. , Maureen Troubetaris, Paul M. Guancil
Pledge Of Allegiance t0 the Flag: Led by Council President Guanci
Acceptance of Minutes — December 5 th and 19 of 2011
Appointments:
Election of Vice President of Council
9 -0 Vote for Ward Two Councilor D. Wesley Slate, Jr.
Communications from His Honor the Mayor:
#1 - INAUGURAL ADDRESS
INAUGURAL SPEECH
William F. Scanlon, Jr.
January 3, 2012
Good afternoon everyone and thank you for being here.
Today the newly elected team of city officials comes together for the first time. While the world
we live in has many problems and conflicts, today we will for the moment put them aside. In the City of Beverly,
today is a day of celebration and optimism.
Joining me in this recently renovated auditorium are the fifteen other men and women, elected by
popular vote, who will guide Beverly forward for the next two years. Many of them are continuing their service.
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On the City Council side we have the Dean, Maureen Troubetaris, currently the longest serving elected official in
Beverly who today begins her 21 st year. She brings remarkable common sense to the Council's deliberations. Also
returning are Wes Slate who has served the city well while representing the complicated downtown, Jim Latter who has
served as both a school committee member and a councilor, Don Martin, a veteran member and last but certainly not least,
Paul Guanci who returns to the position of Council President, a position he so ably filled in the past. I am certain that he and
I will work well together because we have done so before.
Joining these veteran councilors, we have four newcomers who will bring energy, intelligence and perspective to
the Council. They are councilors -at -large Scott Dullea and Jason Silva, Ward Six Councilor Brett Schetzle and Ward Four
Councilor Scott Houseman who served Beverly ably as Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals for many years.
The School Committee remained largely intact as a result of the recent election. The only change was the election
of Matt Kavanagh in Ward Four. Returning are Maria Decker who will take over as Chair. Maria brings intelligence and
dedication to the position. Annemarie Cesa, has been chair for the past four years and has worked hard. Paul Manzo and
David Manzi now entering their third terms have been heavy contributors as has Kris Silverstein who enters her second term.
The general public very likely has no way of knowing how much time school committee members must devote to doing their
jobs. I would estimate it takes each of them at least twenty hours a week on average.
So here we are with what I believe is a terrific collection of folks who want nothing more than to make Beverly the
best that it can be and that means providing the best possible education to our children, upgrading our infrastructure to a first
class level and providing high quality services to our citizens. We aim to continue to improve our performance through hard
work, effective management and imagination. And, the responsibility to do that is unchanged no matter how bad the
economy may be, no matter what happens to Local Aid from the State.
I do not intend today to talk about problems, rather I will speak only about opportunities. I will deliver the State of
the City Address in February after the Governor has announced next fiscal year's preliminary State budget. At that time I
will discuss problems as well as opportunities. Clearly there are things we want to do from paving roads to constructing a
modern middle school to creating appropriate public safety and public services facilities. The obvious answer as to what all
those things have in common is that they require money to be accomplished.
In this regard, our history over the past fifteen or so years is very good. We have averaged more than $1,000,000 in
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new growth in each of those years and that is why this auditorium and this building look so good. For anyone who is not
familiar with the term new growth, it is the creation in a given year of new tax revenues from sources which did not exist a
year earlier. Most often it is the translation of building permits into construction and then into new assessments.
There is much that is good in Beverly. Here are a few examples: this High School is 99 +% finished and slightly
under budget. The MBTA parking garage at the Depot Train Station is due to break ground in June. A housing project on
Rantoul Street at the former Kelly Infiniti site is underway. Another on Rantoul Street at the Enterprise car rental site is in
the permitting process. Permits have been pulled for commercial buildings to be built on Park Street at the former
Volkswagen site. Cummings Center is anxious to build a hotel to be located at the corner of McKay Street and Route 62.
Cummings has just purchased the former Parker Brothers site off Dunham Road next to the Music Theatre. The purchase of
that 56 acre site is a strong signal of support for the Brimbal Avenue project. Cell Signaling is upgrading the former New
England Biolabs building on Tozer Road to the tune of $20 million. The Colonial Gardens senior living site on Conant Street
has recently opened. It represents a $25 million tax paying capital investment in our City. There are other accomplishments
related strictly to quality of life. The newly created dog park at the Airport is a success. In fact Kathy Connolly, the City
Clerk who gave the oath a few minutes ago tells me that dogs who have never been registered are suddenly being registered
so that the dogs and the owners can enjoy the new park. The turf field at the High School has been completed and is in use.
You will recall that is was built without any city money but with heavy reliance on private donations.
The latest piece of good news is our acceptance by the State just in the last few days as a Green Community.
Along with our doing the right thing, our acceptance includes our receiving $205,000 in grants in the coming year with the
strong prospect of more in the future.
As we look forward I firmly believe that to get where we want to be, we must continue to embrace appropriate new
growth here in Beverly and I urge the new Council to continue to have an open mind on this subject. Twenty years ago
Beverly was being managed as a bedroom community unfriendly to business and jobs and the results were devastating. Our
bond rating was reduced to junk and a huge deficit was created. There is no need to dwell on those dark days. Working
together we have come a long way and today there are many communities which would gladly trade places with us. Mind
you we are not looking to have a casino but we should continue to embrace appropriate new growth as the means to create
jobs and to further upgrade our infrastructure.
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It is no secret that we are working diligently on the Brimbal Avenue /Route 128 Interchange upgrade and we
continue to be optimistic. As progress is made, I will keep the community apprised.
I should mention that the City's senior staff remains stable and unchanged, and that includes the good news that our
Veterans' Agent Jerry Guillebe has decided to stay on. He does a great job and we are thrilled he will continue to be with us.
I believe that the term which begins today presents us with the opportunity to be highly productive in terms of
further improving our fine city. To do that well we continue to need dedicated volunteers to staff the 250 or more positions
on our Boards and Commissions. If you wish to volunteer please drop me a line outlining your background and your
interests by letter or e -mail. One way to measure the health and vitality of a community is to observe the level of
volunteerism. Work people are willing to do without financial compensation for the benefit of their community is telling. I
would like to publicly thank all the volunteers who serve Beverly so well.
Let me close by saying two more things. One, Louise and I very much appreciate the confidence shown by the
electorate in November and you can be sure we will do our very best for Beverly. Two, there will be an Inaugural Ball held
on Friday evening, January 27 at the Danversport Yacht Club from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Ray Novack's band, Horizon will
play. Tickets are $25.00 each available by contacting Louise at 922 -9699. Tables of ten are available. A light meal will be
provided. As an added bonus, Beverly resident John Doherty, National Caricaturist Network Award Winner, will be on hand
to do caricatures of anyone who so wishes. All are invited. If there are any profits, they will be donated to Bootstraps. If
you wish to reserve seats today, please contact Martha Lewis or Louise when we adjourn to the Library.
Thank you once again for all your support.
#2
January 3, 010
The Honorable City Council
City Hall, 191 Cabot Street
Beverly, MA 01915
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
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Michael Collins, Director of Engineering, Commissioner of Public Services, Public
Works
Steve Frederickson, Director of Inspectional Services Steve
Roy F. Gelineau, Jr. City Solicitor
Pauline Teixeira, Human Resources Director
Eric Barber, City Engineer
Very Truly Yours,
William F. Scanlon, Jr., Mayor
Refer to Legal Affairs
Communications from Other City Officers and Boards:
Communication — Council President Guanci re: Standing Committee Assignments
#2
Dear Honorable Council
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It gives me great pleasure to formally announce the standing committee assignments for the next two
years. I want to thank each Councilor for their input and for their understanding. As Council President,
this is one of the most difficult decisions that I have to make and I look forward to another productive
term.
Committee of Finance & Property:
Committee on Legal Affairs:
Committee on Public Services:
Donald Martin — Chairperson
Paul Guanci
Scott Houseman
Wes Slate — Chairperson
Maureen Troubetaris
Scott Dullea
James Latter — Chairperson
Jason Silva
Brett Schetzsle
Every Councilor will also be expected to be a participating member in the City Council Committee of
the Whole. Committee of the Whole will meet when necessary to openly discuss issues that require full
council deliberation.
Respectfully,
Paul M. Guanci, City Council President
Receive and Place on File
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Communications, Applications and Petitions:
Motions and Orders:
#a
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Order: Councilor Slate — request for the Parking & Traffic Commission to undertake an analysis of the parking and traffic in the area of the
planned MBTA Parking Garage
Refer to Legal Affairs and Parking and Traffic
Meeting Adjourned: 1:15 PM
Attest: Kathleen P. Connolly, CIVIC
City Clerk
2/2/2012