this government meeting is brought to you by eastw works and our local cable subscribers I'm vice president Salem Derby I'm going to be uh talking this evening uh our esteemed president has some vocal issues um so W good evening and welcome to the eastampton city council meeting for Wednesday March 20th the meeting tonight is being recorded and broadcast by emedia on Charter channel 193 and live streaming on the web page eastampton media.org counselors and participants in this me meeting are gathering hybrid on the order extended until March 2025 which allows us to do so I remind both the members of the city council and the public participating remote remain muted until recognized by the President also for the members of the public please remove your camera for the duration of the meeting unless you are participating in public speak time or the public hearing thank you the meeting is now called to order Barbara denim I'm I'm here Salem Derby Omar Gomez JP kazinsky Tom Peak Brad Riley Tamar Smith here JT Terell here here please stand up for the pledge of the allegiance ofg flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands Nation indivisible liberty and justice for all okay do you want me to do this or you want to do it I will start this and then you keep going I will take a motion to approve the minute from March 6 so moved second I have a motion and a second to approve the minute of March 6 any further discussion see no for those one in favor I any against exstension motion passes okay um so this is now where we're going to start public speak time uh the president has informed me that we're going to have public speak time uh for two minutes for each participant tonight so um if you could limit your remarks to two minutes we would appreciate that uh and if you would make sure that you address your remarks to the full Council and not to the the chambers uh we would appreciate that as well a response and and just realize that because of open meeting law we are not going to respond to your comments um and th those responses will come later uh during committee time um or during public hearings when that has been established that we will be responding so um we're happy to take the first person for public speak time you have two minutes just state your name and address just for the record uh my name is morai camel uh my address is 359 Main Street in East Hampton um I had the privilege of speaking here the other night and having heard the things that were said from the other side of the ceasefire resolution I felt I needed to come back and respond to the full committee uh I'm Jewish my parents were Holocaust Survivors I believe in Israel's right to exist and I believe in the Palestinian right to self-determination in a state of their own can you post for a sec oh thank you I'm going to tell you that yeah thank you that's okay it's just easier that way thank you um I'm board chair of a small NGO that uh provides uh medical services and medical programs to marginalized people in both Israel and Palestinian territories we are currently funding uh program for mental health support for children in Gaza I was a past board member of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts and my experience in both Israel and Palestine is extensive with both volunteering and living two days ago a rabbi from Northampton stood at this Podium and argued against the ceasefire resolution stating that it would increase anti-semitism and described her feelings of fear following bomb threats against her synagogue now I've lived with anti-Semitism for most of my life both personally and professionally and I understand exactly what you're saying but the bomb threats took place before Northampton ever decided to take up the ceasefire resolution and I think that it's important to remember that c fire resolutions don't cause increases in anti-Semitism A city councilman uh engaged in I'm sorry what that's that's two minutes that's two minutes yes yep time flies when you're having fun sorry uh a city councelor engaged in a bout of whataboutism citing Sudan and Syria as Wars where we might also want to get involved but the response should be obvious because those children aren't being killed by an American Ally thank you to minutes you already used you two minutes thank you well I started late I pa no we we pause it I did pause it y thank you y hi my name is Sarah Weinberger I live at 359 Main Street in eastampton and I'm part of a group of eastampton nightes we are Jewish Muslim Christian and non-religious zionists non-zionist and anti-zionists we range from genzies to aging Boomers and we span every Precinct in this city but the one thing we all have in common is we desperately want to see the killing of Innocence anding Gaza um I also want to respond to a couple of things that were said on Monday um they claimed that the the people who spoke against the resolution claimed that there are many countries in the world engaging in violent Wars that threaten Humanity not just Israel Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign aid since its funding most us assistance comes in the form of weapons grants and more than 80% of Israel's weapons Imports came from the US between 1950 and 2020 in other words each of us is financing the bullets and bombs that are killing Palestinian children making us accomplices to murder some claim that more time is needed to look at suggested changes to the resolution we need to remember that this resolution was drafted by a representative group of East Hampton residents many of whom have a lot of knowledge about the political situation in Israel Gaza and the West Bank does it make sense to directag this process on while each day hundreds of women and children die and any day a blood bath may break out in Rafa will we let the perfect be the enemy of the good enough I would also like to say to those who think it's not the purview of City councils to become involved in foreign affairs silence is its own action we are asking our city council to join the chorus of cities and towns all over the us including Greenfield amers and Northampton imploring President Biden to Leverage The Power of US foreign aid to Israel to influence the Israeli government to agree to a ceasefire last last sentence said by activist Norman finklestein when he learned from his parents who were survivors they emerged from the Holocaust saying never again never again means never again not just for the Jews but for anyone thank [Music] you Carolyn Cushing 143 Main Street since the rues committee met 48 hours ago this has happened the official death toll in Gaza has risen by 197 human beings 90 of those were killed at alifa hospital the last partially functioning Hospital in the north which is raided the day of the meeting also World program world food program Chief Sydney McCain said that there is a very small window left to prevent an outright famine in Gaza finally the head of the emergency Committee in charge of aid distri distribution was killed in Gaza City the ever more catastrophic developments in Gaza is what has motivated a diverse group of community members to partner with counselors Gomez and denim to create a resolution a holistic one calling for the seus fire provision of humanitarian Aid release of all hostages and detainees and an end to unconditional us Aid to the Israeli government um Sarah spoke to how a diverse group we were and um I'll also say that some are longtime activists in East champton who've been working on this and others it's their first time engaging with City politics and some who plan to speak tonight it'll be their first time addressing the city council um we have worked as a group to have a respectful and thoughtful process the other night always and we organized our speakers told them to listen respectfully be on time um and we didn't really have to tell them this is what people plan to do anyway since so many of us have been deeply engaged with people people that we know in our lives from impacted by the conflict from some in our group have family members in Israel to Palestinian friends or colleagues or in my case fellow poets I am a poet I'm the poet Laur of East Hampton and um poets have been speaking to me and we see the delay as only leading to More Death so please move the resolution as quickly as possible and as I said I'm a poet and I have here a poem you can leave it there and then he will pass it to us here thank you thank you thank you anyone else anyone else Janie Thurber 8 cranberry Lane East Hampton I Echo everything that's been said but in addition I would like to say that Canada yesterday I believe it was voted to send no more arms to Israel that the shifa hospital in Gaza City has continue to be attacked I know they're looking for Hamas but there are innocent victims there as well we need to re really have in our brains that 32,000 people have been killed a week ago it was 30,000 around that that 74,000 have been wounded in Gaza and that according to un statistics this conflict has created more victims of starvation than any conflict past or present now you can quibble with those because the UN has their ways or and Sudan probably doesn't have as accurate but what whatever that's a whole lot no more as many victims of starvation as any conflict past or present thank you thank you my name is Elliot papadakos I'm a resident of East Hampton I live in ward 3 I was here on Monday um and I'm one of your as you can see many constituents who are deeply Disturbed the city is not moving forward towards a ceasefire resolution I am also Jewish I'm Israeli American and the descendant of a holocaust Survivor hearing my family stories growing up I'd wonder how the global Community could allow a genocide to be perpetrated unfortunately the town I live in is complient in the same today while we all sit in this meeting where our town will not do the bare minimum of considering calling for a ceasefire families are being bombed shot and starved to death all funded by our tax dollars residents being forced to fund this violence that is against the Jewish tradition and it won't even succeed at the Israeli government's goals uh you can't bomb Hamas out of existence and you can't bomb your way to bringing back the hostages you certainly can't bomb your way into peace and safety including the safety of the Jewish people and it is this violence of the Israeli State and the purposeful conflation of it with the Jewish people as a moral cover that poses the greatest threat to the worldwide commun Jewish community if this town's response to concerns of anti-Semitism is to double down on the dehumanization and genocide of Palestinians and to disregard the pain and demands of your constituents our neighbors who are Palestinian Muslim and Arab you are not doing your jobs our safety comes from fighting for each other it is all of our responsibility to do so and pass this resolution no one's safety comes from discriminate bombing Palestinian people are facing genocide right now we have to Center them we have to do this right now we have to move this resolution forward and pass it thank you please do your jobs thank [Applause] you hi I'm Ruth Jennison uh 28 East Maple Street um uh so I wear a lot of hats but tonight I speak as a longtime East Hampton resident and a proud member of the Massachusetts Teachers Association the largest Union in the state which passed a ceasefire resolution as others have noted a resolution calling for the immediate and permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza is currently in limbo in the rules committee I'm here to ask that the council uh the council the rules committee move the resolution as written by East Hampton Community members to be voted on by the full Council the authors of this resolution myself included are East Hampton residents diverse in our political beliefs and identities we are part of a national and Global call for ceasefire across the country millions of people are engaging in demonstrations signing petitions working tirelessly at every level of Civil Society labor governmental and Grassroots Municipal communities to stop the war funded by our tax dollars our demands for ceasefire and lifting The Siege on Gaza have broader support than ever at the rules committee some members of the council told us to address our concerns to higher levels of government and stated that senators Warren and Mary support a ceasefire so our work here is redundant I understand the confusion of the counselors but in actual point of fact the Senators have yet to join with the majority of Americans and sign on to existing legislation calling for a ceasefire again many share our counselors confusion if our sen as our Senators have tweeted and send polite letters to President Biden but they have failed to sign concrete existing proposed legislation for ceasefire at the rules committee we were told we should direct our Energies elsewh where I believe part of the job of local government is to bring the voices of our local community to higher levels of governance to reiterate I respectfully asked uh for the rules committee to respect the Democratic process and bring our resolution for immediate and permanent ceasefire to a full vote of the city council the resolution should be considered unamended respecting the collective diverse East Hampton residents who authored it and respecting the patient considered and deliberate process we have followed to bring it before for the council thank you very much for your consideration thank you anyone else hello um Aaron Sullivan I live at 17 Mayor Street um I'd like to start by thanking councilors danim and Gomez for putting the ceasefire resolution forward um for us to work on as a community group East Hampton City Council has long been willing to approve resolutions and ordinances that support issues big than the immediate day-to-day Town business uh taking a stand and voicing our support for international issues is nothing that hasn't been done before in this town um we're a small city with a big heart and seemingly a bigger understanding of the importance of solidarity of symbolic acts and morally clear positions of working to hold our elected representatives accountable and making our residents feel supported um some recent examples of resolutions this group have passed include uh in 2022 a resolution to pass the commission to study and develop reparation proposals for African-Americans act um also in 2022 we passed a resolution in support of H 3126 an act providing for gender non-binary designation on state documents and identifications in 2021 the council passed a resolution declaring a climate emergency in 2021 there was also a resolution in support of self-determination for Puerto Rico a resolution in condemnation of the events of January 6 2021 at the US Capitol building and in 2020 there was a resolution to prevent nuclear war um our ordinance committee has spoken up in support of safe and fair access to legally protected reproductive and gender affirming Healthcare Services we fought to designate ourselves as a sanctuary City East Hampton is a member of mirors for peace and we're currently flying the Tibetan flag outside um in a move even more akin to what we're asking for with the ceasefire resolution East Hampton stood in solidarity with the people of Ukraine in 2022 that may we collected donations flew their flag at City Hall and in December the mayor issued a proclamation urging the US government to take action and lead efforts for a Christmas time ceasefire um I would ask that you act in ways that you have previously and consider the ceasefire resolution as it stands thank you hi uh Carolyn zosi W one uh Owen zarett you're a trustee of a pro-israel organization many Affiliates of which came here from out of town Monday who only had loose social networks here like we all have everywhere taking roughly a third of speaking time whether or not this is allowed is not relevant to me lots of things that are allowed should be critiqued later a complete silence from everyone in the front of the room who was supposed to be um dealing with the meeting when one of those people literally called me a Owen one of them called me a and I know that you all know that because another audience member came up and noted it on the microphone another of these folks made a comment about the frightening nature of the cafea the scarf that showed a complete eraser of the scarfs hundreds of years old Rel to indigenous yes Jewish Christian and Muslim culture and craft in the entire Middle East they didn't even seem to know this is equivalent to how racist and vile it would be to say something similar about a Jewish garment that individuals would come to someone's home call a stranger me a sexist slur say racist and uninformed things steamroll and tone Polie our speaking time and then claim they're the ones bullied and Afraid no you have to be kidding me there's a term in Psychology for this it's called darvo deny attack and reverse the victim and offender that is what most of the anti- ceasefire contingent did on Monday I have browsed the mass conflict of interest laws Owen you're dancing very close to breaking them this is in light of the fact that there's been at least one former council member who resigned in protest over you we all know that I think up here I don't know if you all know that in the audience I encourage folks to listen to the local news newspaper the shoestrings podcast tripping on the shoestring episode 20 which did an in-depth analysis of Owen Z's controversial behaviors including the former members damning public testimony about [Music] him pay attention eastampton when people attempted delay and obstruct conversations about what all serious experts are calling a genocide there's almost always another motivation for that obstruction thank you I'm going to take a pause now because we have a public hearing um I don't know if anyone from the public show up just because of the public hearing that we schedule at 6:15 I promise that after the public hearing I'm going to open the public speak time once again for those people who didn't speak yet they're going to have another they're going to have an opportunity to talk to the council but right now we have to open the public hearing I will take a motion to open the public hearing I have a motion on a second to open the public hearing any further discussion see none those are in favor any against exension motion passes cons Peak uh thank you Mr President um do you have the the motion for this I do you do you like read it right so uh this is something that we do uh once a quarter uh but for anyone who's interested we uh the money that funds uh edia you East Hampton's uh local uh public uh educational government uh Media company uh comes to them from uh Charter or uh yeah or uh the Spectrum they're now Spectrum now uh from Spectrum via US like the money gets transferred to the city and then we transfer it so it has to happen every quarter and that's just what this is again so there nothing terribly controversial uh the one thing I did just want to note though uh counselor uh denam did a good job uh of noting that uh the amount here uh is lower and that that is a trend that we've observed for the last uh couple years of of it slowly but steadily falling uh that makes sense as uh this uh revenue is collected from an assessment on cable TV bills but not cable internet bills so anyone like myself who uh streams stuff but doesn't actually have cable TV at this point uh is not uh participating in that I just bring this up because uh it is gradually falling and with a new high-speed internet provider uh likely to be entering this Market soon I think that the rates of cable of cord cutting could increase and so I'm using my Pulpit here to just say we might have a structural problem in the long run that we might want to get in front of and figure out what we're going to do about before it becomes an existential uh crisis for our local media channel and we're struggling in the moment to think of a solution I think that that's what happens sometimes in local government too much is we we don't act when we have time to be smart about it and then we end up having like to be kind of dumb about it because that's what our options are um with that being said I don't think anyone has any objections to this so uh hearing I'm that's so I'm so I'm ready whenever you okay any councelors have any comments or questions celor derby um so I appreciate Council peak's um kind of overview of that and um there is a proposal that I just wanted to mention that would um put a tax on streaming services that would help offset the cord cutters um and keep eastampton media and and local access channels like that alive it's called an act to modernize funding for Community me a program VI a 5 a 5% tax on streaming services like Netflix and Hulu and those types of things um and I I would personally support that because I think that eastampton media uh provides a service to all of us being able to see these meetings on television being able to stream them being able to watch them I think is important and and I think it uh promotes democracy so I would call for everybody to support that bill and I just want to add something really quick is the edia is going to provide us some letters or support so that way the council can support those bills in Bon Hill and as soon I get it from Jeff I will share that put it on the agenda and we can support fantastic you have something I wish Kinski I was just wondering if you could get a copy of the act because okay we would I'm sure there are many of us that would like to further write a right to people I will get that too to advocate for this position I will get that too they provide a great service yeah anyone from the public want to participate in this particular issues you have three minutes I don't need them okay I am so glad to hear this on the agenda I I'm old enough to have gone back to be part of my community struggle with cable the cable companies when they first came in and do the mighty battle that ended up getting us Community stations and I'm really appreciate Tom and Salem that our City's taking this up the two issues one is how can we cut the cable cable and still get internet and I pay more than I can afford and the government has just shut off any any support for that and I don't even have cable television how can we cut the cord but still be connected and I'm so glad you're on it I had hopes for a minute that we were going to have our own our own connections but I hope this is a good alternative I and I really really thank you thank you thanks was that three minutes L one Mary do you want to keep going my name's Maryann Sarah hold on um my name is Nathan Marquee I live at 37 Holio Street here in East Hampton I am actually on the board of directors in East Hampton I believe I'm the only person on the board of directors here and I came unexpectedly today because there's actually three issues that I care about tonight but I'm just going to speak about the eastampton media for um right now and I'm very very glad to see the city council taking these steps because it's been a topic of of discussion fairly often I mean um we're in good shape now but down the road it looks like like uh councelor Peak said things will be falling off but thank you very very much I just thank you anyone else in this topic anyone remote that want to participate in this topic cat are you waiting for the public speak time right okay guess not um before I take the motion I just want to remind councilors justu the city council president recognize you to talk that way we can have a better smooth meeting we will appreciate that thank you cons PE all right I'll make this following request in the form of a motion a request is hereby made for the approval of the following appropriation amount requested 49588 n to be transferred from Peg access account for $49,000 $4 49,5 1889 to be transferred to Peg access account $ 49,5 1889 the amount requested will be used for the following purpose to give approval to spend from the peg access receipts reserved account for cable related purposes consistent with the franchise agreement second I have a motion for the inter departmental transfer of $ 49,5 188 with9 s to the P access account for cable related purposes any further discussion seeing none those are in favor I any against exstension motion passes I'll take a motion to close public hearing second I have a motion a second to close public hearing any further discussion see none those one in favor I any against extension motion passes now I will continue the public speak time for those ones that didn't speak to the conso yet you will have two minutes to address any concerns or comments to the conso and I know some people participating remote I'm allowing people in the room participating first and then I'm going to let you uh participating the remote anyone here and again please stay your name and address for the record hi my name is Chelsea Council and I live on Adams Street would you kill a child would you push Rubble onto them and push it into their chest until they couldn't breathe would you let them lie there in their own excrement as they waited hoping that someone might be able to pull them out would you take away a son from a father a daughter from a mother parents from a child some people act like the Israeli Palestinian conflict is complicated but at this point it is not complicated Israel is conducting a genocide an ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people which they refer to as animals [Music] the philosopher Peter Singer says that if someone is drowning and you don't want to get your shoes wet and you watch them drown you are complicit in their death as one of your constituents I'm asking you to please pass this resolution for ceas fire and if it comes up again um also please stop giving Israel money for weapons and other horrible atrocities um and I think it's really quite simple you don't even have to get your shoes wet I will resend the rest of my time thank you hi my name's Danielle oan I'm a local family doctor I'm a resident of East Hampton in Precinct 3 I attended the rules committee meeting on Monday night where a diverse and large Coalition of community members gathered to advocate for a ceasefire resolution I was shocked at how weak the council appeared throughout the meeting I watched political stall tactics dithering council members who clearly hadn't read the resolution condescending grandstanding from Council Members um I really I was frustrated and offended except for Connie Denham whose frustration mirrored my own do better city council I'm a local Family Doctor Who has friends and colleagues working for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza both still working there and who have returned as a doctor bearing witness to the horrific stories that my brethren have shared and watching videos of the Dire Straits in gaza's completely destroyed Health System placing myself in their shoes as a doctor I lie awake at night thinking of dead children Shell Shocked Drawn Faces attached to bodies missing Limbs and mutilated human beings I also think of how much I have funded this mass murder as a doctor when I hear that there are people who can bear witness to the same suffering and oppose anything less than a permanent ceasefire I know that there are truly hard-hearted people in the world and some of those people are on this Council and in this room I have been unable to get my representative to listen to my individual calls so I must ask my city council to represent me and the large very large group of my fellow community members from many different backgrounds who came together to hammer out this resolution uh to demand that we call for a ceasefire thank you so much thank you my name is Pam Fontes I live on West Street please pardon me if I Stumble over my words I have a migraine and I should be at home in bed I'm here instead because this is important to me I support the ceasefire resolution as written sorry I'm also nervous um I take seriously my duty to do everything in my power to stop our government using our tax dollars to assist in the unfathomable vience of ethnic cleansing and genocide it is disappointing to me that the rules committee decide declined to bring our resolution before the full Council this week when this is a matter of such great urgency every day that the United States continues to back this Israeli military operation more civilians are murdered more homes Farms schools libraries hospitals cemeteries and places of worship and Sanctuary are destroyed we as individuals have called our representatives in the federal government we have marched in the streets and we have stood outside their places of work they are not listening to us our voices together as a community are stronger than our individual calls this is why we need to pass a local ceasefire resolution so that we can send a message to the federal government that we do not consent to our tax dollars being used for this type of violence and we do not consent to our Representatives claiming to do this in our name stopping a genocide by ceasefire should not be a controversial position I urge everyone here to proceed with the ceasefire resolution as quickly as possible I urge the members of the rules committee to move it forward as quickly as possible and I thank councilors Denim and Gomez for working with the community on this resolution thank you thank you good evening Mona shady I live in Ward one at the last meeting I said that I implored the council to put forth and pass councilors Gomez and denim ceasefire resolution tonight I will use the word beseech I beseech this Council to stand with the constituents they represent the nearly 100 cities and growing who have also passed resolutions the millions in the streets and the brave nations who have used every diplomatic and legal capacity at their disposal to stop this genocide I beseech the council to stand with sheer Humanity as we are here tonight over nearly 14,000 palis still Palestinian children have been killed by Israel to put that in perspective that is more than all of the children all who attends school in East Hampton Northampton West Springfield and Holio imagine every infant toddler child and teenager gone and gone in the most horrific ways over 177,000 children in Gaza are unaccompanied which is a polite way of saying they are separated from their families their relatives cannot be located or have all been killed 177,000 unaccompanied children is the equivalent of every child in prek to senior year in East Hampton Northampton Greenfield West Springfield hoo South Hadley and Hadley School Districts being without a parent or Guardian in the midst of a genocide that means there are over 28,000 Gaz and children who are alone injured dead or dying as I speak that's 2third of the 46,6 children who attend school in the city of Boston we know that no one here can stop this genocide by snapping their fingers and that's why passing this resolution is essential it means hope it sends a message to other communities who want to stand up as well it sends a me message to our state and federal leaders it unites us in our shared Humanity compassion and Care a ceasefire resolution is symbolic and it is exactly when things are at their most Bleak and most dark that the symbolic can be the most important and essential please put forth and pass this ceasefire resolution thank you thank you [Music] hi there my name is Maui Freeman I'm an East Hampton resident on Davis Street in Precinct 3 I support the ceasefire resolution as Written In This Moment of such immense Devastation violence and destruction occurring in Gaza I believe it is our moral duty to add our voices to the widespread call for a ceasefire our local government is our opportunity to be heard and seen by our larger government and as many of our Massachusetts Representatives have not called for a permanent ceasefire by signing the legislation by Corey Bush a local ceasefire resolution would be a message and a signal that more is needed to push for a permanent ceasefire at the federal level I'm a mental health therapist locally the depth of trauma Palestinians have suffered are currently suffering and will be haunted by for Generations is unfathomable so many children in Gaza are suffering incomprehensibly so many innocent civilians are being killed around $130 million of Massachusetts taxpayers money is sent in military aid to Israel annually funding this current and ongoing violence and genocide I implore the city council members to support the ceasefire resolution being moved on from the rules committee so that it can be one step closer to being considered and passed I also want to express my deep appreciation for the work of councelor denim in supporting this community written and driven resolution thanks thank you my name is Deb fredman I'm Chapman Precinct 2 and I am Jewish with regard to the proposed East Hampton ceas fire resolution I I ask that City Council vote on the resolution as soon as logistically possible before another two weeks go by I was extremely saddened by the October 7th attack on Israel and I believe the actions of the Hamas military were crimes against humanity but I can't do anything to change what happened that day however I can and will do anything I possibly can to stop the deaths of more innocent individuals of any nationality or religion people are still dying almost my one of my first nearly unconscious reactions to the Israeli government's response after October 7th was that Israel's actions will make me and Jews all over the world less safe and it's still my belief my question is this how do you know that anti-Semitism is increasing because of criticism of Israel rather than because of the Israeli government's vast disproportionate ongoing uh indiscriminate response to being attacked I wonder what would happen to the rising anti-Semitism here if all American Jews understood that what Israeli is doing to the Palestinians both in Gaza and the West Bank will never make Israelis permanently safe and secure and said no Israel does not speak for me and know I don't support the extreme ongoing a collective punishment of Gins carried out by the Israeli government I don't have an answer to this but I believe it is Israel's policy and the views of those supporting it that is increasing anti-Semitism every day more Israelis and more American Jews including many rabbis are calling for a ceasefire even Chuck Schumer has moved slightly away from his initial position thank you thank you hello my name is Melissa zemer I live in East Hampton on 25 East Maple Street Ward 2 I am here to amplify the voices and perspectives of the prior speakers and urge you to consider the proposed ceasefire resolution as written and proposed by the residents to be clear I support peace and Liberation for Israelis and Palestinians in their ancestral lands the actions that the Israeli government is taking in response to the horrifying attacks by Hamas add catastrophe to catastrophe you've heard many people speak of the death destruction and Devastation that Palestinians are experiencing this is a profound moral catastrophe and the United States is complicit our government is providing massive military aid to in Israel enabling and adding to the death and destruction I individually have called multiple times all of the elected officials for the state of Massachusetts I've also called The White House multiple times and sat on hold to express my opinion but individuals are stronger when they add their voices together as we're noting here tonight municipalities local governments are stronger when they add their voices together the actions of the city of East Hampton joined with other municipalities might sway the state the state might sway the government the national government we have more influence together than we do alone and we cannot tolerate this death and destruction in our name please bring this resolution forward and support it and let us acknowledge that the growing anti-Semitism which I do believe is sweeping across the globe along with growing islamophobia and anti- arabism is a direct consequence of the catastrophe that is unfolding but supporting a peace ceasefire resolution is not a binary Choice with opposing anti-Semitism anti- arabism and Islam hop phobia we can oppose all of them at the same time we should and we must thank [Music] you good evening my name is iness O'Neal um I'm a resident in prison 4 I say yes to pass into this fire resolution our city of his Hampton needs to join our neighboring cities to send a message to send the message to our present government that we do not agree with her continuing assistance using our tax dollars and sending even more arms to the government of Israel they're killing so many innocent Palestinians stop delaying from passing this resolution it's the right decision as our local Representatives you must listen to our voices thank you thank [Music] you Shalom my name is Rachel Rosen Caroll I live on Pleasant Street in East Hampton and I am a local children's author and as such I am horrified at how this violence is targeting children in particular and they are paying the price for this senseless destruction so I'd like to read a poem tonight that I um gave to Richard Neil's office as part of a packet and uh it is called the swimming pool because in Israel the very wealthy Israelis in the West Bank have swimming pools meanwhile the Palestinians do not have access to clean water the West Bank developer already drew the blueprints you will build a on gaza's Shore you will dig a trench deep as the deepest sea where no light can penetrate the chlorine you will pour cement into the hospital ruins the shelled Maternity Ward where cribs wept pillow filling like thistle down you will pour cement over the children the developer is already posting on Instagram a home on the beach it is no dream bastardizing Herzel if you will it it is no dream this was not the will this was not the dream of my ancestors who built on their trauma now drunk and senseless did we dream as the Warsaw Ghetto was liquidated of a swimming pool in the desert overflowing with blood good evening my name is Kathy wizinsky I live at 22 Overlook Drive I actually want to talk about City business as tragic as all of the wars are that are occurring a resolution here would not um solve those issues we have an extraordinary extraordinary amount of building plan for our city we have an aging water and sewer system that does not is not able to handle all of the building that is proposed and we have a proposal that's going to look at defiling what is a Historic Landmark in our city I would ask you to slow down any plan to um modify the town farm and look at Alternatives that many City residents are proposing thank you thank you hi my name is Rachel Jennings I live on seven Grant Street um I work at gon kesit preschool Jewish preschool I work at Camp Kinderland a secular Jewish summer camp and um I have two children and it is um really hard getting um a child to put on their snow pants I can tell you it's really hard when a kid is freak freaking out because um their mom drops them off at the very nice nurturing preschool it's very hard working with children I love children and I I can't imagine I can't imagine watching any of the footage watching children being murdered watching children lying in um hospitals that are ill equipped that don't have any of the proper medical equipment while the US funds the um weapons that are being used to kill and make these children's lives miserable um it seems a small thing to be able to pass this um resolution that people have already worked hard to write and I hope you do the right thing thank you hi I'm Nathan Marquee I live at 37 Holio Street and I really don't have a lot to add to what people have said before I wasn't really even planning on attending this meeting I'm glad I did a lot of the words of the people that support the Cs resolution that had an impact on me and um I feel that a lot of them were very very heartfelt and I'm definitely in support of the ceasefire resolution I hope that um Everybody in the rules committee can come to terms and figure out um the best way to move move forward because I think it's very important to our town that we have a stance on this and not stay silent um I know this is slightly unrelated but I know there's also a paint thing a paint stewardship I'm also in support of that so if my voice isn't heard at the next meeting or whatever just make note that I'm I'm a house painter by living so um I buy a lot of paint and I don't think that a recycling fee on top of paint would be a bad idea but yes she resolution yeah thank you thank you hi I'm Margot dard I live on Lincoln Street in Ward 2 um I want to thank Connie denim um and Omar Gomez for bringing this the ceasefire resolution to the table I support the ceasefire resolution I just wanted to add a few more stats that hadn't been said yet um 70% of the population of Gaza is facing facing catastrophic levels of starvation and hunger right now um around 2 million people in Gaza do not have enough food to eat um half of the population on the brink of starvation and famine is projected to arrive in the north anytime between mid-march and may 2024 this is according to the integrated food security phase classification also over 30,000 innocent people have been killed by Israel in Gaza and the far right government of Israel has made it clear in their own words time and time again that this is not just a war against homas it is a war against the people of Gaza quoting the Associated Press Deputy knesset leader Nim vuri from the ruling leud party wrote on X or Twitter formerly known as Twitter that Israelis have one common goal which is erasing the Gaza Strip from the face of the Earth the Israeli Heritage Min Minister Amai eliyahu from the far-right Jewish power party suggested that Israel drop a nuclear bomb on Gaza and said that there are no involved civilians in the territory um Netanyahu and other far-right Israeli ministers um have said that Western Civilization requires the total Destruction of Palestinians in Gaza and has equated them to the biblical people of amalec a people perceived in the whole as an enemy that must be destroyed um meanwhile Israeli developers have put out plans and advertisements uh to build condos on the beach in Gaza once Gaza is destroyed and the war is over so just think about that um and I encourage you to support a SE fire resolution thank you thank you hello my name is Christine Miranda I live on East Green Street in East Hampton and like many others I just want to speak in support of the ceasefire resolution as written and encourage that it's brought to a full vote as soon as possible and passed and like others who have spoken to why the city council should take up something like that or what is the value of a symbolic local resolution I just want to emphasize again like others have said that as long as the US is funding the violence against the Palestinian people we all have a responsibility to leverage absolutely everything in our power against that and so yes that includes local resolutions and City councils and if you know every city and town and different local institution joins part of that tide that does make a significant difference and so just like community members like myself will continue to pressure this Council until it is too politically inconvenient for you to ignore it um the city of eastampton supporting a ceasefire resolution is part of that broader movement of people saying that we don't agree with the genocide of the Palestinian people and eventually making it at the national level to politically inconvenient to ignore that movement anymore so I strongly am in favor of the ceasefire resolution as written and hope that it's brought to a vote as soon as possible thank you thank you hello my name is Asher Swank I live in East Hampton uh 20 Adam Street and I just want to basically Echo what the last speaker said and that in order to make changes symbolic rewards such as passing the ceasefire resolution ution as written always precedes material change so if we want to see an end to the massacre of children women men people living in Palestine these are the steps you have to take it may seem trivial it may seem ineffective but these are the kinds of things that add to the conversation and eventually make a change so I urge you pass the ceasefire resolution as written as soon as possible the people of Gaza can't wait there is famine in the north um there's an oncoming Invasion planned in Rafa with only lacks uh resistance from the United States government and for us here to sit here and delay delay delay is just going to lead to more deaths if there is any small fraction of life that can be saved by our action I urge you to take it thank you thank you hi uh my name is Brianna jelly Weber I'm an East Hampton resident I live in Precinct 2 and like so many of my fellow residents I would like to comment on the March 18th rules committee meeting what struck me most at this meeting was that the vast majority of people who who spoke if not all of them counselors included whether they did or did not support this resolution as it is said that they do want a cessation of the violence and the only logical first step in that is a Swift and Lasting ceasefire this ceasefire resolution shows that we as a community value human life and that we no longer want our tax dollars or the weapons made on our soil going to a foreign military that continually violates International humanitarian law with impunity and this is certainly on a more selfish level but I do also worry that if the US continues to enable such crimes from an ally what does that mean for us in the future we want safety for all of our neighbors and friends and that includes especially right now those who are Jewish Muslim Arab Israeli and Palestinian and we also want that safety not just for our neighbors but for those that we don't know who may not look like us who live far away because that is truly what makes us all safer and again that lasting peace and safety can only start to be accomplished when there's a lasting ceasefire I ask that you move this resolution forward as swiftly as possible to set an example where our federal and state governments have failed thank you my name is Anastasia day I live at 168 East Street um here in East Hampton and I just want to Echo so much of what everyone has said and amplify this and say that we talk a lot about being proud that America is a democracy but we all know that there are different ways that democracy is felt there's voting through your dollars which against our will uh many of us or like without our Act of consent at least we are all actively funding Israel and its weapons um there's voting with who we elect to city council there's voting with our voices speaking up at city council and I think that we're hearing a vast number of people who have taken the time and energy to say that this is not something that they are willing to even be passively complicit in and I think that cannot be ignored this resolution needs to pass as someone earlier said please do not let perfect be the enemy of the good enough as written please pass this resolution for ceasefire thank [Music] you hi my name is Mara Dodge I live in Precinct 4 um as you've heard I and many others were extremely disappointed at the rules committee meeting on Monday uh there was 90 minutes of public comment um and of those who opposed the resolution three out of the five were not from Northampton I'm sorry not from eastampton um I'm also Jewish we could have brought rabbis from neighboring towns to speak in favor of the ceasefire resolution uh there's been rabbis who spoke in amoris and Northampton in favor but we were restricting our our commentators um to East Hampton residents because this was an eastampton petition put together as you've heard many times now by a very large group that worked five weeks to craft it to come to a consensus so we're asking that it be sent to the the full city council as soon as possible unamended um so I also did want to mention I have written this to all the city councilors so I know you've heard it but i' like to just state it publicly um there was just very recently on March 8th um a a ceasefire statement released that was signed by 600 rabbis um that was put together for rabbis for ceasefire and also uh trua which is a rabbi human rights uh group so signed by 600 I sent you the link to to that article um our group uh includes Jews who Pro proudly Define themselves as Zionist and those who don't identify um in that way there was a broad range of opinion again you've heard this over and over now um some of the criticisms of the of the resolution was that there was a lot left out of it and I actually agree there were things left out of it um for example we left out mention of our concern for the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank in 2023 the IDF um Israeli Defense Forces killed 507 Palestinians including 81 children in the West Bank so we did not we chose to to leave that out uh 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank according to Amnesty International another 61 were killed in January so anyway so we didn't try to put everything into the resolution we put in what we thought was absolutely essential and factual based and should not be controversial thank you anyone else that didn't spoke yet uh yes hello uh I didn't prepare anything so give me a second uh my name is Hong Fon I live in at 28 East Maple Street in East Hampton War Two uh I want to thank uh councilors Denim and Gomez for bringing this forward representing their constituents uh I just want to emphasize to those counselors at the rules committee uh basically posing to you who do you represent you don't represent those people that you brought from the outside in Long Meadow North Hampton Amherst you represent that's the premise of a representative democracy you represent the will of the people the taxpayers of eastampton this government wers our relationship it's not just symbolic this is a direct direct funding of the genocide our tax dollars in East Hampton go directly to funding the genocide $3.8 billion unconditional US military aid us Aid to Israel now 14 billion more adding to the killing I just want to emphasize also that really it was terrible and we included in our resolution uh the the we mourn the loss of Israeli life the Civ the attack on civilians but what is going on right now how many more Palestinians have to die over 3,000 think about that 300,000 70% of them children women non-combatants civilians had nothing to do with that attack the bombs are falling on them starvation no clean water I just want to end with this I know I don't have much time um April 4th 19 67 Martin Luther King Jr gave his Beyond Vietnam speech April 3rd will be the next meeting of the full city council I hope that the the resolution as written by a broad diverse Coalition of eastampton residents working together will be held we can we can revisit that speech but it's on my mind because just to wrap up uh one of the things that the the leaders of this genocide uh the defense minister yov Galant when he ordered that complete sieg of the God's trip no electricity no food no fuel everything is closed he said we are fighting Human animals and we are acting accordingly this is the dehumanization of Palestinian life going on right now hello my name is and Petty I live at 7 Adams Street precinct 3 um I didn't prepare much so I'll be quick and I think um eastampton residents have spoken very clearly in Ally about the violence and Horror in Gaza and I hope it's clear to all of us that a ceasefire um is desperately necessary uh and a clear solution and so uh my only question in this moment given that it's clearly the will of the eastampton people and clearly a solution to the violence that's going on in Gaza is what political leadership looks like in this moment um it certainly doesn't look like uh opposition to the ceasefire resolution but it also doesn't look like uh simple passive acceptance uh of it uh when it comes up after all the procedural rules have been done um I think it looks like advocacy and doing everything in your power um to make this resolution come as written uh to the council as quickly as possible and voting in support of it working with your constituents who have worked so hard to bring it to you um and making sure it passes uh representing the will of uh your constituents and providing a real solution uh for the violence in Gaza thank you thank you anyone else here before I go to the people that participating remote a chance for the people who are here no cat and I'm going to apologize if I mispronounce your name so but I want to start with got that's okay thank you my name is Katherine good I live on Mount Tom Avenue in Precinct 3 and I have lived in East Hampton for 17 years but this is my first city council meeting I'm also here to speak in favor of East Hampton passing the resolution calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza I was horrified like many others by what happened on October 7th to Israelis and I've been horrified in the days that have followed by what has been happening to Palestinians in Gaza I do not want my tax dollars sent in unconditional support of such excessive and disproportional violence I strongly reject the idea that calling for a ceasefire is anti-Semitic just as when I protested the invasion of Iraq in 2003 that position was not anti-American as some said both positions were and are pro peace and pro- Humanity in the words of Rabbi Elliot KLA who did uh Civil Disobedience at the United Nations in favor of a ceasefire quote mainstream appeal has never been a good litmus test for Morality unquote and yet we can see now that in East Hampton I think this ceasefire um resolution does have mainstream appeal I care about my Jewish friends and my Muslim friends and I want them to live in a world where they can be neighbors not enemies pitted against each other by a colonialist colonialist cycle of violence no one has clean hands or is Without Blame in the current conflict but the excessive violence and the high civilian death toll in Gaza enumerated by earlier speakers is beyond anything that should be remotely acceptable to us for this reason I believe that our city council my city council should pass this resolution as written calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible thank you thank you Sebastian hello uh my name is Sebastian bar I'm a resident of East Hampton um third precinct I here since 2021 I've been a homeowner since 2022 this is my first city council meeting um I'm not going to repeat the powerful points fellow residents have made um I'll keep this brief I just wanted to say on public record that as a resident invested in East Hampton the rules committee meeting on Monday was very alarming to me what I witnessed left me without confidence in our Council to govern effectively and to engage meaningfully with the will of its constituents I have often felt proud to be a resident of East Hampton over the past three years um I've felt proud tonight and Monday um listening to my neighbors who have spoken and demonstrated in support of the ceasefire resolution I'm proud of the Coalition effort that went into the creation of this thoughtfully and intentionally worded resolution however I was not proud of how Monday's meeting ended nor the behavior of many of the city leaders in attendance you have a chance to do something that we can be proud of something that can make an impact in many ways please move this re resolution through as written and pass it there is no time for further delay thank you thank you going to close public hearing look like no one else have the rights no one else communication for elected officials Bo and committee denim just wanted to let people know that on uh Monday March 25th uh myself uh I believe uh president Gomez as well as uh School uh Committee Member Megan Harvey are going to have office hours at the library um so if PE people have issues or anything like that we'll be there at the library at 6 pm. so we encourage anyone who has any concerns to to come down and let us know about that whether it's uh City related School related Etc we'd love to see you thank you any other counselors see you now May your's communication Madam mayor thank you Mr Vice President Communications I do not have any tonight thank you report for standing committee Finance Mr Peak uh thank you Mr President uh well we met last week to talk about the uh Peg axis thing we already voted on that uh the only thing currently on our agenda is uh the uh matter of uh the uh uh review of uh salaries for elected officials and we're waiting on some data before we make any more uh conversations there so we will not be meeting uh between now and uh our next meeting and this concludes thank you fly safety consar thank you Mr President uh we met on the 12th I think that was last Tuesday um we had the quarterly report from the police department um the primary takeway from that um and the report was sent to all the counselors as well uh notable is the uh regionalization of the Dispatch Center we're regaliz regionalizing with Southampton um this is made possible with a close to $1 million Grant and I think my numbers are correct but we're going to be being southampton's going to pay us $170,000 a year over three years for um for dispatch um so um that's going to definitely optimize the work that's being done there as well as um through regionalization um I think be helpful for the city of Southampton as well um the reports available that should be public as well that uh feel free to email myself or another counselor if you would like that from the public uh we also went on to review the proposed no parking um uh modification and parking fines uh we're meeting one more time April 9th just to get full consensus from the committee but I think we're generally in agreement about that and the police chief and the deputy chief were there at our last meeting and had no issues with that um I'd like to set a public hearing for that item at this time for April 17th at 6:15 p.m. in these Chambers in the form of a motion that's for the one way no that's for the um the no parking and the fs yep second I have a mo a second to schedule a public hearing for April 17th I 15 and DEC any further discussion see no those all in favor I I any against Obion motion passes um additionally we met with um the DPW director and one of the engineers regarding the proposed uh one-way streets in uh new city at Emerald Place in Clinton um again this is somewhat time sensitive um generally we we agreed that as this is more so uh falls on the expertise of the individuals that presented that we didn't seem we didn't have any issue with it I did email other members of the committee who weren't able to be there um encourage them to either reach out to um the DPW director or I was certainly I'm certainly happy to hold another meeting but uh the communications I receiv received back with they had no issues with the proposal um so that was uh approved to Z to recommend to the full Council um with the understanding that other members weren't necessarily present uh but again there seems to be no concerns there um I'd like to set a public hearing for that I at this time for the April 3rd meeting at 6:15 so moved I have a motion thank you I have a motion seconds uh to uh schedule public hearing April 3rd at 6:15 and these Chambers any further discussion see none those want in favor I any against extension motion passes we have one item that requires extension that's the ordinance review committee's final report uh I'd like to request the for motion 90day extension on that second I have a motion on a second to extend for 90 days the ordinance Review Committee final report any further discussion those are in favor I any against exension motion passes as noted our next meeting is um April 9th at 6 o00 I'm assuming room one conference room one um we will have kind of the final wrap up on the uh change of those no parking signs as well as the parking fines and we'll have a conversation about some of the ordinance Review Committee items that desperately need to get wrapped up uh that's concludes thank you celor SED I would ask the public if I would ask the public if you guys have to talk I will prefer you to do it out of the chambers because we have to continue in business thank you appointments cons Riley thank you Mr President um the appointment committee last met this Monday March 18th to discuss two city council appointees uh to the licensing board um typically when I do committee reports I like to uh celebrate the charm and kindness of appointees or tell small anecdotal stories about who they are as Citizens um but because the licensing board is a technically complex entity I'm going to use my report to be a little more technical tonight um I assure you that both of the appointees are wonderful and kind so please do not let my absence of those details uh imply otherwise um so the first thing to cover is that the licensing board appointees are typically mayoral appointees because of the mayor's connection to a local business that sells alcohol she rightly recused herself uh making council president Gomez the appointing authority further chapter 138 section 4 as I've mentioned in previous meetings lays out specific state level criteria in order to be appointed um they may not be engaged in the manufacture or sale of alcoholic beverages they must also be residents of East Hampton for 2 years and one day from the time of their appointment and that the board must represent the two leading political parties in order to conduct its business so currently the licensing board has a registered Republican who meets this criteria so in order for me to recruit to the licensing board I'm required to by law to field only registered Democrats at this time um both appointees before us tonight have attested that they are registered Democrats with residency in East Hampton surpassing 2 years in one day should the Council say yes to one appointee and then not another that third person may be a Republican or a Democrat but the licensing board as it stands right now cannot function without having a Democrat present um so before I continue does anybody have any questions about that overview any go I have any questions okay thank you um so then next each appointee must meet a series of ethical criteria to be appointed this involves probing the personal lives of appointees to establish a set of facts so I thank both of them who are transparent and open to a level of public scrutiny that is not typically afforded to many other public servants including those of us who sit on this uh Council so here are the facts that follow for each of the candidates um so our first appointee is Rebecca Bell um I know some of you know who she is for the public she is the wife of counselor denim to be clear she has no connections to the manufacture or sale of alcohol in Massachusetts there are no ethical conflicts in her ability to serve as a licensing commissioner for the city of East Hampton and in the past as City councilors and the mayor have done whenever votes consider our family members uh we must vote to abstain I know that councelor denim is aware of that vote requirement tonight so we'll do two separate motions for each of the appointees um uh and then any burden uh falls on councelor denim to cast votes Miss Bell does not have any voting capabilities that could affect the city council so she is uh she there are no uh ethical concerns for her so she's 100% in the clear um and then our second appointee Steven desier is um uh also being appointed to the licensing board he did uh speak with me about his relationship with Lauren Clark um for those who do not know she is a partial owner of the tiptop wine shop in East Hampton um so I also want to expressly thank Mr delier for engaging in this process which was far more intrusive um we had our city solicitor and the state ethics commission examine attested details such as any shared real property automobile ownership checking accounts credit card information and so much more um our solicitor and the ethics commission shared in the Judgment that he may be appointed to the licensing board uh so long as he and M Clark do not get married should they get married that would automatically disqualify him he'd have to resign um from that seat um and that his relationship with her only arises to an appearance of conflict not an actual conflict he was advised IED and agreed to submit an appearance of conflict form with details about his relationship which will be housed with the uh Council clerk uh a as long as the licensing board appointees Remain the council president's uh appointees um further he was given instructions on when he must recuse himself from votes and when he should exercise Prudence on applications related to the retail sale of wine um so that information is going to be compiled uh Barbara will have that on file should anybody ever need to access it so uh M Bell and Mr desier are granted free access to the state ethics commission the same way that each of us are and may rely on that at any time to identify if and when they ought to recuse themselves from this process um I know that this seems so absurdly complex but this is a state uh law guideline and we have to adhere to what the state says so that that was the process um the appointment committee voted unanimously 20 Z to approve their appointments are there any questions no just one clarification for the public uh both have different experation dates yes and that is probably because yep uh so I I resign and they're taking their positions right yes absolutely so that was my next point if there were no questions thank you council president um and that it is to clarify that um that the unlike other appointees before the city which typically are three-year terms that expire on December 31st at the end of the year because this is a state appointment um terms are six years in length and the person gets appointed to the actual seat that they are sitting in and each of those three seats expires every two years so that there is not this type of turnover like we've recently experienced and to confirm the uh reappointment dates for those seats are uh tied to our state's fiscal calendar so that would be the first Monday in June um also there were some uh errors in the actual dates of when they would their seats would expire so the Motions that I'm about to make include the correct information good am I good to proceed yes thank you Mr President um so first I move to appoint Steven desier to the licensing board with a term expiration date of June 3rd 2024 so moved second second oh I'm sorry second second for the appointment of Stevens for the ly board explanation dat June 3rd 2024 any further discussion see none those are in favor I any against extension passes thank you Mr President and then next I move to appoint Rebecca Bell to the licensing board with a term expiration date of June 2nd 20126 second second have a motion seconds to appoint re re Bell for the licensing board with the expectation date June 1st 2026 any further discussion see none those are in favor I any against abstention I abstain motion passes with one Obion all right thank you Mr President um so I just want to take the last few moments to emphasize how thankful I am um to the service of the licensing board um that is Mr carella who is already on the licensing board to Mr desier and Miss Bell um for their willingness to serve the community um this is often an overlooked board but is Central to the entire economy of East Hampton and all of our small business owners who make our culture as vibrant and exciting as it is without their service events that we love like food truck Fridays and cultural chaos would cease to exist so from the bottom of my heart I thank you for your service also this work exists uh with the service to East Hampton from Lindsay secula um she has served the city of East Hampton for nearly six years in many ways she is the central nervous system of the mayor's Administration and she also serves as the clerk to the licensing board her institutional knowledge will guide our new appointees to a robust onboarding process and she and and I have worked tirelessly over the last few months to ensure that the city's economy continues without interruption this year so please if you see her thank her for her service um the appointment committee has no new appointees before us our next meeting will be scheduled at a later time thus concludes thank you I just want to add there for the two new appointees be ready because the mayor's office is going to uh Lindsay is going to send something really soon to them um because they're going to start working really soon very soon yes we have a lot of stuff to do in our city thank you um thank you ordinance cons denam uh thank you Mr President um the we still have a for us the electronic message center um as I mentioned before we met with a we had a joint meeting with the planning board um because of uh grants that the planning um department has been working on um uh we did not receive the report that is from the um planning committee um and so I have been assured with that we will receive that uh no later than next week uh to be able to discuss at our next um uh ordinance meeting which is going to be March 28th at 6 p.m. in conference room B um and at that point we will will um uh uh discuss the issue and other than that that's concludes thank you cons denam property cons s uh nothing to report but it looks like there may be some new business and I'll I will anxiously await to see if that is moved to committee and we will uh set a uh we we'll find time to set a property meeting thank you rules thank you rules and government relationss cons linski thank you Mr president uh as we have heard tonight there was I think folks spoke very clearly uh about their positions uh at the rules committee meeting there was about I think it was reported about onethird of the folks spoke in opposition to the language not to the concept that there be peace in the Middle East and how to get there uh that being said with your absence at the at that meeting we and given that all the time I remember any anytime a an issue similar to this an issue that of of of great importance and meaning for everybody uh that we always had three members present at that time especially if there was any tweaking and many of the folks who came in opposition I uh had had said that they weren't opposed to the general idea but General this certain pieces of it we wanted to be sure that you had a chance to hear that testimony so we have scheduled actually bumped uh the uh rank Choice voting sorry [Music] Tom Tom introduced the rank Choice voting so he's very interested in the subject and has been following it very carefully but which had been scheduled for March 27th next Wednesday night uh for the topic area of the ceasefire and the ceasefire alone uh because we want to move this as rapidly as possible we had scheduled uh the previous week uh for a meeting but that didn't work out because one of the members was on vacation uh and was unavailable for that time uh being an important issue we thought that we should have three members to discuss this and to hear everything uh well attended I think and and and I think it was a a I think tonight we we heard even more from folks about their thinking and their reasoning and I just would like folks to to thank everyone for participating on Wednesday I mean on Monday of this week and certainly being here today uh that's uh pretty much the report from the rules committee so we will be meeting at uh March 27th Wednesday at 6 p.m. 6: p.m. uh just a few different changes in time but 6 pm on Wednesday and uh we hope at that time uh to be able to present a document this concludes thank you new business conselor Derby thank you Mr President we do have some new business tonight we have a request for immediate consideration resolution in support of paint uh stewardship and recycling uh I would like to move that that be sent to the rules and government Relations Committee second I have a motion on seconds to move the resolution um to the rules committee any further discussion just please Rose his hand first sir yeah but I so you first con Sarah I'll defer to councilor Peak if that's okay councilor Peak uh is this something that we need to send to rules I didn't see that that was asked to um consideration for tonight that's why we could to send it to the committee oh I mean if the conso is okay voting for tonight I'm okay but I just being clear the um when we send it to the agenda we didn't ask to uh for voting tonight but if the council want to vote tonight I'm not I'm I'm not against that cons I was going to say the same thing I don't really have any it doesn't make a difference to me either way I just was listed under request for me consideration that's what I was just confused about and I it's not urgent so I don't have an issue I mean if the council feel comfortable voting tonight I'll do it tonight and he's against it do you have it with you uh I can probably find it pretty quick let's it here I don't know if you want if he's going to read it do you have it I have it right here read it as a motion okay all right do you have to read draw the rules you made somebody made a motion he's going to do it I'm going to do it right now okay yeah yeah to withraw the motion to send it to committee send to commit oh sorry you're right we have to withdraw the motion I withdraw the motion I withdraw my second thank you okay all right um so in the form of a motion I'm going to do a reading of the uh resolution in support of paint stewardship legislation whereas landfill capacity in Massachusetts has rapidly declined and no new capacity is expected and whereas the cost of hauling and disposal of waste materials have increased by over 30% in The Last 5 Years and are expected to continue increasing at similar rates and whereas paint steers ship a paint stewardship law would create a convenient collection Network to properly manage all architectural paint from business and residential sectors and substantially decrease inappropriate discarding of paint which is a toxic substance that can cause harmful environmental pollution and whereas a paint stewardship law will divert paint from weight waste disposal to its best and highest use whereby there will be a small but real decrease in the total waste going into landfills and whereas paint stewardship laws have been demonstrated as an effective means of diverting paint from landfills in our neighboring states of Connecticut Rhode Island Maine Vermont and New York and whereas a law supporting the discarding of latex and oil-based paints at participating retail stores and transfer stations has strong support from constituents and whereas municipal waste management systems were established a century ago to manage waste like ashes food scraps and horse manure rather than the wide array of manufactured goods including paint which dominates today's municipal waste and whereas the Massachusetts Municipal Association passed a resolution which supports Statewide producer responsibility legislation in January 2019 now therefore be it resolved that this uh eastampton city council urges the Massachusetts general court and the leadership of both Chambers to view the the pending paint stewardship legislation favorably and take whatever actions are necessary to pass the paint stewardship bills into law including voting favorably out of any and all committees a paint stewardship law will begin relieving municipalities and consumers of ever Rising Solid Waste Management costs significantly reduce a toxic waste going into landfills and decreases greenhouse gases generated by the paint industry by up to 4% pending State uh pending paint stewardship legislation in the 2023 2024 legislative session includes bills such as H 823 an act relative to paint recycling s542 an act to establish sa safe paint stewardship and s521 an act relative to paint recycling that was in the form of a motion have a motion on a seconds to appr this resolution any further discussion uh cons s yeah just a few comments and some want to summarize what was just read it um so um I'm sure many of you have had the deal with disposing of paint and both it's certainly a residential and Commercial settings um it's confusing it's expensive and it's there's so many barriers to doing so that often times people just kind of give up and throw the paint word shouldn't go um East Hampton obviously is in the midst of a climate action plan we passed a climate crisis resolution and we recently formed a committee specifically to tackle uh environmental and ecological sustainability um this would add approximately 75 cents fee to the gallon to make it less expensive to dispose of pate and create uh collection sites and processing areas um as mentioned this has already been U done in 10 other states including the district Columbia all of our neighboring states except New Hampshire have done this and saved approximately $300 million in terms of uh environmental disposal fees um so it makes sense it's going to keep everything cleaner we're going to keep paint out of our landfills and out of our waterways so it's kind of a no-brainer thank you any other consors those all in favor any against exstension motion poses thank you Mr President uh we also have a request for um ordinance committee to review the municipal opin specialized stretch energy code I would uh in the form of a motion uh send that to the ordinance committee second I have a motion and a second to send this item to the ordinance committee and if for the discussion see no those want in favor I any against exension motion passes uh we also have a request for temporary moratorium on the use of sewage sludge and uh fertilizer in East Hampton I move that we send that to the ordinance committee second I have a much seconds um to for the request of the temporary moratorium of the use of s SLO fertilizer in Hampton any further discussion see none those are in favor I any against exstension motion passes and our last one is a request for um a Verizon poll location on East Street I move that we send that to property second second have a motion a second to send this item to property committee any further discussion um Mr President with your permission I want to just get ahead of ourselves and set the public hearing now if that's okay um so I'd like to uh we'll vote I'll I'll do it after the vote I also just want to comment in order to mitigate some of the issues we experienced at the last meeting I'm going to send let's vote for this and you make the motion or you can include them the public hearing and what day no I can you want to do that yeah that way we can vote okay yeah on the on the on the 20th at 6:15 of uh 20th I'm sorry April 17th of April looking at the wrong calendar okay so I would amend I would amend my motion to also set a public hearing on the 17th of April i' with I amend my second all right we have a motion of seconds to move this item to the property committee and to schedule a public hearing uh April 17 at this Chambers C15 any further discussion cons comment in terms of in regards to what we dealt with last time I'm going to as the chair of property in order to try to mitigate what happened last time just send a letter to the uh to the utility to let them know the process and to wait thank you any other consor those one in favor I any against Obion motion passes we take a motion to adjourn second I have a motion on a second to adjourn those are in favor against extension motion passes thank you everybody have a great evening than to sign e