e e e e e e e e e for for the Monday July 1st 2024 regular meeting of the gardener city council will come to order the clerk will please call the role Council Brooks present Council cor present councilor D lawitz present councel Harter pres councelor Heath present councel heglin present councel Mack pres councel TBO munes pres councelor tone pres councelor tyos pres president president please rise recite the opening pray and see the Pledge of Allegiance almighty God we thank the for bringing us together this evening Inspire us to worthy deeds and sound decisions and direct us toward the attainment of good city government we pray the to bless and protect all the people of our city and to so guide and Inspire us that we may delate in unity and Harmony amen I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the repu for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for open meeting recording notice any person may make a video or audio recording of an open session of a meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium subject to reasonable requirements of the chairs for the number placement and operation of equipment used so as not to interfere with the conduct of the meeting any person intending to make such recording shall notify the chair forth withth all documents and Exhibits used or referenced at the meeting must be submitted in duplicate to the chair as they become part of the meeting minutes pursuant to General Law chapter 38 subsection 20 is anyone here recording tonight's meeting no one's recing we will begin with the reading of the minutes of Prior meetings there are no minutes there are no public hearings Communications from the the mayor item 11323 a vote to authorize the mayor to enter into a community host agreement between the city of Garder and Bas State racing LLC councelor General ow thank you madam president as this item relates to item 11317 I would ask for more time if there is no objection the committee will be granted more time the committee will be granted more time petitions applications Communications Etc item 11317 a vote to determine if a track of land located at 827 Green Street be approved as a location of A running horse racing track where race meetings laid out and conducted by lenses under Mass General Law chapter 128a will be held or conducted councelor General LT thank you again Madam president I'd like to make a motion to schedule an informal meeting of for the purpose of a presentation on the proposal and to schedule a public hearing second motion made by councelor General outwit seconded by councelor Tyrus to schedule an informal meeting for the purpose of a presentation on the proposal and to schedule a public hearing is there a discussion on the motion councel tyros thank you madam president I want to start off by saying that I was very frustrated at our last meeting I came prepared I had questions I had comments but I think we all remember what happened and 10 of us were not allowed to speak on this let me be clear I will vote to have a public hearing and for three straightforward reasons first to make a decision we need to be more informed and have an opportunity to ask questions second we need the opportunity to hear from the public and have an open discussion third my reading of the Mass General law is that we cannot vote this petition up or down until we have a public hearing so for those who support this as well as those who oppose this this is the next step we have to take I also want to be clear that I opposed to this as it stands however I think it's extremely important that we go through the process properly to be in compliance with state law and to give everyone who wants to opportunity to participate and go through all the questions and concerns I want to add for those who are opposed do not fall for the misinformation that is that this item is over should the public hearing vote fail all that would do is prevent a public hearing it would not remove the item from consideration and it would not make a final determination concerning racing on this parcel without that vote this could potentially come up again and again and again before I go into my questions I want to clarify a few things I think some of the misinformation miscommunication that I've experienced and seen take place over the last 2 weeks that are directly attributable at least in part to the action taken last meeting once a matter is before this Council there are additional rules that we must follow by state law that restricts when where and how we can publicly discuss matters There are rules that impact our attendance at other non-official meetings Gatherings and other instances where this material may be discussed until such a time that is no longer pending before this Council this this is not a city project this petition before us is a is because a private company has made a deal with another private company concerning the sale of privately held Land There is no City money involved in this third this is a standard process nothing is being rushed pushed or delayed this is the same process we routinely follow C for the hearing to make the most of that time I would like to briefly address some of my areas of concern that I that things that I expect to go into greater detail during an informal public hearing first is a special Revenue fund I think we need to explore options to secure the additional Revenue that this could come from for me this is an important factor Weighing on the side of the proposal the second is traffic I do not feel that this proposal adequately or thoroughly examines the traffic and parking issues as a quick example for those newer to this process other developments that have often included specific details about traffic mitigation plans upgrades to existing infrastructure and other mitigations third is the host Community agreement I realized that in our packet the first draft but I do think overall inadequate on both compensation for the city and to make sure that all costs born by the city are covered and not just by the initial development and moving forward as well and the enforcement of the HCA the HCA outlines the procedure where the city council could take certain steps including fines to make this enforcement I have concerns about this process one for example it's not usual that this the city council does this so we need to deeper examine this topic and two the find for the enforcement mechanism does not seem to face sufficient for the force compliance third is the expiration of the HCA what is the term is the HCA automatically transferable if a new owner or entity took over this property what would happen Council you're approaching your five minutes thank you just one final question Madam president water protection we need to better understand how this project will impact the surface water that this area as it flows through our city into our City Reservoir I expect that there are State and maybe federal regulations that would come into play here but I think we need a thorough explanation of how that works especially what the city would be responsible for going forward thank you madam president thank you counselor for the discussion councelor hegler thank you madam president and through you to the members and the public I'm going to Second the frustration with what happened to the last meeting I had things I wanted to say is it's important for the public to hear from us and we didn't have that opportunity while I could say a lot more I'll leave it there for time and I so I want to start by reading the statement I had prepared for the last meeting I support holding an informal meeting in public hearing as is required this will allow us to formally hear from the public and raise important questions we have and get more information on all aspects of this proposal I also want to note that a public hearing is only the next step and as we a council can take as much time as we need after that there is nothing compelling us Rush this process and we have no deadline and we shouldn't rush there are a lot of aspects to this that the council doesn't usually deal with we'll need further guidance to be able to properly interpret all the information applicable laws and regulations and how all those will be enforced I have questions and concerns as I'm sure as more information comes in as it already has we'll have further questions and concerns and everyone who comes before this Council every petition we hear they all deserve a thorough and fair shake so when I think of the questions and concerns I have there're as follows in no particular order traffic and parking I want to see more specifics around their plans to accommodate traffic in whatever form we need more explanation of how race days will work and what we can expect that to look like before we can properly evaluate those impacts and what we should take as steps concerning those obviously viability is a great concern establishing rules for anticipated Revenue I think it's important that additional Revenue over and above the property taxes that could be collected is tightly controlled to make sure it's handled especially responsibly on our end backed up by a good plan the host Community agreement in general I think we need more information I also don't think from what we've been given that this is the best offer and if it is that it ensures the impacts are mitigated this should be an important priority because this thoroughness and completeness will be a great factor in whether or not should this proceed provide enough benefit to the city to outweigh any and all potential impacts and I want to stress the potential impacts as important in weighing the HCA as those will be pinned by educated guesses we need to make sure any and all offsets are well and above those impacts to account for any changes unexpected or otherwise and of course water protection this should be our top priority in our investigation of this proposal where most of us I don't think have a lot of experience or expertise on this part specifically I think it's really important that we seek additional guidance so I've done some homework specifically on this last part um and looking at 330 CMR 32 my assumption is that these regulations will directly apply to the parcel given its location I recommend you read these closely it goes over details around fertilizer domestic animals and Water Supplies licens reporting testing Etc is my understanding that the state laws and regulations would be applicable in this case and they would be enforced by Department of Environmental Protection the Mass Department of agricultural resources and the department of conservation and Recreation so I've requested some information on how this would work in this case from those three state agencies I'd like to see a menu of the laws and regulations that would apply here and if we're going to evaluate this concern we need to study those cmrs to have an accurate picture so since our last meeting I've had some information further on that point um I've heard back from mdar and D still waiting on a formal reply from DCR but D confirmed that 330 CMR 22 would apply in this case furthermore they recommended that the project proponent meet with mass D for a pre permitting meeting to be honest I'm concerned that this hasn't happened yet and it makes me more concerned in general about the Readiness of The Proposal that's been submitted to us so I'd like to make an amendment to the motion by adding that we um the council recommend Bay State racing seek a pre permitting meeting with mass D and that the city be notified and invited to send representation to this meeting uh to observe so I move the motion be amended as follows I have a copy for you madam uh president that councilor hegan moves the motion to be amended by adding the following one the city council recommends that b a racing request a pre permitting meeting with mass D and two that the city be notified and invited to send representation to the meeting to observe second Council motion amend please thank you thank you motion amended by councelor heglin seconded by councelor General lawitz is there discussion on the motion to amend the motion to amend again moves that the original motion be amended as follows one the city council recommends That Base State racing requests a pre- permanent meeting with mass D and two that the city be notified and invited to send representation to the meeting to observe is there a discussion on the amendment councelor Mac um does the maker of the motion expect this to occur before any public hearing takes place that's a good question I I don't but I would definitely recommend and are that they certainly um do so if they can at their convenience and then otherwise we'll need that information right after I'm just mam I'm just I'm just question question because this is amendment as we're in the we're discussing um the item is to vote for a public hearing so that's why I'm questioning that is this proper amendment is it should be is this a contingency for the public hearing is this a proper place for this amendment this amendment as and counselor uh this amendment is added to to to the motion to schedule a public hearing and an informal meeting so this is an addition to that it's not in a contingency it is addition to it thank you thank you further discussion councelor harder yes Madam president um I want to stop by saying that I used to own horses that were stabled on this property so I'm very familiar with the property and with the do we have to vote on the motion first oh this the discussion is again it's on the amendment it's not on the original motion um we will we will uh return to the underlying motion okay after after we vote on the amended motion so this is discussion on the amend on the amendment is there any other discussion councelor tyros thank you madam president I just want to briefly say I I I like this amendment uh and I I'll be supporting it uh looks like the council did his homework and a teacher background probably benefited in here so thank you for that thank you counselor further discussion councelor darn lawitz thank you madam president I just want to commend councel hegan for all the work he put in um so far and will continue to do so as he has I believe he said another email um a waiting a response um from uh conservation and Recreation correct as all thank you thank you counselor for the discussion on the amended Amendment so it was the amendment was made by councelor uh heglin and seconded by councelor JN lawitz this vote is on the again on the amended motion all those in favor say I I I those opposed say no no please raise your left hand if you voted no 10 11 10 yes is one no 10 10 yes is 1 no the amendment passes we'll now go back to the underlying motion Is there further discussion on the underlying motion councelor harder yes okay let me start again I I want to start by saying that I used to own horses that were stabled on this property so I'm very familiar with the property and with caring for horses just so everyone is on the same page as I have seen a lot of misinformation tonight's vote is not a final vote last meeting as tonight all we are being asked to do is hold a public hearing and another public meeting to discuss this in more detail this is all standard I really cannot think of any reason not to do this we should get more information ask more questions I hope that for anyone who supports or who opposes this you wouldn't want the council to accept or dismiss anything that comes before us without doing our homework having a public hearing is an important part of this long process I also want to say it's okay not to know how this process works it's also okay and easy to find answers whether you're on the council or in the public just ask in the 13 years I have been a counselor I have heard many petitions come before us for different developments some have W I have wound up supporting others not but the process is the same so to everyone I say trust the process I realize that when things like this come up that generate more interest especially when it's emotional it can be difficult to follow especially with this item the process is even longer and has more steps than usual to make sure we on this Council have the time and all the information we need to make this decision I agree with many of the concerns brought up tonight I have many of the same questions I want to thank the people who have reached out I have had many good conversations about this proposal on the last two weeks and I expect to have more over the next month I also want to add that people who have chosen to be rude aggressive or make threats I'm not weighing any of that at all in making my decision I want to remind everyone that the 11 of us sitting here this on this Council this is not our our full-time job we do not have a staff to help us so please be patient and keep that in your mind and remember that even though we have a title we're just people who live in the community with you and that will continue to be the case after this vote so I will be supporting the public hearing thank you councelor forther discussion councelor Kei thank you madam president um I don't come here often with a written statement I usually just speak from the heart um sometimes correctly sometimes not but um I actually wrote down something today email it to myself so I can read it off all right so um there's been so much drama that I I want to be clear and concise I want to briefly State my frustrations with what happened on this item last meeting this is my ward so of course I have concerns of course I have questions I think what was done last time did the rest of us a real disservice the part that I think was most disrespectful to the rest of us was the objection was made after a statement on the item was made but before any of us could speak you guys know what happened we shouldn't use the rules to take advantage like that that's just how I feel unfortunately there's a lot of misinformation going around as an example the sports betting ordinance that I introduced in the council pass earlier this year both M municipalities and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts were required to make this change based on Supreme Court decision on sports betting before we say yes or no to this proposal we certainly have to get more information and make sure our questions are answered but I think it's important that this business like any business looking to come to Gardener is treated fairly and given a fair process I believe this Council and this community is more than capable of engaging in a mature mature reasonable and rational discussion without personal attacks or rumor spreading I want to add my chief concern is the res the residents in my neighborhood and the impact that this could could have on them and on that area of the city one thing I haven't really seen in the information we have been given so far is what steps in the proposal are there to lessen those impacts what those are and if that is even possible will weigh heavily on my decision specifically concerning traffic it is obviously already a concern on Route 140 and I have been working with rep lotnik office and the state to take steps to address that aside from this proposal I think we need to be able to ask all these questions air these concerns and hear responses on the record it is the only way we as councelors can properly evaluate this I'm concerned about traffic I'm concerned about the drinking water I'm concerned about the neighborhood I think we should have a meeting to discuss all of this and I will be voting to have that meeting that is all thank you counselor further discussion councelor Mac thank you madam president supporting this item for a public hearing doesn't mean that I support the proposed host Amendment these are separate items make no mistake I have grave concerns about this proposal many raised by councelor tyros that I will not repeat them over again but most importantly uh the Water Supply the purp purp of a public hearing is to allow all stakeholders and citizens to speak about an issue that is in front of the this Council for a vote this vote is for the city as much as someone may be opposed to any issue without allowing the public and all stakehold holders an opportunity to speak and be heard in my opinion it is wrong and not how we as a legislative body should conduct business on any issue that affects our citizens and City it is the only process that allows individual speaks to speak prior to a vote taken here having received many Communications from concerned citizens in the past couple of weeks many expressed a public hearing isn't necessary and ask me to vote against it I would be remiss not to mention that our responsibility is to hear relevant information from both sides all opinions on every issue that come before us everyone has a right to be heard this is the one opportunity to allow any further pertinent factual information be presented as this is not the time for for speculation untruth false statements and conjecture the voices of a vocal few aren't the only voices that exist some of these same voices have been quick to criticize not having the ability to speak at our meetings however are now against having a public hearing on an important topic that has a significant importance for the future of our city I as I'm sure every counselor wants to make an informed decision as to how to vote on the host agreement item before us and I want to give those people who haven't already had a chance to be involved with the process to be heard for this reason I will be supporting the vote to hold a public hearing thank you thank you counselor further discussion councelor Brooks uh thank you madam president last meeting citizens felt concerned that city council was being rushed to approve this project this week I feel concerned that city council is being rushed to kill the project currently I have not had an opportunity to hear from the proponents of a horse race track to make their case I have received and tried to digest about 200 pages of information included in the packet but I still have questions as apparently many of us do I was unable to attend their presentation at Williams restaurant last Wednesday because of a prior commitment I would like there to be a city council meeting to hear their presentation and to get answers we should also have some discussion about the financial ramifications of this project how much money is is process promised how much of that promise is realistic what are the fiscal or financial gains to the city of approving this project or conversely the fiscal or financial costs of not approving this project you can tell my background here is is financial I also think that the public the citizens of this city should have an opportunity to express their views last year as I was sitting in the audience many citizens attending City Council meetings were frustrated that they could not express their views on proposed zoning changes along Route 140 while public hearings were required on the matter Council agenda items were withdrawn before a public hearing could be held which negated the need for the public hearing and anchored the public the citizens should be heard in addition we counselors have received an overwhelming number of emails asking us to vote no on the proposal I am curious to know if there are any proponents of this project willing to speak up at a public Hearing in other words is there any public support for this project my opinion let's slow down follow the statutory process seek input do our homework weigh the pros and cons and be deliberate in our decision making I will be supporting this motion thank you thank you counselor for the discussion councelor ton yes thank you madam president I first of respect my fellow counselors and their professionalism as far as what happened at the last meeting I don't have an issue with with it we have the opportunity to do it if someone wants to object to something it can object um as far as this proposal I will not be supporting a public hearing for this I've heard from the city of Gardner I feel as though Garder does not want racing and and and the impact that it will have on the people who built their homes in that particular area the people who live in that particular area the water in the Watershed I I will I will not support it moving forward I've heard enough I've answered several phone calls I've listened I have not had one person come to me and state that they were for racing or they were for this project I'm maybe I'm being shortsighted here I respect everybody's opinion for wanting more input I will not support a public moving forward with racing thank you thank you counselor on the motion Is there further discussion on the motion councelor C cor uh yes uh thank you to all our fellow counselors I appreciate all the the homework and the clarifications that you've all provided I appreciate councelor Egan making that amendment I think that's very helpful um I think a a public hearing is great in most instances I do believe in uh that there's not many things we shouldn't be talking about before we vote on them I do have an issue with trust in this particular proposal um they've been before us before and the way they approach the last time is is leaving me with a real issue trusting on this proposal that we're going to get the information that we need so um I hope if we do move forward with public hearing that we do have answers to all these questions that we need to make a proper vote uh but I don't know that I can support this public hearing at this time thank you counselor further discussion on the motion councelor tuno right it's going to be a little long winded use uh first of all I want to apologize to you all for uh stripping me with the opportunity to speak at the last meeting following the the objection that I made um in retrospect I wish I had found more time over that weekend prior to begin reading the packet uh for the last meeting doing so would have given me more time to reach out to you all and and others to discuss the reservation surrounding the proposed track and vote unfortunately I found no other alternative but to object given the circumstances I prepared myself with councel at the final hour to find a way to slow things down should the process seem rushed I may have been wrong in my assumptions but after voicing my concerns during the first vote uh uh regarding whether or not to authorize the mayor to enter the host Community agreement with B State when the second vote came up regarding whether 827 Green Street should be approved as the location of a horse track I heard a Swift first in a second uh and became flustered I looked around quickly to see if any other counselors were going to speak but I didn't wait long enough apparently um I do not gamble I don't judge people who gamble I I also like many of you would like to find alternative ways to bring Revenue into the city budget other than raising taxes but this is not that alternative on the day of our last meeting I spent from 9: to 5:30 p.m. reading the packet looking for reasons to support Bay State's proposal instead my reservation surrounding the proposed racetrack grew I found myself particularly triggered by the rendering of the proposed racetrack which was surrounded by water in all three sides or three sides of four located less than 1 mile Upstream from pearly Brook Reservoir which feeds Crystal Lake our primary drinking water supply after reading through the proposal I was hoping to see something aside from attorney pater's letter from the city opinions for example from the Conservation Commission conservation agent regarding potential impact on wetlands and drinking water Police Department potential impact on traffic safety instead I only found B State's Proposal with a with their spin which is the same information that the public would receive only days later this is a bad deal for the city base State and their investors and interest is solely financial and for their gain not ours simply put their their primary goal is to obtain a gaining license to be able to manage online beding but at what cost at whose expense as you are aware my primary concern is the proposed tracks potential long-term impact on our drinking water the destruction of wetlands and in turn the negative impact that this would have on Gardener future and present residents in their proposal Bas State promised a minuscule amount of money annually to Garder while they and their investors stand to make tens of millions of annually what interest and long-term commitment does Bas state and its investors have with and to Gardener other than using us to meet their end perhaps I'm expecting the cart before the horse but there are far too many unknowns and there are far to is far too much at risk for me personally support moving this proposal forward thank you coun discussion councelor General LTS thank you madam president I do want to make it clear um as the maker of the original motion I do have major reservations about this project um as currently constituted many of the issues have been brought up but the traffic the environmental concerns and the actual economic benefit that the HCA um reportedly provides um I think it's lacking um but to change our process and do a different process for um this project that we would do for anyone else I don't think it's a great precedent to set we need to go through the process outlined uh by the Mass general laws take the steps be willing to hear both sides at a public hearing where members of the uh crowd here and others can come make their case the proponents can come make their presentation um I think that's only fair I think it's our job to be um to be fair um so I will be supporting uh the motion to have a public hearing and schedule the informal meeting thank you thank you counselor further discussion councelor Matt um for the second and final time Madam president I just want to repeat what councelor Tyro said that it's important that we do this process and do it completely because um we've been here before and I want it done right because I don't want to be here again next year um with another proposal from Bas State racing in front of us so I'd like to do this the proper way so it can be done um completely so we can make a final informed decision um and put the matter at rest thank you thank you coun councelor for the discussion councelor tboos thank you madam president I just want to say for the record I am in favor of a public hearing thank you counselor further discussion any further discussion on the motion the amended motion immediate immediately prior to the vote and be there no objection I would like to make a statement for the viewing public I've seen a lot said in the last two weeks so I want to explain a few things there is nothing unusual rushed or unique about this process many many times a year we receive petitions from businesses or other entities seeking permission to something in this to do something in the city different licenses permits zoning changes and others the process is always the same it gets added to our agenda in many cases it is referred to a committee in many cases a public hearing is held we follow the gardener City Charter city ordinances city council rules and Massachusetts state law every process we go through is mandated by those rules ordinances and laws and then we vote I've seen many claims that this is being rushed that is not so I've seen many claims that council is not listening to the public that is not so I've seen the claim that the council is not responding to Residents that is not so I've seen seen the claim that I am quote pushing this through and that is not so I am deviating slightly in making this statement but I think it is important to do so to correct the rampant misinformation and speculation normally as council president as most of you know I would give my opinion at the informal meeting as the council president does not engage in the floor debate again this is how the process is designed to work the council receives petitions councelors debate item excuse me when they're not prevent prevented from speaking by an objection we work through the process this is the best way that has been worked out over many many years to make sure the council can get through the city's business and those appearing before us can get a fair and consistent process I am not supportive of this proposal after carefully considering all the information we have been given nothing has changed my past and initi hesitancy on this project however I think we need to hold the public hearing to give everyone the opportunity to have their questions answered have a discussion and make sure everyone has the information they need to make an informed and educated vote that is our responsibility this is what we should do every time we definitely should not be dismissing or approving of things without going through that process we are not holding up our responsibility to the whole public those opposed to this and those in support by rushing to our side and not thoroughly doing our homework for anyone who votes no to holding this public hearing an informal meeting I look forward to your suggestions of what you think the process should look like with that we'll do a roll call vote on this motion the city clerk will please call the roll mad Madam president can you just tell me what the motion is would you like to repeat the motion yes since I'm first in line yes since you're first in line counselor the motion on the floor is as follows the city council the motion is to for the city council to hold an informal and public hearing on item 11317 and then the motion was amended to add the city council recommends That Base State racing request a pre- permitting meeting with mass DP and two that the city be notified and invited to send representation to the meeting to observe thank you counselor the clerk will please call the role councel Brooks yes councelor Craig Cormier no councel D lawitz yes councel harder yes councel Heath yes councel heglin yes councelor Mack yes councel TBO munes yes councelor tone no councelor tyros yes president kazus yes n yes nine y two NOS the motion passes item 11324 an open meeting law complaint filed by Paul Deo regarding open meeting law discussion with the city council councelor tyros thank you madam president I move to authorize the council president to respond on behalf of the council that the announce that there was an announcement publicly made during Open session of the June 3rd 2024 city council meeting and that there is no open law violation second motion made by councelor Ty second by counselor D to give the city council president um permission to respond on behalf of the council um with the counselor's comments is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I those opposed to say no the motion passes item 11325 a communication regarding the legal opinion of the law Department's representation of City departments councelor tyros thank you madam president I move to place communication on file second motion made by councelor tyros second by counc General to place the communication on file is there a discussion on the motion councelor tyros thank you madam president as the maker of the amendment to the motion that uh got us this legal opinion from the Law Department I would just like to note uh you know was extremely disappointing that this letter took over a month to return back to us a very simple request I believe made to the city solicitor in the Law Department um I've reviewed the letter and um it's answered some questions and created some more it's all thank you thank you counselor further discussion all those in favor say I I I those oppos say no motion passes reports of standing committees finance committee item 11289 an ordinance to amend the code of the city of Garder part one thereof entitled administrative legislation Council General LTZ the finance committee um as it has not uh finalized their um recommendation would request more time on this item if there's no objection the committee will be granted more time the committee will be granted more time item 11314 an ordinance to amend the code of the city of gardener section 90 of chapter 553 thereof entitled sewer rates councel General lawit I move to uh send the ordinance to final printing second motion made by councelor General La second by councelor mck to send the ordinance to final printing is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I oppos say no motion passes appointments committee item 1114 zero a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Robert Schwarz to the position of planning board member for term expiring January 4th 2027 report from the appointments committee councelor tyros thank you madam president the committee met with the mayor's office and the appointee to discuss the reappointment uh Mr schz has been serving in this capacity since 2014 the committee had a very good conversation with the appointee we thanked him for his service as a as a former US army engineer uh and also thank him for his service to his community being on school committee and various other uh boards and activities throughout the city uh the committee voted in favor therefore I move to uh approve the appointment be certified second motion made by councelor Tyra seconded by councelor General lowitz to confirm the mayor's appointment is there a discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I those oppos say no motion passes item 11141 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Steven Cormier to the position of planning board member for term expiring January 4th 2027 report from appointments committee councelor tyros thank you madam president the committee met with the mayor's office uh to discuss this reappointment Mr Cormier has been serving in this role since 2017 uh the committee was very very appreciative of him taking on this responsibility for the city over multiple decades he was a former firefighter in the gardener fire department just to show that his dedication being a Garder right uh the committee voted in favor of the appointment therefore I move the appointment to be certified second motion made by councelor Tyra seconded by councelor Heath to confirm the mayor's appointment is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I I those opposed say no the motion passes item 11255 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Vincent puser to the position of assistant city solicitor for term expiring January 1st 2025 councel tyros thank you madam president the committee met with the appointee attorney prary and the uh city solicitor flick and uh the mayor's office to discuss this new appointment uh attorney puser was the city solicitor in Fitchburg for eight years he is um he still currently has his Law Office in fitzburg the city solicitor spoke to that helping us with our uh somewhat frequent issues of conflict of interest with our Law Department uh though they may still occur uh want to be clear of that uh ATT cuser uh was very fond of the Garder Community uh he's enjoyed uh his time as assistant city solicitor kind of getting into the work this as being the solicitor um the committee was very uh impressed with his work voted favorably for his reappointment therefore I move it be certified second motion made by councelor Ty second by councelor dtz to confirm the mayor's appointment is there a discussion on the motion Council Brooks uh thank you madam president I just want to uh say that that I worked with uh attorney puser for eight years in pitchburg enjoyed working with him and I think the city is very fortunate to have somebody with with his experience thank you thank you counselor further discussion all those in favor say I I those opposed say no the motion passes item 11315 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of melery cornette to the position of Zoning Board member for term expiring June 12th 2026 councelor heglin thank you madam president uh the appointments committee met on this item an appointee last Thursday the 27th uh we met with the mayor's office who highly recommends this appointment uh Mr cornett's already an alternate for the zba understands a lot of the issues that will come before them and the processes um rules and regulations and so we voted unanimously in favor of this recommendation so I move the appointment to be confirmed second motion made by councelor hgen seconded by councelor Heath to confirm the mayor's appointment is there a discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I I who opposed say no motion passes item 11316 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Lori weda to the position of zoning Board member for term expiring June 12th 2027 councelor heglin thank you madam president uh we also met on this appointment last Thursday the 27th with the mayor's office um Miss WEA also comes highly recommended as a gardener resident and also the assessor for the town of Templeton so she has great Municipal experience that she can bring to this role we unanimously were in favor of this recommendation and so I move the appointment to be confirmed second motion made by councelor heglin seconded by councelor Heath to confirm the mayor's appointment and is there a discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I those opposed say no the motion passes at this time we will take a brief recess of the meeting to swear in those who have been appointed here this evening we will reconvene after the swearing in is complete and call the meeting back to order is day your do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and impartially that I will faithfully and impartially perform the duties ofing to the [Music] [Applause] e e partially and impartially perform the duties of perform the duties of Zing board member Zoning Board member according to the law according to the law and the best of my abilities and the best of my abilities congratulations thank you very like e call back to order Safety Committee item 111 15 an ordinance to amend the code of the city of Garder chapter 600 entitled vehicles and traffic section 24 entitled parking prohibit on certain streets Douglas Road report from the Safety Committee councelor cor uh yes thank you madam president items 11115 and 11204 uh the DPW and the police department are still working on a 60-day trial on both of these motions uh to get feedback uh therefore I ask for more time on both items if there's no objection the committee will be granted more time on item 111 15 and the request is for 11204 correct yes ma'am 11204 an ordinance to amend the code of the city of Gardner chapter 600 entitled vehicles and traffic section 24 entitled parking prohibited on certain streets edel street from Elm Street to Lauren Street there's no objection so the committee will be granted more time item 11318 an application by GameStop incorporated number 3725 for a license to deal in secondhand articles at 376 Tony Boulevard councelor cor thank you madam President we had a chance to meet on this in the Safety Committee uh there is no objections to longstanding business uh they are in good standing with the city and uh the police department and therefore I move to approve the application second motion made by councelor cor seconded by councelor Heath to approve the application is there a discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I I those opposed say no motion passes item 11319 an application by Gardener coins and cards Incorporated for a license to deal in secondhand articles at 18 Parker Street councelor cor thank you madam president uh again uh it's an applicant that's in good standing long standing uh business in the city and therefore we were unanimously in favor and I move the application second motion made by councelor Cormier seconded by councelor TBO Munos to approve the application is there a discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I those opposed say no the motion passes item 1132 to zero an application by the Salvation Army Family Store and donation center for a license to deal in secondhand articles at 8 Union Street councilor for thank you madam president again the committee was in unanimous approval and therefore I move to approve the application second motion made by councelor Cormier second and by councel Harden to approve the application is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I those opposed say no the motion passes item 11321 an application by house of peace and education Incorporated doing business as hopeful Boutique for a license to deal in secondhand articles at 29 Pleasant Street report from the Public Safety Committee councelor Cormier yeah again thank you madam president uh as the other three applications these are all long-standing uh business residents uh in the city they are all in good standing according to the police department and the city clerk uh and therefore unanimously recommend approval of the application second motion made by councelor Cormier second by councelor tunos to approve the application is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I those oppos say no the motion passes welfare committee item 11211 an ordinance to amend the code of the city of Garder to add a new chapter 15 to be entitled agricultural commission councelor Mac um yes Madam president the committee hasn't meant to review the letters that we received and we plan to have some interested parties also at our next meeting which has yet been scheduled so we request more time if there's no OB the committee will be granted more time the committee will be granted more time there's no one finished business in matters for reconsideration there is no new Business Council comments and remarks are there any Council comments and remarks Council tyros thank you madam president I prepared brief remarks cuz I want to address something that deeply troubles me and I hope it does not become the norm there were two objections made last meeting that I wanted to discuss for the Public's awareness the first was the section 28 objection to the motion to hold the public hearing this objection is from City Charter and in the 5 years I've been on this Council I've only seen that objection used once for the second I went back to our records that are available online all the way to 2012 but I could not find a single instance in which a counselor objected to a motion for more time made by the made by The Counselor who originally submitted the item and that item being actively in subcommittee the point is that both of these instances are incredibly rare and both happened in the same night the reason I make this point is that I think it's important that we do not get into this habit the irony is that I mostly agree with both of the makers of the motion uh both of the objections on the respective items but and this is a big butt process and procedure matters I didn't always feel that way I've been watching City councils for a long time before I decided to run but sitting here and especially following the example of former counselor Walsh process and procedure matters they matter because it enables all of us to be on equal footing it ures that we all have the opportunity to be prepared for the meeting and have our voices heard it's about mutual respect for the time we each put into preparing for the meeting and mutual respect for each other for all the efforts we put in no one should ever feel like the rug has been pulled out from under them or that they didn't understand what was happening or why none of us or the public should leave a meeting being confused about why anything happened as an example I have a printed copy of the garden news that covered that meeting in the article it reports that there was a motion for more time to study the issue this is inaccurate and it shows how confusing this was to Residents it was later corrected in the online version but I had numerous people contact me on that specific point we all get passionate about certain items we all feel strongly about but this cannot Cloud our mutual obligation to each other to make sure we can be equally prepared and there's usually at least two weeks between meetings and we usually get the agenda three full 3 days before and then some that's plenty of time to prepare there's really no reason to fire from the hip there are also a multitude of better options you can always move for more time move to refer it to a subcommittee move to amend or move for a further Amendment if you don't know what's happening you can just ask for a recess you can make a point of parliamentary procedure or a point of parliamentary inquiry just about every Rule and procedure we have is to further debate slow the process down and have more time section 28 objections are so rare that I've actually had to look up the rule for myself and I think many of us may be unclear on what the rule is so while I hope this doesn't come to understand so while I hope we don't come to understand section 28 out of familiarity I want to make sure that we're all on the same page because I do think this was an issue about what happened in last meeting but I also think it's not our fault for missing for missing this because we were taken by surprise section 28 reads as follows any ordinance order resolution may be passed through all the stages of legislation at one section provided that no member of the council objects there to but if any member of the council objects further action on the measure shall unless it is an emergency measure as defined in section 26 be postponed for that meeting it's obviously too late to do anything about this now but because this item in question could not be passed through all the stages of the legislation process at once I do think the objection uh was not proper the point of this section and the reason for remaining uh this is remained on sell around of our Charter changes throughout the decades is that it is the last s fail safe it's in our tool box but I strongly feel that is a tool that we should be used sparingly and never as a first Resort my Research indicates that this has been the norm and precedent for many many years and to re reiterate my point from the beginning is my sincere hope that we keep that council's precedent thank you madam president thank you counselor further Council comments and remarks councelor Mac thank you madam president as we are in the midst of what is another a matter of development in the city regardless of the outcome we as a city must look at ways to bring in Revenue to our community in the near future in order to sustain and grow our services we have to have Financial growth through new industry businesses and residential development we cannot maintain the status quo and afford to keep our current public services in place everything costs more and salaries in many of our Municipal positions need to improve we need to become competitive with our wages is we continue to lose good people because of our low salaries Gardner can't afford to be anti- business and anti-development and think our taxes will not increase we cannot have a not in my backyard mentality as there is a lot of land within the city limits privately owned that owners have a right to develop the city has Commissioners boards and committees to oversee the processes of development we need to trust these people and the Departments to do their jobs we need a plan for the future to ensure that we can afford to maintain and fund our Public Schools roads infrastructures and services including fire police and DPW we need funds to support our veterans and not tax our seniors citizens out of their homes everyone needs to become more aware of how the financial impact that any opposition towards projects and progress will directly impact each School child citizen City employee and tax player and remember you can't have it all thank you madam president thank you councelor Mac further Council comments and remarks councelor Brooks yes I just want to uh note that today is July 1st and so I would like to wish my fellow counselors a happy New Year thank you thank you counselor further councel comments and remarks any further Council comments and remarks I will entertain a motion on the floor to adjourn after the closing prayer motion made by councelor T seconded by councelor tyos all those in favor say I I as oppos say no motion passes Almighty father who over all as we we thank thee for the opportunity of joint delation and action witness during the course of this meeting bless the Lord all who are gaed here and the people who represent as we are and do th attend to our common welfare until our next meeting amen meeting stands adjourned thank you everyone for