##VIDEO ID:LPSnBo2zAlQ## in the city on the city council chambers and remotely anybody that request this link to be present through the zoom meeting was uh get it through uh by emailing the city clerk and also this meeting is been U transmitted live through the Len city council Facebook page as well as the L city council YouTube page uh roll call Madame CLA please councelor Levy Council app plant Council l pres councel Del Rosario present councel Santiago present councel marmel present councelor Reyes present Council vice president Infante present council president Rodriguez present uh please join me for a moment of silence please join me for the pledge of allegion flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which stands one nation under God indivisible liy and justice for [Music] all there is no minute to be approved today and we're going to uh proceed with public participation the rules for public participation are as follow everybody that wishes to speak about something related to the city of lens or anything it's going to get two and a half minutes at the two minute mark You're going to hear a bip indicating that uh still 30 seconds to go please refer to the council as a whole not to any individual counselors we have two people on the list that wish us to speak on public participation today the first one that we have is H Mali name and address for the the record please 53 Chester Street good evening honorable members we the citizen thankful of this honorable Council and honorable mayor Brian deeno for making history by granting contract for Lawrence police officers Union Lawrence Police with an impecable leadership by honorable Chief Foria doing excellent job to protect our citizen we support Lawrence police officers you seniors officers Union million thanks to our DPW workers for making Lawrence a beautiful city we support our DPW Union and Leadership Lawrence Inspection Department thank you for excellent job we support Inspection Department Union we must hire more inspectors Lawrence Public School with the impactable leadership of honorable C Guerrera moving forward Lawrence teacher thank you for excellent job we support Lawrence teachers union we are grateful to honorable Richard Rodriguez Ada coordinator to creating a safe environment for our disabled citizen please bring food and donation every Wednesday night to bakley garage to help our homeless we demand the best contract for our awesome firefighters we trade person Cola Ray and has our P Lawrence always strong Lawrence always unite we are one city on the God PR to support lawence police Union pray for the safety of all police officers endangering their life every day Lawrence Police Officer thank you for working so hard for making Lawrence a safe City we are united in support of Lawrence Police Union thank you thank you Mr Malik the next person that we have on the list for public participation is Rich Rosel councelor Russell good evening councilor is Richard Russell 34 cross street first let me wish all of you happy Constitution Day Constitution was signed 237 years ago in Philadelphia how many remember having to memorize the Preble that began we the people in order in high school uh several issues from various agendas tonight you will be addressing agenda item 412 24 extending the 90-day appointment of the police chief for another 90 days whether this ordinance is applicable remains to be seen a uh ordinance 2.04 point0 81 temporary appointments no person appointed by the mayor to fill a vacant city office on a temporary or provisional basis pursuant to section 4.4 of the charter Shall Serve an enacting capacity for more than 90 days the 90-day period may be extended up to an additional 90 days with or without the request of the mayor the acting of provisional police chief was first appointed on 32224 and again on 61824 the last line of the ordinance says the 90day period may be extended by vot of the city council for up to an additional 90 days does the wording of the above mentioned ordinance preclude the possibility of extending his position from being extended it again being an individual reasonably fluent in the English language I failed to see where the possibility of a third acting or provisional term is possible lastly after perusing some old L Lawrence Redevelopment Authority agendas I find mention of the white fund paintings mention in their old business agenda on 71923 meeting what is their interest in the painting collection that's worth estimated worth of 2017 of about $20 million or did I just ask a really stupid question I at times find it necessary to ask stupid questions to get answers to stupid actions by governmental agencies uh please do not forget to attend the day of remembrance on September 28th from noon until 2: p.m. at the senior center as always I thank you for the time to address your thank you all those names are going to be submitted for the record and now we're going to proceed with the top of we're going to the top of the agenda which is public hearings um item 13824 authorization to fill the license coordinator positions uh bacon for more than six month it was bring To Us by Peter Lanett the acting director of the uh ISD at that moment uh Madame CLA please read the notice for the record notice is hereby given that the Lawrence city council will hold a public hearing on Tuesday September 17th 2024 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers 200 Common Street Lawrence Mass pursuant to chapter 2 of the acts of 2023 and in accordance with the recent revised rule 2 this meeting will be hybrid allowing participation both in person and remotely to accommodate any participant with health considerations that prevent them from participating in person access codes for remote participation are available from the city clerk eileen. Bernal city of lawrence.com or 97862 3230 meeting is also available on Facebook and YouTube the purpose of the hearing is to gather testimony information and public input concerning the proposed amendment to the revised ordinances of the City of Lawrence to be further amended by adding the following subparagraph to section 2. 72.7 Z of the municipal code licensing board administrator sub a position established there is established in the Department of Public Works in the position of Licensing Board administrator who shall be appointed by the mayor and work under the inspectional services director responsibilities the licensing board administrator is responsible for the provision of a wide range of administrative support services in supporting the licensing board and the inspector Services Department the employee is required to perform all similar or related duties for the Department as needed education and experience the administrator shall hold an associates degree or high school diploma with a minimum of three years office experience is required or an equivalent combination of education and experience a bachelor's degree and Municipal experience are preferred subd salary this shall be a union position the rate of pay to be determined based upon the the union salary classification plan the licensing board administrators shall be entitled to receive benefits provided to all Union employees regularly employed in the administrative Services of the city persons wishing to be heard shall be afforded the opportunity public hearing is now open anybody from the public that wishes to speak now is the time anybody public hearing is now closed um public he a public it was a public hearing for item 13824 thank you um he was he missed it um councelors there is a a a typo that we noticed uh um in the typo in the ordinance need to be amend the vote should be uh uh should read to be to approve the ordinance with the amendment of section A and should read to establish an inspection or service department not the DPW uh I make a motion to amend section A to read the following established in inspectional Services Department to eliminate the incorrect typo which refers to DPW second there's a motion on the table to approve the ordinance uh with the correct section A which refer to the inspectional services not to the DPW so you making the motion to approve the item amend I make a motion to approve item 13824 with the the am amendment of section to to reflect inspectional services department and not the DPW Department than that's the correct motion um that's in order it's been properly second by councelor Rees councilors any discussions on this matter this is to fill a position that is over six Monon vacant m madame vice president thank you I would just like a clarification on our agenda we have this title listed as licensing coordinator on the public hearing notice we we have it listed at we have it stated as licensing board administrator is there a difference or is that something that we should make sure that it's clarified or I believe it's supposed to be Co we can we can ask um the director to see how it is in the audence how the how the as the Director the director I see through you council president can I call director Pat Ruiz um to clarify whether this position is supposed to be titled coordinator or administrator uh coordinator coordinator thank you so the duties for that position will be similar to yes so um so that position a little bit history of that position that position uh was its own um like Department back before for 2014 2014 when we had the reorganization with uh ISD and and Community Development um they uh they they made that position part of the inspectional services department so that's a position that's already there it's a very important position that position Alone um right now when we do all the licensing for the alcohol and everything it brings in at least $250,000 um in fees and and and everything like that is that similar to the position uh the clerk for the license yes yeah it's yeah it's exact same position it's just um it was never ordinance so we just want to make sure that uh it's an ordinance position with with the with the um job description and it's always been the same position since 18 years ago councelors any questions and regard to this any questions all right I call Council sing fund thank you I would like to amend my motion again to fix the ordinance typle and replace um licensing board administrator to the correct title which is licensing coordinator coordinator yes second so you Amendment you amend your motion any it was second to Amendment and do also reflect the change on uh section A that is under the the inspection of services councelors any questions in regard to this there is no questions at this point I call I call the questions Olas and please say I I any n the have it thank you so much thank you the next item that we have on the agenda is item that on the public hearing section is item 32324 which is the propos for new the proposed for new ordinance for manage manager of financial administrator Services uh this is this is going to be under the DPW uh uh under the DPW departments Madame CLA please read the notice for the record um please read the ERS for the item 22324 can we get a motion to wave the Preamble can we get a motion to wave the Preamble sub there's a motion to wave the Preamble properly second discussion all please say I I any Nam there have it Madame CLA the purpose of the hearing is to gather testimony information and public input concerning the proposed amendment to the revised ordinance of the City of Lawrence to be further amended by substituting the following paragraph section 2. 64.0 60 of the municipal code manager of Financial and administrative Services sub a position established there's established in the Department of Public Works the position of manager of Financial and administrative Services who shall be appointed by the mayor subb duties the manager of Financial and administrative Services shall be responsible for providing providing the financial and administrative management of the department performing financial and administrative services for the DPW position has overall management responsibility for financial and accounting functions for the Department perform all other the related or similar work as required in the performance of these duties the manager of Financial and administrative Services shall prepare and submit the annual Department budget that is funded through the city's general fund participate in the presentation of two City officials and be accountable to ensure the budget is maintained in accordance with set approvals subc education and experience the minimum qualifications for the position of manager of Financial and administrative Services shall be a Bachelor's of Arts or business administration preferred and or 5 to7 years of professional experience in which a major duties include one or more of the following functions records management Financial Administration budgetary control Accounting Office management or program management in a municipal environment subd salary and benefits manager of Financial and administrative Services shall be entitled to receive all benefits provided to Union employees regularly employed in the administrative Services of the city persons wishing to be heard shall be afforded the opportunity CC now public hearing is now open anybody from the public that wishes to speak name address for the record please uh unfortunately a few people I'm still Richard Russell 34 cross street I'm doing the WM up back for the attorney uh I've lived here since uh beginning of February 2001 my question is how has the city survived for 23 and A2 years without creating this position the second question I have is how cost effective is it going to be and the third question is I may not be able to hear because of the lousy Acoustics what's the salary range for this going to be other than that that's that's those are my concerns thank you uh anybody from the public that that wishes to to speak anybody else all right public hearing is now closed uh councelors was the motion counc pres Mr councelor s after the motion uh there is a motion no the motion got to be first before we engage nobody have made a motion any motions cancor no motions make a motion for the sake of making this thing move a little faster I'll make a motion that we approve this document than a motion to approve properly second uh discussion councelors discussion Rosio uh through you council president um is this is this a new position that we created or we changing the title on this position so if I may City attorney appearing for H uh the DPW director who regrets he couldn't be here tonight uh just to give you a little first of all I want to answer some of the questions I know are going to be asked this is a union position it is a grade 26 um the salary is between 84642387 52812 um this is actually a position the person is in a lower position at this point it's Cathy Valen she is one of the five employees of the city who have who have worked in the city for more than 30 years um she has done this for the DPW this consists of her doing over 170 different accounts the purpose of this is to accurately reflect the job she's doing she's not a clerk she is a manager she does managerial jobs um she's not the checkr she's the one that gets gathers these contracts she does your Paving contracts she does your all the contracts at DPW I happen to know in parking alone I think she handles for that that I know of about 80 parking contracts um that you know and she's responsible for making sure that they're renewed so it is clearly a managerial U position um how did we get it by without doing we didn't um this position was done it just wasn't uh recogn as managerial so all we're doing is moving it up um the pay is exactly the same as the manager in the same position does um down at Community Development so it's not this bonus position or anything like that it's just pairing Apples to Apples so each department would have the same person getting paid the same amount through you council president you have the floor once again attorney is this is a new position or we renaming a new it's a new position okay it is it it's a new position because it's a managerial position but it's the same person just moving up in title question that I have then what is the difference between the process for this position and the position of the grind Rider because this one only went to ordinance it did not go to personal uh it just went to ordinance without no questions or none of that so what is the difference why the other position went through the loop to come up here and this one only went around once and we already discussing it this as a full as I say it's actually the same position just adding the managerial aspects of the other one if if you're going completely from I mean a grant writer and a a completely different position is totally different this is the the 9% of the acts of the saying and I understand I have nothing against it but the question my question is my question is it looks like we creating a new position just we want Loop and the other one we Crea a new position given the whole loop around this this position did not went to personel at all so it only went to to to um the ordinance and what is the difference that's what I want to know why this position only went to ordinance and and did not go to person out and did the loop around like every other position we uh I guess that the question will be first within the the city council uh because those are the process that we follow when we have new position so the question were related to to the the council president perhaps uh because I the one authorizing items going from one uh committee to another committee if we if we follow the process as we did with that uh with the uh with the next position that we have yes absolutely you got to be to Personnel you got to go to Personnel to create the questions that we have in place which is basically salaries and also related to uh the the posting of the position uh to me to my understanding is that this position it's a new position as you mentioned if it is a new position then it should go it it should go through the process of developing the posting of this position is similar to the next position that we're going to be discussing so with that in mind with that said I going to open up the opportunity for the discussion at this point but subsequently we will proceed with the process that we typically go so that's the that's the uh the typical process so any other questions that we might have um including questions in relationship to um perhaps discussing the possibility of going to another uh to another um committee which is personal as is correspondent in order uh we can entertain those discussion um as well so councelors we still have the floor open councel councel plan but just as a quick reminder uh it has it has been the custom of the of the council when an ordinance such as this or any other or creating an ordinance it goes typically and exclusively to the um to the ordinance committee um we this year have had a little bit of a spin on things uh with sending some stuff over to the Personnel but that has been countered to our past practice uh of things so I hope through you Mr President I hope that helps satisfy me there's only one thing that is missing on there that it's it's been this year no that's something that you started as a council president and I proceed yes it is we we have actually started up when you were the president sending this stuff over to personel as well and we have it on record I just follow what you uh did which I believe is right because I mean those are things that cannot be disc uh at that uh at that ordinance committing that it should be discussed at the personal uh at the personal committee that's that's something that no discussion it's up to the president to do it you did it it's it's fine if it goes to one one committee or two committees that's that's the the typical that's the typical process that we that we have follow uh celor Rosario and through you coun president and that's if we already going that route since years ago why we skipping a step so all I wanted it's to have the same step if we doing the same then over and over so it'll be uniform so I mean no it's no special treatment here and and and that's what I don't wanted to see out there there's no special treatment here uh I probably missed it when it was in front of me but is is typically when we're dealing with new positions that we send it to personnel and we send it to ord so that's that's the typical process uh any other councelors that wishes to speak council president Council vice president infant thank you I was here um answer getting my some of my answers questioned U it's my understanding that this is already like the City attorney said it's already a position it's already or a lesser position whereas the the item the item that's coming after this item is a completely completely brand new position that is not at all mentioned in our ordinance whereas this one is already ordinance to an extent but we're adding it's also another department and it's also ordinance for another department it is it is it is a new position I mean and we should follow the the the same process that's fine um at the end of the day we just want to have a a a process that is transparent and clear to everybody that is that's that's what we're pursuing I mean I I'm okay what we do that's fine wanted to put it out there yeah I understand is is a new position I I think is it is a new position should be should be request what we requesting for other position which is if is a new position is a new ordinance is a new is a is a is a new posting is a new uh receiving new new applications and everything the process should be follow is it's a sentent that's the intent if the administration once we put the the the the ordinance in place uh decide to do something else we not the implementers of the of the day-to-day operation of that uh of the of the uh of the ordinance or the otherw ordin enforcement um any other questions in regard to uh this a specific item counselors all right at this point I'll send this item forward to the uh personal committee to be reviewed and be uh forly send it to us with the proper recommendation including the fact that we are going to be discussing the posting of the position and the the the the details about the experience position so far so on the typical things that we do at the personal committee uh at this time I'll I'll we move forward with item uh 34724 counc council president sure may I address the council for one second about what item um it's a a different item it's on um you haven't got to it yet I'm not here on that item I'm about to leave okay just tell me the item but I know that you're going to have a legal question on it so I'm going to give you my legal opinion then you can bring it up but no no no let's let's bring that item because we would like to discuss it with you while you're here it's the uh item 412 of 24 to EXT and the police chief for 90 days all right we are going to that specific item which is on the the Personnel so we're going to go to the committee report the Personnel committee item 41224 which is the stand of the 90 days uh temporary appointment uh of the police chief Malik Bonia uh the personal director so has send this item to us so Madame Vice presing Infante from the and the and the personal U chair uh please give us the report thank you through you council president Personnel committee meant last week to discuss item 4 42-24 extend 90day temporary appointment temporary appointment of acting police chief meix Bona uh the committee sent this sends this up as a favorable recommendation and I make that as a formal motion second councelor there is a motion on the table properly second discussion at this point I would like uh to open an opportunity to attorney uton that is here with us to U approach the Council on this all I wanted to do was address a question that was asked by Mr Russell which I figured might come up so I will answer it it is the position of the city attorney's office that you may extend this for 90 days 90 days from now you may extend it for another 90 days 90 days from that you may extend it for 90 days in fatom that that's what's Allowed by the St by the the ordinance there is no 90day maximum the purpose is to bring it before you if you choose to to see fit to extend it to 90 days you may do so there is nothing that says it's one0 days in your own so that is the legal position I just wanted to State because I figured you might have a question since he brought it up and I didn't want to leave without answering your questions that's that's a fair that's a fair question and a fair answer thank you so much thank you for addressing that counselors any other questions in regard to this matter um it is important to recognize counselors that um um that uh Chief uh Bonia he sent an email to all of us in regard to the accomplishment of the police department within the time period that he's there and uh and Beyond so if it is any questions regarding to anything related to this appointment now is the time councel plan um three you Mr President to acting Chief Bonia um you're put in a very difficult position having serving as acting it's it's t typically a very challenging it can't be especially in your department can you hear me I can't no now how about now is that better so you put in the very challenging position I think as an acting police chief one of the toughest depart toughest departments in the city uh just by its very nature of the city being what is to maintain peace and Law and Order um and then you're serving as an acting so I think the question that I would have is we are asking to extend your your s your your time here for another 90 days are we running up against a time where you're saying I'm not going to be able to do this anymore I'm here to serve the people if you need me in this position the mayor wants me there um I'm ready to serve until you find a new leader I don't have a problem with that thank you councelors any other questions for um acting Chi Bon Bona pres councelor Santiago first of all first of all I want to say thank you for answering my question about from the email do you sent me that's answer my question that I did in personal committee and and yes I want to congratulate you you are doing very good job I are I am agree what the process I you are doing with with with the with the system about about the community you're doing excellent job and I hope to see you in our neighborhood meeting thank you thank you councelors any other questions in regard to this before I call the questions councelors I would like to ask the director uh personal director uh since we are talking about the chief of police uh there is a a uh this process is taking place for the main reason that of of basically the main process which is the search for the new chief of police can you outline the search and perhaps things that you can uh uh you can uh release uh for people up there that are asking those questions absolutely Mr absolutely Mr President uh Michael Owens personel director for the city um and Mr President I did at your request send you an email with this information earlier this afternoon um just so you have it um but um the uh city has launched a um a national will be launching a national search for police chief um that will be conducted by a um seven member search committee um that committee will be made up of um a mayor's representative a city council representative uh that will be at the selection of the city council president um there will be three members that will serve as Community Representatives um and there will be two members uh that will serve as police department Representatives um for the community of Representatives there was a form a a signup form that went out to the community for just over a month um it was circulated on social media released through a press release um that allowed members of the community that were uh interested in serving as a community representative on this committee to sign up to be considered for appointment uh the deadline for that was uh this Monday September 16th um so we now have uh we have uh 27 submissions but um two of those were duplicates so we have 25 total submissions uh so we have a pool of 25 um members of the community that the mayor will choose three uh to appoint to to those Community representative seats um so uh I will serve as chair of the committee in a non- voting capacity uh except for the case of of a tide vote um would be the typical for an HR Director um so uh the the committee will be assisted with by a um recruiting and consulting firm um it's called MGT Consulting they're national uh recruitment consulting firm uh they will assist the committee throughout the process in terms of establishing guidelines for screening candidates uh they will also assist with the background checks extensive background check process um more than you know the city would have the capacity to do um they would all they will also be set setting up an assessment center where the candidates will have to go through practical assessments um and that will give some sort of you know objective metrics for us to rank these candidates uh through the process um so the um the next steps uh would be that the mayor would uh hopefully in the next couple weeks now that we have that pool of um Community representative applicants the mayor should be appointing the committee and once the uh Mr President once you um uh put forward your uh appointment um we will then form the committee uh the consultant will be visiting the city October 8th through the 11th the purpose of that visit uh they will conduct 12 stakeholder interviews uh the purpose of those interviews are to hear from the community to hear from the police department uh to hear from stakeholders about what is uh what's important to the community what the needs of the community are what the needs of the police department are what the challenges are what the opportunities are and all that information uh will help them craft the position announcement which is essentially the job description uh that um so those stakeholder the information of the stakeholder interviews will go into that position announcement once the position announcement goes out that will be out for a period of I believe it's 4 to 6 weeks I just have to double check that but if I remember correctly it's four to six weeks um and that will go out nationally um they'll go of course um you know locally throughout the state and go out nationally um to various uh law enforcement associations um um and um that will produce the pool of applicants and then at that point the search committee will um begin their work of screening those applicants um they will uh get uh they will narrow the field down to initially five uh who will go through the assessment process process um and then that then from there they'll narrow it down to three those three names those three finalists will be surfaced to the mayor uh and the mayor will select one for appointment um so it's quite an involved process it's uh it's not something that will happen overnight um the entire process will be transparent um it will be televised to the extent possible uh the all the meetings will be public to the extent possible and what I mean by that to the extent possible is that as the council knows open meeting law does have some restrictions as to when you're dealing with Personnel matters some of those Personnel matters do have to be held in an executive session so legally they won't be um public but uh the full committee would be there um and anything that can be public will be public um that's that's an important part of this process so that people um can um be involved and understand and and drive this process as much as possible in terms of community involvement the committee will be holding um there will be public comment availability so where people can go online and they can um submit comments to the committee for consideration you know that they liked what this candidate had to say or they don't like this or they like the qualifications of this candidate versus that candidate there'll be a public comment period um there will also be um we're aiming for two depending the committee can in its discretion choose to do more maybe but um at least two public forums with these candidates so um the committee has to decide you know how to do that and how many candidates will have in that process but um we will have um public forums where the candidates will be you know the um it would be open to the general public and um the public can come and question these candidates directly um and hear from the candidates directly so um the entire process is important to me I think it's important to the community that this be transparent and that the community this as much as possible and U and also it is important to recognize that even though the whole process is going to go through it's a national search uh once the the Mayors appoint a position uh that name will be sent down to the city council for confirmation uh councel Rosario thank you ccil president through you uh director how do we end up with this search agency how do we pick that search uh search urgency and where they from and maybe you can tell us how much will cost this yeah to do the search great question uh thank you counselor um so the the search committee was selected through a um a bid process uh the proposal went out the bid um we did um there was uh you know a number of bids uh couple bids that were U submitted and this was ultimately selected um this is a national search firm um they're they're they're actually um out of state but in in my opinion I thought that they would um a couple things be most independent and they're most qualified and they have the largest apparatus to help us with this obviously the needs of the community are unique um and I thought it was really important uh that we had a firm that really has the capacity to be able to uh walk us through this process and to tap into channels um that we may not have access to normally you know National Association of uh uh women police chief National Association of um Latino police Chiefs Etc you know they this um firm has those relationships they have that experience with those communities um and so I felt that they would be most equipped um to uh to um help us with this and they also even though they're out of state they do have experience in Massachusetts most re recently and I can submit to the council some examples of some of the things that they submitted um they most recently um assisted uh city of Somerville um with their their police chief search and um that c that um candidate was just selected and I think sworn in in the last couple weeks so um they do have experience here in Massachusetts although out of state um some of these firms you know this this is a um it's a interesting spectrum of companies that are that that do this type of work some are HR recruiting firms you know they're very professional they have uh um they have a big apparatus a lot of resources and then there's much smaller operations where you know you may have um like a retired police chief for example um or that type of thing so they're much smaller outfits um of the I think there was three or four and you would have to uh speak with the purchasing uh agent um to get that information but um there were a couple um that I that I solicited bids from um and some were on the smaller end this was um kind of the I think I think they had the most capacity to help us so um I was involved uh the purchasing agent helped get us get that out uh to bid I was involved in the selection of that firm and to answer a question in terms of price the initial cost is $20,000 which is standard um that can fluctuate depending on um travel and other cost um particularly for candidates this is a national search um if there is a candidate um that you know would be coming in from out of state State doing multiple interviews it's often that the employer would um would you know uh facilitate those accommodations and and cover the cost to a certain extent so the cost can fluctuate um also that the you know the the assessment center is part of that cost the what Assessment Center is is a practical exam where um these candidates would go in and they would be given scenarios you know how how would you handle this how do you do this how do you handle you know an upset community meeting um they give you real world scenarios and the the candidates would have to work their way through those scenarios and they would be ranked so I thought the assessment center was an important piece to this process because it scores the candidates objectively to a standard of metrics objective metrics um so that's part of what we're paying for we're paying for the that that Assessment Center to be conducted as part of the package CC rosar through you president how are we planning to get the community involved um we knew in the past search of the superintendent the community was not involved at all um I think the advertisement that they use was wrong the way that they communicate with the community was wrong and that's why we didn't have that much what what are we doing differently to actually engage the community to come in and and and and be part of this of this uh selection absolutely thank you councelor f to the president so um that's something that I want to uh discuss with the committee um definitely about the committee's um ideas on that how to engage the community uh this community the committee will be made up of people that you know live and work and um call laen home so I would leave it to the committee to to say how what's the best way to engage the community um but you know some other uh ways like I mentioned the um the public comment period is really important you know we're going to have this those are that'll be like a for that you can share on social media and um it's really I think if we share that W that information widely and um we solicit information that way so through the public comment period also these public forums I think will be important you know um and it's going to be the HR depart in the city is going to um you know have to make sure that people know about those public forums um so I would work with the committee about ways to advertise that um and um and I think you know just engaging the council engaging people uh you know um me leaders in the community to get this information out to share with your constituents invite them to the meetings um that type of thing um you know I'm going to really rely on the committee members and the leaders of the community to um to help with that um I think you know I have to speak to the the the council president mayor and some others um about how we can get this on local access television because I want um these to I want as much as possible for the committee to be um in the public view you know to be accessible online YouTube whatever the channel may be um because I think that's a way you engage the community as well if somebody can't make a meeting I want them to be able to go back to watch watch the video and to you know maybe watch the video and then submit a comment to the committee about what they thought so we can make informed decisions thank C president council president Council of Vice pres infanty thank you I do want to say to to my colleagues that every time we bring up the police search committee at the Personnel committee level um do uh I was about to call you Doctor Owens direct Owens couldn't help you with that director Owens uh does provide this information and everything that he stated to the full Council has been discussed at the Personnel level and we appreciate the updates uh that you have provided at the subcommittee level I did receive a question director Owens after our Personnel uh meeting and it was pertaining to how is the um HR office going to handle this internally within your office um there was a concern about an employee being a sibling of a high ranking officer um who is doing an excellent job I appreciate his efforts he's an amazing officer but I did receive that question and I I was unsure on how to answer that absolutely and I would say since my department that individual my office is also doing a great job and I very much appreciate their efforts um I would be remiss if I didn't point that out but um if I may Mr President um so the um all of the applications will be uh sent directly to the consultant uh and they will be Channel Through the consultant so um it would be controlled that way as kind of an independent um and I would have oversight over that as well you know I can um I'll I'll be able to provide oversight audit that process and ensure um everything's you know um being done the way it should so that that's the the way it would be done um and that EMP that employee in my office would have no involvement in any of this um even even preparation of the you know getting the search committee up getting this information out I've made sure that employee is not involved in any way in that and I'll and I'll continue to do so thank you Council Council Vice presid thank you through you council president and then uh just a quick comment um pertaining how to to get this out to to the public I know one one thing that I've seen um alcat has been they they Lawrence um I forget their full but the the local La access television what was it lawence accelevision Lawrence what access television access Community tele television um they attend our our our neighborhood meetings and they upload those videos to the website so if we can't that might be an option um if say we don't have access to to our regular Personnel that helps us like and I think this location is a great meeting location uh but again like you said you you you need to talk to the mayor and the council president separately but I just wanted to throw that out that's very helpful I'll make note that I appreciate that thank you any other counselors that wish to speak council president Council Lon thank you up to you council president so it looks like that the time frame is it it's how many months do you said this going to last um Mr President if I may thank you counselor uh it is going to be an extended period of time I have to be honest about that um the so um the consultant will visit the City the first week of October it'll take probably three weeks or so for them to develop the position announcement from that point so um you know that's what two that's probably four to five weeks from now uh the position that will then be posted for let's say four to six weeks um so we're we're looking at probably the the you know the new year um before we are in a position where we have finalists or potentially a chief hopefully we can have a a a new Chief by the end of the year but um but realistically that's the timeline I would love for this to go um faster than that but in my personal and professional opinion I think it's better to do this the right way um because if we do it the right way you know we're going to we're going to have a better candidate we're going to have a better Chief and we're going to have somebody that's committed um I think to the community for the Long Haul um so we really do have to be diligent and take our time oh thank you director uh and I mentioned this a few days ago that uh we are looking to have a permanent leadership at the police department as a community understanding that Chief uh uh Bonia has been doing a great job and available uh always available uh for me and other counselors um but it it's urgent that uh we that the police department uh get a permanent leadership as soon as possible I know the time frame and as a counselor I I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt but I hope that I and and we I mentioned this in the meeting that we had today thank you for having your door open uh for questions always that that this committee serves with integrity and honesty uh not only to the mayor also to the community that is expecting a permanent leadership at the police department and thank you for what you're doing I appreciate it thank you very much councelor appreciate uh thank you any other councilors that wishes to speak in the meantime let's not forget that we are dealing with that um with a personal Comm with the personal committee report item 41224 which is the tending the 90 days period uh night temporary appointment terms for the police shift uh acting Poli Shi mik Bonia uh any other any other questions in regarding to this item at this time councilors uh I'll call the questions for item 42 uh 24 all those in fav please say I any n guys have it congratulations uh Chief Bonia you your period have been extended now we're going back to the top of the agenda which is item U four uh 34724 which is the amenda non unit classification plan director of the project management and development it was put together by to spanner the senior advisor of the mayor Brian Thea um Mr President Madame CLA please read the notice would you find it to be in order that we give the committee report before we ordered the public hearing on this it was not but it was that it was uh something that it was needed to you no we have a committee report tonight on this matter would it be in order to give it before you give this before it's up to you I think I think it will be an order of course uh we have sent this item to the ordinance committee uh and this item is uh 347 uh 24 so Mr uh chair of the ordinance committee please provide us with the report uh for this item out of the ordinance committee the this is on document number 34724 the ordinance committee met on this item and set this up to the full Council to amend the non-union classification plan for the director of project management and development send this up to the full council with a favorable recommendation and that's the motion that's the motion uh it's been properly second before we do that let's councilors let's entertain the uh this is a committee report or that was the the committee the committee voted in favor favor recommendation okay so um let's read the notice for the public hearing and then you withraw that right now I just think it's important that the counselors know that the committee met on this matter and that was the report now that the now that the counselors know um I think I'm willing to go ahead and withdraw this item or table it whatever you think is an order in order to move on the public hearing yeah let's move on on the public hearing we uh thank you we appreciate the work that the public uh that the ordinance committee have done when it comes to analyzing this ordinance and present it to us so at this point Madame clerk please read the notice for the public hearing this is document 347-2400 280 of the municipal code grant writer in its entirety with the following 27028 director of project management and development Suba position established there is hereby established the position of the director of project management and development dpmd playing a critical role in the office of Planning and Development OPD and responsible for leading the development strategy and managing the entire Project Life Cycle from initial concept to completion this position replaces the position of grant writer and reports directly to the director of Planning and Development the director oversees project resources develops and executes project plans and ensures project success by working on proposals managing budgets and negotiating with stakeholders this position also leads the project management team from various City departments sets strategic directions manages risks and ensures project Milestones are met while fostering team cohesiveness for Optimal Performance subb respons responsibilities the director of project management and development oversees all Grant activities delivery and Reporting requirements across numerous City departments this includes managing coordinators ensuring compliance with all agency requirements and fostering cross Department collaboration the director will also Implement a project management centralized system to streamline streamline the Grant application and Reporting process including responsible for serving as the project manager manager on all Grant projects awarded to the city and or assigned by the mayor ensuring project management updates and support internally collaborating with cross functional leaders department heads and their appointed Grant coordinators externally cultivating and maintaining strong connections with state federal and other public agencies identifying needs and assist in securing grants in conjunction with the lead coordinators of each City Department to support project initiatives fostering Financial sustainability and growth direct resources to allocate the project development process reviewing and supervising project proposed initiated by different departments lead and supervise the work of the grant coordinators consultants and project teams in executing Grant initiative successfully ensuring alignment with organizational goals and timelines cultivating relationships with stakeholders including investors and Community Partners to garnish support and resources for projects related to the lra Citywide Redevelopment providing leadership and guidance in project management methodologies ensuring best practices are followed throughout project life cycles and monitoring project progress evaluating outcomes and making strategic adjustments as necessary to optimize results there is more subc education and experience bachelor's degree in management public administration or social sciences or related fields focusing on project management public administration or a related discipline proven track record in grant writing project management and stakeholder engagement experience in managing Grant funded projects and insure insuring compliance with grantour requirements strong leadership communication and presentation skills ability to Foster collaboration among diverse stakeholders and teams proactive Problem Solver with a commitment to driving results and delivering impactful outcomes knowledge of project management processes tools and best practices and familiarity with relevant State and Federal Regulations of development related projects subd salary and benefits the director of the project management and development shall be classified as a non-union employee grade level C within the office of planning and development and shall be entitled to receive all benefits provided to non-union employees regularly employed in the administrative Services of the city persons wishing to be heard shall be afforded the opportunity public heing is now open anybody from the public that wishes to speak by all means name man address for the record please7 Street when you're reading that M your mic yes when you say grade C or level this or level that I think it's important that the public knows the range of the pay and instead of just saying grade C or 26 I think I think it's important for us to know that we'll clarify that anybody else from the public that wishes to speak all right public hearing is now closed just to clarify from that the max salary for that position will be um 125,00 I believe yeah that's correct Mr President uh Michael Owens personel director for the city um grade C in the non-un classification plan would be a salary range of 81900 to 124,00 that's correct um I hope that's clear 818 between 81,000 to 124,000 that's the great seat all right uh councelors at this point uh this this uh public hearing is not together with the with the report that was done by the ordinance committee and are going to entertain any motion motion to approve thank you discussion um there is a motion to approve properly second it's an order discussion Council vice president Infante thank you through you council president I would like to ask the chair of the ordinance committee a question regarding their discussion last time we spoke about this this position in this ordinance at the full Council level there were questions regarding um section B bullet one two three four five six bullet s cultivating relationships with stakeholders including invest investors and Community Partners to Garner support and resources for for projects related to the L Citywide City Redevelopment was this particular issue discussed at the ordinance committee level and if so um what what was the discussion so it was brought up and I think the end the result of the conversation was a brief conversation was that we were going to whoever was interested namely I'm interested in this would be offering an amendment potentially tonight to strike that rather than doing at the ordinance committee level council president I would like I would like to to file an amendment to to the to the um to the motion to strike to eliminate that section that bullet from section B which states cultivating which section B completely or just portion of section B just bullet number seven section B bullet 7 actually actually let me let me rephrase that because it is important to um I mean this I mean this person all city employees cultivate relationship with stakeholders my particular issue is the direct statement of this position being helping the L when it's a a independent uh board so I would like to strike out from this to garnish to Garner support and resources for projects related to the L Citywide City Redevelopment second there's a motion on the table for the for the amendment as this discussed previously discussion on the amendment only uh is that a motion individually or that a friendly Amendment to the uh uh to the uh undertake Amendment it was going to Friendly Amendment it's a friendly Amendment so will you accept the friend and I will accept the friendly Amendment all right that is a friendly Amendment and that's been accepted um so just to clarify from the amendment very quick is that is that employee going to be able to do anything related to the L as other employee have done 25% of their time or this is something that because striking it and not necessarily clarifying uh was the involvement of this person it will be if we just leave it as is any other employee may be able to do 25% of their time as as as as they previously stated is that striking all the potential involvement with the LR or that's something that uh it was just mentioned as you mention it I mean I just want to clarify the amendment so essentially if you just strike the portion of the LR as it mentioned on that uh on that uh on there that doesn't take away the fact that that the position will be involved with the LR still I understand you me that this position cannot be involved with aate uh or just striking out the language that it was there so uh essentially um council president from my understand I mean this is the office of plan and development so regardless there is I can see naturally there is some portion of work or conversations within stakeholders of other of other uh committees and and all of that what I'm trying to what this is not clarifying is that outside of what is required to get a job done or or or bring information to us and the mayor Etc I'm not I don't I'm not I don't want this position to do more than what they're supposed to do for the L that makes sense council president question wait hold hold on let's clarify this is that is that clear let's let's go one one other because it just says it yeah so I mean we can add naturally I can see the 20% 25 whatever naturally as a city business I can see that however this just says All City that's how I'm reading it at least you know Citywide Redevelopment L that's that's how I'm seeing that's essentially 100% of the time that's what it which is 100 exactly and that is not what this is supposed to be I mean to be honest with you you should zero but I mean it is my that's my my point that's my view so I think Council pres let's get get I have one more comment I I believe the first part of this of the seventh bullet under Section B cultivating relationship with stakeholders including investors and Community Partners that covers the conver the business conversations that this position will be required to have not just with the L but with the city council with the mayor's office with Planning and Development the HR department which what whatever the thing is whichever the the conversation may require it's just the second part that there for me there is no need to single out the L unless there is they're planning to have this position work with them more than what they're supposed to be doing and that's essent that's essentially what is happening today we just want to be blind about it we can be blind about it but this position is currently working for the LR more than the city and more than the 25% if we don't say it as is we're going to continue doing it and expecting different result which is crazy but anyway that's that's that's how I see it uh councilors any other questions councel plan I'm sorry I I mean Council I'm sorry thank you council president it's just uh and thank you for the question uh vice president infant it looks like that this the administration it it is in the it keeps sending us uh new positions some of the words that I keep seeing is revise the ordinance amend and replace but it's basically raising salaries and not putting in the line and I know the person that is doing the job as a great grand writer uh but it the administration keep sending to us uh new positions basically to raise salaries so it's concerning besides the point that the Madame chair um vice president infant mentioned about the involvement with the L one of the things that I uh they mentioned I think was a senior advisor that uh some of the grand writers they get overwhelmed with work and some of the jobs uh don't have the same attention than others so having this uh person uh involved with the is going to bring the same uh situation a noble one uh employee doing more work than it is supposed to be so I just want my colleagues to pay attention to those terms that I mentioned at the beginning rise ordinance amend and replace is equal to salary raise Council council plan thank you council president so I just I have a question regarding the amendment can the clerk please read the amendment as it was as it was amended by Council Del Rosario please um the amendment that we received was um in subsection B bullet point 7 to eliminate the second half of that bullet beginning with the words quote to Garner support and resources for the project that from that going forward would be eliminated and the first half of the bullet would remain that's the friendly Amendment so the um so the amendment the language for that Clause would stop at the word projects I apolog yeah that's right cultivating relationships with stakehold including investors and Community Partners ends with the word Partners stops at the word Partners to to gather support and resource for projects that's when it stopped so what do you what she what the counselor said was cultivating relationships with stakeholders including investors and Community Partners period And if you wanted to say to G important resources for projects that would be different but that's not what she said I just want to know what the amendment is all right so so that's thank you for the clarification so so two two points I don't know I think it's important just like one of our residents spoke out on on on some of the keywords that we use I'm a little unclear what the the reference of 25% is so I'll ask that in a second number one and then number two um there's three things number two is I think that we really and I I agree with the counselors who who are saying this I agree with the councilors who are saying that there needs to be a bright line between what the city is doing what the L is and clearly there are some mutual Mutual goals because we all want to see the city succeed but there's a reason why the board is independent from the city council yep so I I agree with that the third point is I also think there's tremendous utility and advantage to this ordinance what what this as it's described to me and as I read the position what it's entitled to do is it's really trying to make sure that there is someone watching the grants that are being written in the city to make sure that deadlines are not missed that applications are being properly adhere to and that the that the functions of the reporting requirements are also met and in a city like Lawrence that relies so much and so heavily dependent on federal and state aid I think it's absolutely critical that we have someone who's at the wheel of this because right now it is split into various different departments what I was happy to hear of the ordinance committee was that we will still have the subject matter of expertise at each of the Departments that are asking or initiating the grants so that they know what they're looking for but we have someone at the helm who's overlooking it to make sure that that that these things are being facilitated in a timely manner so I I think there's utility and I and and if it works like that that's a good thing so I'm going to be supporting this but I I I just can someone explain to me this 25% situation and why this is why are we even talking about it well according uh coun according to um an statement from the senior adviser to the mayor tavan spanner on our previous meeting he mentioned oh he's here it's it's like a no it's no vision between here and the last the last session he said that some of the employees uh of the city spent 25% of their time uh working for uh the L uh and and he mentioned a couple of positions uh on that are on that on that matters if we looking at the 35 hours uh week that we have 25% will be one one 1/4 of that time which is what um about 8 hours something like that eight hours yeah um but by mean spor the the senior advisor to the mayor you can clarify on that yes good evening council president City councilors uh just to give a response uh the Lawrence Redevelopment Authority uh being has its own consultant that is working on uh funding for the agency um and all submittals have been done through the consultant obviously in the beginning as I mentioned uh and when we uh spoken first with the the mayor as well as the uh then uh HR Director we wanted to make sure as a legal process that we had documented that uh first of all we're not double dipping okay that uh the time uh that is expended by City employee not only uh through this position but other positions as well like the director uh of uh of Economic Development uh in some cases would have been um the director of uh Community Development planning uh as well as um the the purchasing department was documented we submitted uh to the uh HR Dem uh Department to make sure that you know it's not all the entire time uh that that city employees are invested in the L what I would like to clarify is that initially all Redevelopment authorities or quasi public agencies when they're established there's some portion of time that is dedicated but once the organization or the agency is you know really hiring their own Consultants um that amount of hours is going to be di um diminished substantially obviously um uh we need information from city employees uh we share data on a cons uh consistent basis if there's for instance a traffic study that has been conducted and paid through the Redevelopment Authority that is shared um with the city as well as some information from the city whatever they uh employees have worked on is shared with um with with the Redevelopment Authority or any other entity that we have and also our Community Partners it's not only information that the city produces sometimes you have other uh nonprofit organization in particular state agencies federal agencies that we need information and this Shar so I hope that clarifies this is not something that we are constantly you're going to depend on city employees for this this was just the initial initial stages of of bringing the organization off to speed but we're if we're advocating for the same city right and remember uh the L is a a uh aasi public entity it's an arm of the city um and I think uh you counselor have been also part of it uh in the past so you do know that basically what are the functions and what are the boundaries I hope I clarify most of the information how much but I think I think the the suggestion uh by striking the uh LR out of it is perfect there's no problem with that how how much time you spent out of your time as a director of The L and U almost the same hours 25 25% of time yeah and I work some sometimes 14 15 hours a day I mean right so thank you uh councilors any questions in regard to disposition the Amendments uh the friendly amendment that was presented or anything else related to this to this specific change um to the um counc Le thank youc I know that you have anything that you you would like to add Mr President thank you uh mik Owens Personnel director for the city um I was thank you councelor I was just going to clarify that uh question related to the 25% um but I think it's uh been answered um but uh there there was a decision by the City attorney and the prior HR director and uh Mr spanner potentially you'd have to he'd be best to answer that but um they came to the conclusion that um city employees could dedicate 25% of their time um on L matters um so the um but in terms of the the um Amendment before the council I think that you know striking the language of the L the L language would be appropriate and if there a city employee handling development matters for the city naturally there is going to be some kind of involvement with the L but you know their their focus is on the city's interest in those matters so I think it would be appropriate to strike that um language if that's the will of the council so um quick question on the L and the differentiation uh when when the city employees are using U their time that 25% of their time working for the lra do you have any special code that they can build in and who is actually cover for that 25% um that's a great question I don't believe there is a specific code and I don't know um I think it would be up to those employees to track their time accordingly but um we should we should absolutely um look into that we this is an issue that we have generally in in the personnel and payroll departments in the city that I need to address um we don't do a good job with tracking time for example with individuals that are on leave on FMLA leave on Intermittent Leave there's currently no track real tracking system in the city for that so I'm working on technology that would would track that would deal with that um but right now it's really an honor System so if you're let's say FMLA leave if you're on FMLA leave on an intermittent basis you know you're allowed 12 weeks you take that on intermittent basis let's say you've taken you know two weeks here and then in four weeks you take another two weeks the you're using the honor System at this point for the employee to accurately enter that into their time sheet I do plan to address that like I said through some policy and some technology that we're looking at now um but that same type of system could be used to track the L time I do think as I mentioned before I think you know we um we can have a conversation about best uses of um person City personnel um resources on and and what would be appropriate in terms of their their um interplay with the L um but that was what was decided previously and my understanding from the and this is not my territory um is a City attorney but my understanding of the Redevelopment Statute in Massachusetts is it does allow um the um City to share some of its resources in terms of Personnel in terms of other resources it um building office space those types of things so I think that that's where that that decision was probably borne out of is that the Redevelopment statute allows for it so I think and I don't want to speak for the City attorney or the HR Director that was here at the time but I I could understand that an interpretation of that statute would allow a certain percentage of personel time to be spent on L matters do you mind look do you mind looking into that and and send us some type of a memorandum that that clarify that absolutely thank you counselors any other questions in related to this item um counselor this D um who put this language together for the ordinance yes uh that would be the city attorney's office the City attorney um and the followup question is because language is very important I am trying to understand the intention behind adding that second part that we are making an amendment to remove so what when this language was being put together for this position was it in the in intention of the city for this position to have a um um have a higher capacity in terms of the interaction that they currently have with the L with this new position I don't know if that makes any sense what I just asked yeah Mr President if I may counselor so um you're asking just so I have it right um was it the intention of the city that this person would have a lot of capacity to kind of deal with L matters or interact with L uh yeah um with with that I I would probably want Mr spanner to answer that because he would he would know a little bit better um but I I would think so um because this this position deals not only with grants um but also Redevelopment projects in the city and it would fall under the office of Planning and Development so I think now and there is some in interaction between grants in that process as well so I think the idea was to kind of have this this uh position be Broad and what it can address um so that it can capture a lot of things that the planning uh the OPD Department the office of Planning and Development would be working on which also would have some Crossover with the L I don't know if that answers your question but maybe Mr spanner can answer a little bit Yeah okay it is important to recognize that the Senor advisor to the mayor is also the director of The L stre Development Authority for the city of lawence right uh through you council president and to councelor marmal the first of all and foremost is for we identify there certain um uh gaps uh let's call it that way in terms of uh funding that are requested the way they are managed the way the reporting are done and uh the time frame that is one um as I mentioned before and I think I did it during the committee I also did it an open uh form uh through this body I explained that what we're trying to achieve through the mayor's Direction was that you know if I'm asking what funding do you have in each one of the department I want that information to be provided uh there has been um or there were instances that the city's uh funding were rather at risk or we lost funding and that is not good I mean we're advocating you're here we're presenting before you through staff uh different grants that we're asking you to approve and then there's no followup in terms of um you know when are these projects going to be started and when are they going to be implemented and how are they reported because that's very important um and we found out that we had to the mayor's office had to basically find out something sometimes requesting several information initially when we this Administration came on board there were certain contracts that we didn't have they were hitting in some drawer uh a person gets sick we didn't have the information and then unfortunately there was no follow through um with the case with certain funds that were lost through the police department where it was a grant it became an issue it that was the the tip so the mayor said said you know listen um I want a focal point a person that I can go to and first of all would be the the individual that all grants within the city let's say the nine let's say we have nine departments 10 departments we have the library as a um um I would call it Enterprise but a private entity we have the uh Cemetery as well all these other um uh departments uh for of a better word our agencies are requesting for funding so how do we know what is the priority within the city as you know both the mayor as well as as the city council both of the the the branches have a responsibility and accountability for for funding but if you ask if before if you ask for you know what are the all the grants that we have requested how many funding have we requested which have been executed which are still pending because sometimes you have funds uh that are uh are given to the city uh you allocated through what specific department and we don't know the answer until we call the situation comes up or there's a reporting So to avoid all those um those mishaps let's let's call it that um the intent of the mayor is to make sure that we have a person uh that is basically the coordinator uh because you do need project management when you receive any funding so you're not only receiving the money but you also know what's the status and in what stage of of implementation it is um second of all uh actually based on what you said the city is growing we're looking for funding uh for development um we need to know that we're not um working what you say uh we are uh we working in a coordinated way that whatever the city is requesting and let's say any other agency including the Redevelopment Authority that is requesting for funding uh that they are consistent and that we are not competing with each other so meaning if the city we find out that the city through the directive of the mayor and with the approval of the city council says that let's say X Project is a priority then uh we should know that for instance one agency that is a arm of the city is not competing with uh the department of of OPD because state agencies and federal agencies are not going to fund two projects at the same time but if the city is going to apply for one funding funding a then then let's say the Redevelopment Authority can apply for funding B and still be advantageous to the city I hope I answered your question councelors any questions I'm going to Reas my question was the intention for this position is for this individual to work at a larger capacity with the L than what they currently work now as a matter of fact that would be against the law so that's the reason why uh and I'm happy that the council president requested for the information through a memo uh I think through the city attorney or HR department that would be provided because that's the same question that we requested you cannot go beyond 25% c m done C thank you and can we bring the ground writer up and and maybe ask him question no because we we're dealing with a position not necessarily a person okay so this is a a a position that we're creating not a person that we're going to be dealing with thank no problem council president Council Vice presid thank you I have a question through you um for director Owens um section A of the director of project and management devel development states that this position is going to report directly to the director of Planning and Development I know our previous planning and development director moved on to a a new opportunity what is the status of that do we have someone in an acting role right now now how what how does that look like cuz we haven't received any info um thank you uh councelor May Mr President just for the record again M Owens Personnel director um uh I spoke to the mayor uh about that uh position today um I think there's going to be some movement on that position getting it posted or at least um um appointing somebody on in an acting capacity uh for now um so it is it is is it is it is a concern we just haven't got into it yet so I know the it needs to be officially someone need needs to be officially appointing as as acting but there there is an indivi an individual currently within the department right now assuming those responsibilities until the administration and yourself move this along yeah um it would much of that work is um kind of spread throughout the department I know that Community Development has been helping a lot and um in terms of planning projects the um uh um Mr McCarthy has been assisting on a lot of that as well so thank you all right thank you and just to clarify one more thing here uh on the memo um director on the memo that it was sent to us it says that under the brand dep the directive we are instituting the change on the title in the job description and salary classification for the the grand Rider within the office of the planning depart Planning and Development due to the budgetary constraints the city aggressively pursuing funding to address financial gap across the Departments that uh uh the redefined title of the director of project management and development will now overseal all aspect of funds developments to ensure proactive pursuance of fundings and uh Deliverance of the project in a family matters so meaning that that this position will be now overseeing all aspect of fund that the city might get through a grant uh so how that's going to uh interact with other uh uh project uh personnels that are um taking those project through from the beginning to end uh and now this person which is not going to be the director of that U of the office and planning uh planning and developments going to have more like oversee your power over uh those projects how that's going to work I mean it's it's like it's like it looked like an over an overseeing I mean um it looked like an overlapping of uh of Duties um in some positions especially within that department Mr President I think that um so are you are you asking about the the work that's ongoing in other departments and how this person would kind of yes uh because it's going to it's going to overseed all aspect of funds so meaning that once we get a grant first of is going to go through this position and and then potential assignments to to funds as of how they're going to spend it so that's like I'm not quite clear yeah um well I I think that Mr spanner um would be able to answer that best um since he was involved in craft ing the position and how the current grant writer um I think would maybe have some um some insight into how they'll actually do it on a day-to-day operational sense um but I I do know that they would um they would be their individuals would be in their respective departments that would be pursuing grants and this person would kind of uh this position would oversee that how they do that I don't know if that's you know through uh I assume me ings F emails followup you know tracking they would maybe have some spreadsheets that they would maintain for each department they would probably plug those dates into a calendar or however they organize themselves to track that um but they would be making sure that all the particulars they would be assisting those departmental level people um to make sure that the the targets are met for those Grant applications in terms of what's necessary um the materials those things and also tracking those deadlines um but if you're asking how they'll actually go about that to make sure that those things happen they' probably be best to answer that question because they're the ones that going to have to set this up in terms of their um you know how they'll actually do the job just gu just um let hear M council president I think uh the AG our director responded part of it uh I would like to give it as an example we have nine departments a b c d EF ET Etc you have a department let's say uh HHS that's managing the receive funds you approved it they come before you uh the grant has been accepted um the grant needs to come before you uh like be shown to the mayor what is the plan with that money now it comes before you you don't have a day that it's starts in the day that it ends so and that's an important piece for even with with when you have your budget hearings uh if you have a a department Department should know in advance when that funds once that funds are received basically in x amount of months it will be completed uh obviously we don't know specifically when a state agency or a federal agency would release the funding but at least what we should know is once the funds are released when these projects are executed um it could be with the police department the new police department there are challenges but at least someone would be able to follow up together with the director in having a timeline with it it could be what we had recently with the Eeps program um who was in charge uh why wasn't the project executed uh and if it's not executed it's part of development in the city and you know we have a a misunderstanding uh and not only the the City of Lawrence but sometimes in other municipalities where I work any the any construction project any uh capacity building project um uh in the city has to do with development one is building construction but the other part is competency building and what is it that we do with the funding uh who are going to be our stakeholders that we are going to to work with is it and right now we are working with a grant we're meeting we have how many weeks meeting like four weeks three weeks already meeting with uh nonprofit organizations concerning what's the name of the grant change Community change Grant it's not only the city involved but we're partnering also uh with our Community Partners to see if we can work jointly and what is our responsibility and what are the responsibility of of Our Community Partners so we do need the person that is coordinating and doing the job um and so I can I can mention other departments that have received funds or will be receiving funds and how are they executed is this going to be just for the execution or does or that this this position going to be able to uh direct funds to other projects that are not necessarily within the the original scope no these are just uh Grant related those that are funds that we are receiving from specific grants this is nothing uh for instance whatever uh the approval of of funding through through the uh the our operating budget uh but specifically on grants that are received yeah and Grant related that's what that's what I'm talking about yeah any other questions councelors any other questions uh I don't have question but I will but I'm going to make a comment that I will prefer to leave it at uh B number seven as in still changing the language all right Point well taken uh councelors any other questions at this time I call the question so and please say I I any n Roo please question is regarding council president R um counc president Council you say you say that it was a comment not a question can can we do it again no no no you so we going to approve it as it is or we going to approve it no it was it wasn't a friendly amendment that it was accept by Cel Rosario and it was accepted it was second there a motion to approve the document as amended as Amendment yep so councila yes Council of marmal yes Council Santiago no council Del Rosario yes Council Lon no council plant yes Council Levy yes Council vice president infon yes council president both presentent motion Carri to have enough votes count um six in favor two Nos and one present all right motion carries uh now moving forward with that top of the agenda committee report we committee report we go to The Bu and finance committee Madame vice president and uh the chair of the bu and finance committee uh Council lante item uh 41324 thank you council president through you item the first item from the budget and finance committee item 43-24 authorization to expend to expend $1 million from the EPA multi-purpose Grant funds was sent to the full council with a favorable recommendation and I make that as a formal [Music] motion council president I'd like to recuse myself from this matter for potential conflict of interest yep the council Blan has regr himself due to a potential conflict of interest um so it was uh we have a motion on the table uh I wasn't able to get a second second second by councel Rees discussion coun discussion Cel Rosario thank you uh through you council president I don't know if McCarthy will be able to answer this but after we not approving um the loan and the grant last time will be able to use this million dollar from the EPA yes other projects so the the loan and Grant um cases we were talking about is a different document this is a different Grant this is the million dooll areawide uh multi-purpose grant that we recently received um so uh my understanding is right now that the uh matter with the uh other document was uh received a negative vote and we're hoping to possibly get a reconsideration this evening that's why part of the reason I'm here tonight but the case that's before us right now is the area wide Grant I I understand Council I counc presio um uh C Rosario uh the previous item this this grant is a multi-purpose Grant it could be used for the project not necessarily just for this specific location yes it could be it could be multiple projects yes this is an areawide Grant it can be used anywhere in the city it can be used for a variety of of purposes it can be used for testing it can be used for analysis of properties it can be used for um um creating plans to clean up property and it can use be for it can be used for clean up as well so it's a it's a variety of uses um it's not specific to any one site um we've had more than a dozen grants over the last 10 years and they've always been site specific grants the money's tied to one property this million do can be used anywhere in the city um so it's a it's a it's a great tool it took a long time for the city to get an areawide Grant we've applied from before and and this is the first one we've been able to ascertain so it's good news for the city thank you Mr President any other question any other questions councelors in regard to this U item 41324 which is the authorization to spend $1 million EPA multi-purpose Grant um any questions can uh C president and I'm going to ask I think I we I asked the same question so you mentioned that this money can is it's not going to be as specific to so you mentioned three projects I mention I think our LSP mentioned three projects that we cited when we did our application but there's more than half a dozen Brown fields in the city that are identified by EPA that we could use on any one of those yeah but I think he mentioned maybe uh you were there she was theer was there mention with so once we if we approve through you to your Cil president if we approve uh this project it doesn't going to go to a specific one it can be either or is that correct that is correct okay yeah it's it's a multi-purpose grant that could be used for multiple projects thank you council president um any other questions in in regarding to this one million multi-purpose Grant I he no at this point I call the question please say hi hi any n guys have it thank you mov moving on um budget and finance um item uh 41424 council president item 44-24 is the authorization to expend $664,000 for the lead service line inventories and replacement grants PL replacement plan grants and this was sent up with a favorable recommendation I make that as a formal motion Mo on the table properly second discussions president council plan I can recuse myself from this matter please for potential conflict of interest uh thank you council plan it's it's been noticed on the record um anybody from the administration that wishes to speak on this good evening um counselor uh my name is Jose Medina and I'm here in representation of the Lawrence water department and behalf of the water and Su commissioner William hail um yeah and I'm just here to request uh your permission to use uh the grant uh for this purpose that you just the the you councelor just mentioned councelors any questions I can u i can I probably remember a little bit about this back in 2016 in 2016 we have about 10 something um lead lines that we have in the city of L that's related to the uh to the lead Services uh that we have back then and we still have like a few or this is something else uh actually uh yes uh council president um uh the Water Department have been working uh removing all the Le Services uh all throughout the uh water distribution system and uh we uh um you know 90% completed now the D is requesting that we uh do an inventory you know to uh replace the plant and have everything in in record just in just in case they request the record to be seen okay consors any questions related to that all right um there is no question so Lo please say I I any n guys have it now we go to item four 41524 the authorization to spend uh 1,61 840 for the water resence grant 45-24 the authorization to expend 1 million $61,800 for from the MVP storm water resilience Grant was sent up with a favorable recommendation and I make that as a formal motion second discussion discussion and then they will you make it as form of motion and then you have a question councel Vice resing inant thank you it's it's not a question it's a comment we did ask um the the water department to submit uh a a plan or um to let us know more information about this grant which was provided to every counselor here and um I just want an opportunity to for us to to go over this and if we have any questions if the councilor have any questions in regarding to this we can go over if it's not uh we can move forward any questions councel in regard to the information that you guys receive all right if there's no questions at this point I call the question please say any n guys have it now we going uh councel um coun Rosario I would like to attend a few items old business thank you to you coun president I'm going to go to Old business if that's okay the Coury of those um employees it been it's a long day um I would like to uh take out of order item 15824 if there's not objections yes we are going to Old business and that's 15824 which is U appropriation transfer for the amount of $ 29,285 from the retaining uh revenues funds uh for the account of $39.90 to the uh to AP repairs and maintenance for the payments of previous year's invoice uh as mentioned it there uh these items cancel just to give it a little bit of history of what happened this uh authorization of this item was already approved previously on the previous fiscal year um we need to reot because it's a different fiscal year at this time and that's why we brought it up as a old business and not as a new item so this is not a new a new bill that it was forgotten it's a old bill that haven't been paid yet counselors any questions in regard to this old business we already authorized this payment before make a motion to suspend the rules and I'll make motion to reconsider second all right there is a motion to suspend the ru uh to reconsider uh properly second uh any questions all those in please say I hi all right now we have this item as it it would we never took a vote U I entertain any motion at this point I like to make a motion council president we approve this document second there is a motion to approve item um document 15824 properly second discussion this is for the amount of 39,2 $75 um at this point I call the question pleas say hi guys have it thank you so much thank you Cas all right we're going to um um for in terms of consideration of another city employee that is here I mean MTI left left all right let's go back to the top of the agenda on once mcarthy come in and then we can deal with the old business uh I on 4152 um Madame Vice press uh let's go to ordinance committee um um Mr chair from the ordinance committee council plan thank you on document 37424 motions was sent up to the full council with the recommendation to withdraw a child C Park in 105 Park stre to make that in the form of a motion there is a motion on the table uh properly second discussion I he non all please say hi hi guys have it it 37424 this item is for lights on Lawrence day at DV Awareness Month um domestic violence month Awareness Month October 3rd 2024 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the camp be known common at the flag pole area this was sent up to the full council with a favorable recommendation and make that in the form of a motion second and this is the island 37424 this is 4072 sorry okay 40724 um there is a motion on the table properly second discussion all fav please say I I I have it item 41724 uh 4172 24 the the ordinance committee met with this document which is to remove the handicap parking delete the ordinance in Florence t this was sent up to the full Council to order a public hearing and make that in the form of a motion second there a motion on the table properly second discussion I hear none all those in fav pleas say hi guys have it I on 31924 the war committee met 419 sorry I understood uh Pink Bazaar by lyth September 20th 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the campaign UNC common but most specifically near the uh flag pole near near the U Fountain area uh the ordinance committee send us up to the fa to the full council with a favorable recommendation and that's a motion it's a motion on the table prop second discussion I here no so in fav please say hi hi I have it let's go back to the old business counselors we can U we can entertain old business 39424 in case we can uh we can have a potential reconsideration for this item counselors at this time um I'll entertain any potential uh vote for reconsideration if it's any it is important to recognize the the process as of how we work we have this item posted on the agenda in case um anybody from uh uh from the pran side of this vote will would like to um to U Express an opportunity to reconsider the vote for it 39424 which is the authorization to spend fund of them for the amount of 28 86,000 and bpc EPA revolving loan funds for the demolish of the Bar Street Garage or a building it is a city-owned property um any uh potential reconsideration our city council how important is to to bring this project to the table uh because I know consel Lon and conselor Santiago both no but we asking to today to fre consideration for this two item because uh this property be in terrible condition and it's not safety for our community and for taking in mind is not about the demolition any kind of property we talking about for one property be in terrible condition we be a part the the tool with the congresswoman around this kind of property and it's not safety for our community and especially with the neighor be around all right well Point well taken councelor Rees um at this point we have uh it's up to the councelors to uh reconsider on the councelors on the Providian sides uh that vote uh V on that night or at any other uh potential meetings councelors uh at this point if it is no reconsideration I'll move forward if it is a reconsideration please um this is the time all right we're going back to the top of the agenda there was no reconsideration for the item 39424 so we already entertain the personal uh committee reports there is no Public Safety report that is not Committee of the whole report and going on top of the agenda itan uh the old business item 14019 which is the handicap parking on night ATA Street um it is asking um this item U it is requesting to be relocated and uh officer Bel Cano put this on the agenda so at this point I will send this item to the ordinance committee uh to be re-evaluated again item uh 295 29123 which is resident parking on W Street Hector rodrigue and other W W Street resent request for expansion of this uh of these uh uh measure that we took back then in 2023 this is going to be sent to the ordinance committee for to be evaluated itan uh 158 2024 appropriation transfer of um sorry uh and now councelors any table matters that would like to discuss council president Council vice president inant thank you I would like to I would like to make a motion to untable item counselor discussion um so I mean l on table first um all those in fav please say I any n guys have it um counciling inant thank you I would like to make a formal motion to send correspondents to all the department heads that's supposed to be sending this qu um quarterly report we've been getting one two three sometimes none um when when they're supposed to be doing this so I would like to to make that as a formal motion uh there is a motion on the table let's let's send this I think that the intent is to send correspondence to the administration to the mayor's office because the last time that we received those or the majority of them all together it was because the the chief of staff at the time he took that task as a uh as a good and ballot for the city council and um as a a compliance situation when it comes to the city Chad and our ordinance so I believe it should be directed to uh the the mayor's office including the chief of staff so they can follow up with this so I am my myot to send correspondents to the mayor's office uh to the mayor and the mayor's Chief of Staff to send a reminder to the department heads and I would like um to add that we include uh our specific Charter language so they know that this is part part of our our rules our our laws any questions councelor on the um on that correspondence uh there is a second disc discussion it's a very it's a very milk no offense by this this is a very U milk toast uh proposition not a bad thing we're just following up and making sure they're doing what they're supposed to do so it's not a negative um after being around and watching this for some time I'm going to be voting no against so not because of Any I think it's important that people understand why you're voting no like why I'm voting no on something um and so I'm going to explain why it's not the biggest thing in the world by any stretch of imagination uh it is the law and they should be doing it we just put that right out front um I'm just not a fan of having to do this quarterly I don't know how many times people have gotten things haven't read it maybe maybe the councelor was who was doing that has read all of them that's fantastic um I think we should be doing it once a year if I was King it'd be once a year and it'd be right before budget time which is what they're doing anyway they're coming to the budget committee they're talking about all the stuff that they're doing I think trying to maximize their time at that time to give us that information by by ordinance should be the way to go if they want to give us something more than frequently than that God bless them um but I just I just think it's a better use of their time to give it to us that one time every year so no offense to my colleagues who I'm going to know it's perfectly legitimate it is the law they should be adhering to it but I'm not a fan of the law that's my point thank you no well taken just just to clarify from what you're saying so you better know on the correspondence that he going to be sent to the mayor uh that's what you're saying all right so um no no no I understand I mean at the end of the day what we saying is uh Hey mayor comply with the law and I get it coun president council president in thank you um I do want to put out if any other counselors feel the same um I invite them to to put something on the agenda so we can make a change to the law but right now that is our law so I would like to S respond I mean that's that's it is it is it is my yeah that understood Point well taken councelor vice president uh councelors any other questions in Rel in regarding to the correspondent to be sent to the mayor's office including the chief of staff uh to take on this task and be able to to send specific reports as the period established on the law uh from Department there every six month on departments every three month uh and so far so on councilors any questions on that at this time I'll call the question solos and F please say I any n uh roll call please um on the roll call councelor Levy yes Council llan no council Lan yes Council Del Rosario yes councelor Santiago yes councelor marmal yes Council Rees yes Council vice president fonte yes council president Rodriguez yes motion carries councilors any other any other on table matters that we choose uh to discuss today all right we're moving on to new Business Council councelor U councelor Levy yes I like uh councelors this is part of new business I will get to that point yep I'll will get to that point yes um so let's go back to top of the agenda with new business item 4242 uh 42724 uh YWCA Halloween events with uh her site October 18 2024 this is going to be referred to the ordinance committee item 42824 acceptance of setting the me uh recordable eement and lay out alternations plans for ansberry Street uh this is going to be referred to uh this is going to be refer to the ordinance and housing um item 42924 the or uh the new ordinance in compliance with mass law 48 section 3A allowing multifamilies uh as as of right the MBTA communities act this is going to be referred to the ordinance committee item 43024 Child Care parking 140 East Hil um this is going to referred to the ordinance committee item 4 43124 remove of the 15minute parking signs delete ordinance uh of 38 Aven Street this is going to the ordinance committee item 420 uh 42224 resident parking and linoln Court this is going to the uh this is going to be referred to the ordinance committee item 43324 a stop sign on Crossing street corner of Walnut this is going to the ordinance committee item 43 42424 resent parking only in josephin Avenue this is going to that ordinance committee uh Idan uh 43524 oneway oneway Josephine Avenue this is going to the ordinance committee ID uh 43624 handicap parking 303 Prosper Street this is going to the ordinance committee ID uh 43824 Char Char parking uh and 215 Prospect Street uh this is going to the ordinance committee item 43924 chalk parking 222 uh 220 sunr Street this is going to the ordinance committee item 440 uh 24 Child Care parking this is uh or six Knock Street this is going to the ordinance committee item 44124 four-way stop sign low Street and uh conel Milton this is going this is going to the ordinance committee on 44424 authorization to spend 400 uh $590 $59,999 9 feat assistance to the fir fire Grant uh for new truck this is going to The Bu and finance committee item 443 24 appreci appropriation transfer of $300,000 from the from the stabilization uh resered funds to the special project act fire uh fire pump truck this is going to the B Finance committee uh 44424 authorization to spend $25,600 emergency uh prep uh performance Grant uh this is going to The Bu finance committee item 4 445 24 appropriation transfer of 269,900 part working at 76 Ean Street uh this is going to the ordinance committee item 447 uh 24 status of Maintenance of History Rawling School uh Clock Tower this is going to the ordinance committee item 44424 Squad Square dedication uh to Dominic Martis uh this is going to the ordinance committee 44 924 no parking at braford Street and ansbury Street uh from 7:00 a.m. to 7: this is going to the now they like half Street all people are get all right this item is going to be referred to the uh ordinance committee item 4524 Foot Truck uh business uh Lune in October 6 2024 from 11 a.m. to 300 p.m. Union Square Park this is going to the ordinance committee item 4:15 45124 confirm the appointment of Romero to the licenses commission for the six-year ter expire on 531 2030 late file um councelor for this we're going to need seven vote uh to add it to the agenda and subsequently uh refer to the portional committee so councilors I entertain a motion um to add this to the agenda motion to add 45124 to the city council agenda second there's a motion on the table properly second um any questions at this point I Hear n all please say hi hi hi any n the I have it so now this item will be referred to the personal committee so at this point councilors are going to up entertain potential dates for the subcommittee meetings so B finance committee one the 25th at 7 p.m. ordinance Tuesday 24th 7 p.m. um so now Personnel personel we're going to do Wednesday the 25th at 6:30 p.m. safety I I do have one for the ad hog committee for the school committee um we would like to meet October 1st at 5:30 before the city council meeting okay safety um Economic Development how all right there's no items councelors at this time if it's nothing else I understand a motion to adj motion tojn there's a motion on the table properly second please say I have it thank you so much that's good I'm so surprised :30 yeah I especially those is it possible hi