the Tuesday April 16th 2024 regular meeting of the Garder city council will come to order the clerk will please call the role Council Brooks present Council Craig Cormier pres Council D lawitz present Council harder present Council Heath present Council heglin pres Council math pres Council TBO mun pres Council tone present Council tyros present and president kazin pres please rise to recite the opening prayer and say the Pledge of Allegiance almighty God we thank you for bringing us together this evening Inspire usy deeds and decisions and direct us toward the attainment of good city government we pray the to bless and protect all the people of our city soide and INSP us we and Harmony amen i al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all open meeting recording notice any person may make a video or audio recording of an open session of a meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium subject to reasonable requirements of the the chair as the number placement and operation of equipment used so as not to interfere with the conduct of the meeting any person intending to make such recording shall notify the chair forth with all documents and Exhibits used are referenced at the meeting must be submitted in duplicate to the chair as they become part of the meeting minutes pursuing to General Law chapter 38 subsection 20 is anyone here recording tonight's meeting okay [Music] we will begin with the reading of the minutes of the January 2nd I'm sorry we will begin with the reading and approval of the minutes of the January 2nd 2024 regular meeting January 16th 2024 regular meeting January 16th 2024 joint public hearing with planning board February 5th 2024 regular meeting and February 20th 2024 and former meeting is there a motion Council Madam president I'm just going to abstain uh having not been on the council at the time I'll be abstaining thank you counselor sorry no no thank you counselor councelor Mac mam president I I move that we wave the reading of the minutes and approve them as presented second motion made by councelor Max second by councelor ton to wave the reading of the minutes and accept them as presented is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I those opposed say no the motion passes there are no public hearings Communications from the mayor appointments item 112 255 a measureing confirming the mayor's appointment of Vincent pateri to the position of assistant city solicitor for term expiring January 1st 2025 councelor tyros thank you madam president I move to refer this item to the appointments committee for study and Report second motion made by councel Ty seconded by Counselor General LT to refer the item to the appointments committee for further studying report is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I iOS say no motion passes Communications item 1125 two a communication from the mayor regarding the 2024 Capital Improvement plan report from the finance committee councelor Mac I make a motion to move the place the uh on file second motion made by councelor Ma second by councelor General owt to place the order on file is there a discussion place a communication on file is there a discussion on motion Council Brooks yes thank you um I just want to say having a 5-year Capital Improvement plan helps the city with spending priorities when funds become available whether from free cash unexpended balances or grants I appreciate the work that the mayor department heads and capital Improvement commission have done and applaud their efforts the challenge in the capital Improvement plan is finding the money to pursue these capital projects I note that the committee recommends a goal of 5% of general fund budget for Capital Improvements or Debt Service or approximately 3.9 million we can Pat ourselves on the back for reaching that goal unfortunately we have reached that goal because general fund Debt Service is currently about 4.2 million and the city is unlikely to clear away any major Debt Service space for several years my purpose in making this statement is to lay out where I think the city is financially and not to relitigate or reargue past decisions playing the would a should a could a game whether online or in person is a waste of time let's figure out where we are and let's move forward fiscal relief for the city will come in about 10 years when the police station debt is paid and the unfunded pension liability is paid we need to start preparing for that relief in the meantime we will have to continue to watch our pennies and find new ways to increase Revenue I should note that some proposals regarding Revenue will be before us at a future meeting as funds become available we need to move forward with the recommended capital projects and not have those funds consumed by ordinary expenses this city has been prudent with its spending in the past and I expect expect nothing different in the future again thank you to those people who put this plan together thank you councelor Brooks further discussion councelor tyros thank you madam president as uh a member of the committee and uh it being my first time on this Committee i' just like to briefly say for those who are not aware that items on this project uh list are items that cost more than $25,000 and have an expected life of longer than 5 years like to thank councelor Brooks for his kind words it is definitely a difficult task to look at all the projects and expenditures that the city has and try to prioritize them it's my hope that in future years uh department heads can give more thorough information to the committee when they present some of these uh description of projects how various funding sources that there are for these projects uh because it is quite a long list uh there's a lot of challenges we have ahead um and I think you know the the work and discussions this committee does is important so thank you for that Madam president thank you councel tyros further discussion all those in favor say I I those oppos say no motion passes item 11253 a communication from the mayor regarding the FY 2023 Federal audit report report from the finance committee councelor Mac yes the finance committee expressed their appreciation to the city auditor John Richard and his office for their continued hard work as this audit showed no findings or concern the finance committee moved to place this order on file second motion made by councelor Max second by councelor General to place the communication on file is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I I those opposed say no motion passes petitions applications Communications Etc item 11254 an ordinance to amend the code of the city of Garder chapter 600 entitled vehicles and traffic section 24 entitled parking prohibited on certain streets Central Street councelor Craig cor thank you madam president uh this is a new item uh the Safety Committee did meet on it just prior to this meeting uh it's an item that the traffic commission had discussed at their September meeting last year and it had never made it onto the council agenda so I'm just bringing this forward um this is uh the deputy chief and the DPW director recommended this this is the intersection of lake and Central Street on the northwest side uh there is a parking spot to if you're facing Central Street at the northwest side um to the right there is no parking spot at the crosswalk but to the left there is a parking spot and you're very blind to the traffic that's on coming uh so the recommendation of the traffic commission was to remove one parking spot to increase uh visibility uh the Safety Committee discussed this and uh was unanimous in their sport for it and therefore I move to send the ordinance to first printing second motion made by counselor cour mayor seconded by councelor Harden to move the item to first printing is there a discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I those oppos say no mo item 11256 a resolution to rename the city council chamber the Ronald F Cormier Council chamber councelor Mac thank you madam president upon the sudden passing in January of councelor Ronald Cormier we all reflected on the impact he made to the city of Garder during his over four Decades of service we heard such hurt terms from current and former city colleagues such as kind wise educator de dedicated Mentor leader dean of the council humble and friend as the longest serving counselor in the history of the city of Gardner I couldn't I couldn't think of a better way to honor his memory than to name these council chambers in his honor and I know I wasn't alone there is no one more fitting I can honestly say that I think of him at each meeting and feel that he in his quiet way would be truly humbled by his fellow counselors and colleagues in city government me memorializing his dedication to the city he so loved and served in this manner does it take away from the contributions of any other City councelor who has previously served absolutely not we are honored for our service with the portraits that hang in these Chambers for our years we've served on the council yet no one has served to the length of time which deserves the same recognition and Honor made in my resolution we have in many City buildings named such after Mayors as well as auditoriums not to mention the countless honors and of community members who have made contributions throughout the years of service in various ways I have the complete list with me tonight but I will spare you from reading it in its entirety but all a welld deserved with that being said I request more time and ask that any present former uh inding present in former city councilors or city officials send a letter of support of my resolution to the City Hall city clerk to the attention of the council president thank you I kindly request more time if there is no objection the committee uh the council will be rant into more time the item will stay in our calendar councelor Carter yes Madam president um before I make a motion I would like to say that um we are elected by the people to be their voice councelor Ron Coria had been the people's voice for 40 years he so loved the people the city and could teach us all how to love our families this is just a small portion of what can be said about councilor Ron Coria so I fully support naming the council chambers after Council Ron Foria but at this time I'd like to make a motion for a straw vote a straw vote for more time or for what's your stard on just on this item on this item okay I'm going to take a brief recess call the meeting back to order the motion made by councelor Harden to take a straw vote on item 11256 is there second second seconded by councelor Tone is there a discussion on the motion councelor tyos thank you madam president just to clarify the straw vote in support of the council Ma's original motion or to request more time on no it's on on on the original motion so the yeah so the straw vote will be taken on item 11256 um and this is just a motion whether or not we're going to take the stvo or not and I'll explain what a Yes means and what a no means for that any further discussion all those in favor say I I supp say no motion passes we will take a straw vote on item 11256 a resolution to rename the city council chamber the Ronald F Cormier Council chamber so this is a stra vote for us to vote this evening or is this a straw vote for us to see how people would vote on the item I just want to be clear um cuz Council ma wanted to take more time on the item no I respect that so we'll take more time but this is just to see where people if they agree or not agree or where they sit with it where do they I just want to be sure that we're clear do you want to take a stra on yes we want to pass the resolution or do you want to take a straw vote on whether or not we're taking more time I just wanted that for my own clarification I'm not sure if that's I'd like to say yes that we're passing it that would be the straw vat okay so the straw vat is is on the item on the item yes okay sorry no that's okay for clarification does everyone clear does anyone have any questions on that okay I'm going to take another short brief recess e call the meeting back to order Council tyros uh thank you madam president I'd like to make a point of order that I I don't believe uh the motion on the table is proper Consulting our rules and our rules do not have a straw vote during a regular uh city council meeting therefore I consulted robbert's uh rules which our Council rules do refer to and under the voting procedure in subsection 45 straw polls are not in order a motion to take an informal strap hole to test the water is not in order because it neither adopts nor rejects the measure and his hence meaningless and dilatory um so I I do not believe we have a proper Motion in front of us and um um a request was made to request more time that the chair accepted without objection um and that was the action thank you madam president thank you counselor yeah after reviewing the rules um is my understanding that you cannot take a straw vote on an active item during a regular meeting um so councelor Mac had requested more time on the item is there any objection on more time on this item to remain on our calendar okay the item will remain on the calendar and we will have more time on it reports of standing committees finance committee item 11212 election of the city clerk report from the finance committee councelor Journal LT thank you madam president the finance committee met on this item we were unanimously in favor of recommending the uh current clerk uh TT sarapan um some of the things discussed was her ability to handle um the multiple elections that we've had in the city due to um vacancies and special elections um as well as the turnover in office she has dealt with retirements um onboarding new people um dealing with the new election processes in general vote voting by mail voting uh early um and she's done a wonderful job doing handling those items she's always very responsive and helpful um for us as a a council for anything we may need with questions um and does so very professionally thank you thank you counselor nominations are now in order for the office of city clerk nominations are now open councelor General owt I nominate DT sarapan for the position of city clerk for three-year term effective April 16th 2024 second second motion of close nominations second everybody hold on one second councel General lawitz nominates TT sarapan for a three-year term effective April 16th 2024 are there any further nominations are there any further nominations are there any further nominations okay motion to close nominations second motion made by counselor ton seconded by councelor Cormier to close nominations is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I oppose say no the motion passes nominations are now closed when the clerk calls the role please State the name of the nominee of your your choice Council Brooks TT Sarah fam Council Craig cor TT sarapan Council General lowitz TT sarapan Council harder TT sarapan Council Heath TT sarapan councel heglin TT sarapan councel Mac TT sarapan councel t b munus TT sarapan coun tone TT sarapan counc TT sarapan and pres kazin TT sarapan 11 V 11 votes for TT sarapan TC TT serapan has been elected as city clerk thank you item 11214 an order transferring $42,000 from building clerk salaries and wages to operating expenditures councelor Mac yes the finance committee met on this item this request is to transfer $42,000 from the salary account to the building um maintenance account this money is needed for the um inspection of the city hall elevator um building code booklets um into the repair to the City Hall flag poll um the committee was in favor and I move the order second motion made by councelor Mack seconded by councelor derna lawitz to pass the order is there discussion on the Motions councelor general lawit just like to thank Building Commissioner Tom zupa for providing uh the further detail that he um submitted and was in our packet this evening thank you thank you counselor further discussion on the motion this item as well as the next six items in order on our packet require a roll call vote but they only require six votes to pass the clerk will please call the RO Council Brooks yes Council Craig Cormier yes Council D owt yes Council harder yes Council Heath yes Council hgin yes Council Mack yes Council TBO Munos yes Council T yes Council tyros yes pres kazin yes 11 11 y the motion passes item 111215 an order appropriating $212,500 from free cash to the police department new vehicles account councelor Mac yes the um Garder police department has a fleet replacement prog program um which which consists of replacing three vehicles a year um the funds would uh appropriate the purchase of three hybrid vehicles the FI finance committee uh met with the deputy chief and the chief who explain the uh process which is over seen um by Sergeant Walter um the finance committee was in favor and I move the order second motion made by councelor Max seconded by councelor General lawitz to adopt the order is there a discussion on the motion the clerk will please call the role councilor Brooks yes councilor Craig Cormier yes councelor General lawitz yes councilor harder yes Council Heath yes Council heglin yes Council math yes counc tunos yes Council tone yes Council tyros yes and president kazin yes 11 11 y the motion passes item 11216 in order appropriating $4,000 from free cash to Public Works tree removal account counselor Mac uh due to the PW being short staff this is to hire outside Contra an outside contractor to remove some of the trees marked um already to be removed this is the first time the city will be hiring an outside contractor to assist with this process once this amount amount has been exhausted it will be re be reviewed um the finance committee approved this so I move the order second motion made by councelor Max second by councelor General lawitz to adopt the order as there discussion on the motion councelor tyros thank you madam president i' just like to point out in the mayor's that he does remind us that the city does have a budget of $88,000 annually in our operating budget to plant trees that uh to replace those that are cut down and requests can be made by members of the public by calling the Department of Public Works thank you thank you counselor further discussion the clerk will please call the role Council Brooks yes Council Craig Cormier yes Council dwit yes Council harder yes Council Heath yes Council heglin yes coun math yes coun TBO Munos yes counil Toni yes coun tyros yes and president kazin yes 11 y 11 y the motion passes item 11236 in order appropriating $390,000 from water Enterprise Surplus to the repairs to transmission main account councelor MC yes as outlined in our uh packet there's a letter from director Arnold explaining that the $390,000 is outside of the grant that we received for the our responsibility for the paving of James and Haywood streets um that were not included in the grant and in addition with as with any project there's a 10% allowance um which is standard for the possible overage uh cost for any U project the finance committee voted in favor of this so I move the order second motion made by councelor Max second by councelor Dern alowitz to adopt the order is there a discussion on the motion councelor tyros thank you mad president just uh speaking on this item due to this item being discussed at the public service committee meeting multiple times uh how important this project is uh for our city that transmission line dates back to the late 1800s and it's important uh initiative that's going on thank you thank you counselor further discussion the clerk will please call the rooll council Brooks yes councilor Craig Cormier yes Council D lawitz yes Council harder yes Council Heath yes Council heglin yes counc Mac yes Council TBO munus yes counc tone yes counc tyros yes president kazin yes 11 y 11 y motion passes item 11237 in order appropriating $75,000 from water Enterprise Surplus to the repairs to water Main's account councelor Mac uh thank you madam president due to the recent watermain break on Leo Drive the appropriation of $75,000 is for the offset of uh deficits in the repairs um to the main uh line item uh for fy2 and PVE a portion of the section of Leo Drive um after the ground thought it was revealed how much of the road washed out due to the water main break the finance committee was in favor and I move the order second motion made by councelor Max seconded by councelor JN out to adopt the order is there discussion on the motion the clerk will please call the role Council Brooks yes Council Craig Cormier yes councel D La yes councel harder yes councelor Heath yes councel heglin yes councel Mack yes councel TBO Munos yes Council tone yes Council tyros yes and president kazus yes 11 y 11 y the motion passes item 11238 in order appropriating $140,000 from sewer Enterprise Surplus to chemical treatment account councelor Mac uh thank you madam president um this is a request to purchase the chemicals used to process um the sewage that is processed at the water treatment plant specifically nitrogen and phosphorus the cost of the chemicals has increased over over the years as outlin in the request received in our packets the finance committee was in favor and I move the order second motion made by councelor Max seconded by councelor Jal owt to adopt the order is there a discussion on the motion the clerk will please call the rooll council Brooks yes Council Craig Cormier yes councel D lawitz yes Council harder yes Council Heath yes Council hegan yes Council math yes coun TBO Munos yes counil ton yes counil tyros yes and president kinus yes 11 y 11 y the motion passes item 11239 in order appropriating $75,000 from Free Cash Energy and utilities city-owned properties account councelor M uh thank you madam president this item is due to the increase in the utility cost specifically for heating fuel and electricity for city-owned buildings this um overage was not unexpected as these were level funded in the FY 24 operating budget with the knowledge that these costs would go over budget the finance committee was in favor and I move the order second motion made by councelor Ma seconded by councelor D lawitz to adopt the order is there discussion on the motion councelor Brooks thank you madam president um I had a constituent ask the reason behind this appropriation request and I just want to give an answer departments pay their own electric bills the ones paid out of the mayor's unclassified which is what this is are for the South Garden of fire station Helen may solder school and Waterford Street School the school Department dumped the two schools into the city's lap after the FY 24 budget was proposed so the original fy4 budget included funds only for the South Gard to fire station this order is to cover the unexpected cost of Simply carrying the other two buildings which is Helen may solder and Waterford Street school and is not for any building changes or improvements thank you thank you counselor further discussion the clerk will please call the role coun Brooks yes councilor Craig Cormier yes Council DN lawitz yes Council harder yes Council Heath yes Council heglin yes Council ma yes coun TBO Munos yes counc tone yes Council tyros yes and president kazin yes 11 years 11 years the motion passes item 11217 a measure to establish a Special Reserve fund for the opioid settlement under master General Law chapter 45 subsection 53 finance committee Counselor General lawitz thank you madam president this item helps clean up the book keeping for the City by creating a special revenue account for the opioid settlement funds these settlement funds have been before the council previously we had to appropriate the funds into the operating budget and then track how the money was spent in the general fund um and then make sure they were spent according to law as they have to be used um to help with opioid prevention yeah the um special revenue account will allow these funds to be directly posited um into that fund and the make the tracking of their expenditure much easier for the city the finance committee was in favor and I move to pass the measure second motion made by councelor D seconded by councelor Mack to establish a Special Reserve fund is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I oppos say no the motion passes item 11218 a measure to approve an easement from Kristoff charier to the city of Gardner for the purpose of snow storage on Rock Street report for the finance committee Counselor General owt thank you madam president uh as saw in the packet this is for an easement to store the snow uh it is for less than $100 uh the finance committee was in favor and I moved to pass the measure second motion made by councelor General L seconded by counselor Mack to um to pass the measure this item does require two-thirds vote but it is a Voice vote is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I this oppos say no the motion passes item 11219 a measure to resend the accepted of civil service for the members of the Garder Police Department as adopted by the town of Gardner on March 4th 1912 councelor General loex thank you madam president the city council voted unanimously on June 7th 2021 to approve a home rule petition to accomplish the same um same thing to remove the police department from Civil Service the petition however has stalled in the state legisl legislature as they consider changes to Civil Service um rep representative znik was here um a few weeks back and told us that town of Gardner adopted Civil Service via its legislative body in 1912 and therefore we are allowed to remove ourselves via our current legislative body the city council as currently constituted civil service system has hamstrung the hiring process of the Police Department chief mavan and deputy chief spoke to the instances of such as local veterans inquiring to become officers that were unable to be considered uh because of civil service this change will allow the city to widen its net to hire qualified individuals some which who um which already have the necessary trading to become active officers immediately the finance committee was unanimously in favor and I moveed to adopt the measure second motion made by councelor General seconded by councelor tunos to adopt the order is there a discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I those opposed say no the motion passes item 11243 a measure confirming the order of taking for 94 Pleasant Street is voted on by the city council on August 1st 2022 councel General out thank you madam president in August of 2022 the city council approved the taking of 94 Pleasant Street this was one of the longest standing landc court cases in the history of the Commonwealth um discussion of the council meeting that even shows the intent was to get the property back onto the tax rolls however the taking approved was for a public park or space the parcel is not conducive to such a use nor was that the intent of the vote that evening this is to clean up clean that up and change uh the use the finance committee was uh in favor and I move to pass the measure second motion made by councel General second by councelor Heath to pass the measure is there a discussion on the motion councelor Tyrus thank you madam president uh through the uh through the chair to the finance committee uh I have two questions one of which is do we understand why this error was made and the second question is was there any negative impact to the city because of this error Beyond opportunity costs uh of time wasted thank you thank you councelor committee members as far as I'm aware the the the cost was um the opportunity the time time lost in getting this this property either back on the tax rols um or otherwise utilized um as for the reason for the error I'm not not sure Council tyos thank you Council thank you Council tyros further discussion on the motion this motion um this item requires a 23 vote and it is a roll call vote there is no further discussion the clerk will please call the rooll council Brooks yes Council Craig Kier yes councel D LTZ yes Council harder yes Council Heath yes Council heglin yes Council Mack yes Council TB Munos yes Council tone yes Council tyros yes and president kazinski yes 11 y 11 y the motion passes item 11244 a measure declaring the air rights of the Nolton street parking lot as Surplus for the purpose of of leasing to a solar photovoltaic canopy array councelor Journal Alex thank you madam president um I'm going to speak to item 11244 11245 11246 11247 11248 11249 and 11250 uh together as they all are related to solar arrays um and pursuing those panels on at those locations one key difference just to note uh for the people watching home is 11244 is the lease of airspace over the Nolton street parking lot while the remainder uh relate to the roofs named um in the following measures um on the city buildings um this these items before us are not a final decision on leasing these spaces as we're declaring them surus Surplus for the purpose of pursuing a lease um any lease agreement for the space will have to come uh later before the council for us to approve um so the fin committee was in favor um we feel looking into an opportunity to lower our electricity costs and possibly generate some funds um from these bases is um in the best interest of the city um and we can as the lease proposals come to us um we can make a decision on them that time also with all the roofs the uh company putting the panels on the roof will be responsible for the care and or possible replacement of those roofs um under the lease agreement as St the fin committee was in favor and I move to pass the measures 11244 through 11250 second motion made by councelor G out seconded by councelor Tio Munos to pass measures 11244 11245 a measure declaring the roof of the Department of Public Works Administrative Building located at 50 maer drive as Surplus for the purpose of leasing to a solar photovoltaic array 11246 a measure declaring the roof of the Department of Public Works cold storage building located at 50 Mega Drive as Surplus for the purpose of leasing to a solar photovoltaic array 11247 a measure declaring the roof of gardener City Hall located at 95 Pleasant Street a surplus for the purpose of leasing to a solar Vol photovoltaic take array 11248 a measure declaring the roof of the Waterford Community Center located at 62 Waterford street is Surplus for the purpose of leasing to a solar photovoltaic array 11249 a measure to claring the roof of the Department of Public Works garage buildings located at 416 West Broadway a surplus for the purpose of leasing to a solar photov voltaic array and item 11250 a measure declaring the roof of the gardener Fire Department headquarters located at 70 City Hall Avenue a surplus for the purpose of leasing to a solar photo voltaic array motion made by councelor D seconded by councelor tibo Munos to pass all of those measures is there a discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I those opposed say no motion passes appointments committee item 11127 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Thomas zupa to the position of Building Commissioner for term expiring January 9th 2027 report from appointments committee counselor tyros thank you madam president the committee met with the mayor and the appointee on this new appointment commissioner commissioner zupa completed his one-year temporary appointment a few months ago um the mayor was very enthusiastic very supportive of his uh full confirmation he said that commissioner zupa has a fair but firm approach and is always looking on ways to modernize his Department the commissioner spoke to ways he's digitized and and standardized processes uh and working with citizens and various commercial and residential projects uh he he grew up in Garder uh he comes to us from the city of fitzburg where he was the assistant uh commissioner um the committee voted unanimously to recommend therefore I move the appointment be certified second motion made by councelor tyus second by councelor JN to confirm the mayor's appointment is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I post say no motion passes item 11139 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Robert betz to the position of planning board member for term expiring January 4th 2027 councelor tyros Madam president I'd like to take items 11139 11114 and 11141 together and respectfully request more time if there is no no objection the committee will be granted more time for items 11139 11140 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Robert Schwarz to the position of planning board member for term expiring January 4th 2027 and item 11141 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Steven Cormier to the position of planning board member for term expiring January 4th 2027 as it seems there is no objections the committee will be granted on more time on those three items item 11142 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Charles leblan to the position of board of Assessors for term expiring January 4th 2027 councelor Heath thank you madam president um the committee met with um commissioner zupa along with the mayor earlier today um Mr jono was that how do you say we're on item 11142 and that's um Mr Charles I'm sorry Mr Charles L blink I'm sorry this is the assessor I apologize for that um however I'll take this one as well um the committee met with the mayor earlier um today and we went ahead and spoke about Mr Chuck uh Chuck Li blank and Mr blank has been with us for decades now uh this is a reappointment and the committee voted unanimously to move and certify this appointment thank you second thank you counselor motion made by councelor Heath seconded by councelor Tyrus to confirm the mayor's appointment is there a discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I this oppos say no motion passes item 1143 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Rick Jano to the position of local inspector for term expiring January 4th 2027 councelor Heath all right going back to what I tried to do earlier um the committee met with uh Mr well commissioner zupa and the mayor earlier today um Mr J germano and I refused to mess up the name and I did it anyways um he is actually a compliment to uh commissioner zupa and everything that he does with the uh building commission um he's been with us for a number of years um great work nothing but praise from both the mayor and Mr zupa and the committee voted unanimously to move in ify this appointment second motion made by councelor Heath second by Counselor General lawitz to confirm the mayor's appointment is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I those oppos say no motion passes item 11144 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of James E impressia to the position of plumbing and gas inspector for term expiring January 4th 2027 councelor hlin thank you madam president uh so again we met earlier this evening on this item uh 11144 Mr impressia comes again with years of experience this is a reappointment um he was highly recommended by both commissioner zuper zupa and the mayor and so we as a committee voted unanimously in favor of this recommendation so I moveed to certify the appointment second motion made by councelor Heath seconded by councelor heglund to confirm the mayor's appointment is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I post say no the motion passes item 11150 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Timothy Horan to the position of Development Authority for term expiring January 8th 2027 councilor Tyrus thank you madam president the committee met with the mayor to discuss this reappointment uh Mr Horgan is a local business owner and as part of the uh Redevelopment Authority or the gr as it's referred to uh bylaws there has to be certain representation from different parts of the community one of them being local business owner which he fulfills uh as the U as running orgon cleaners for a number of years in town uh the mayor spoke and praised his service to the community uh the modern approach he takes to the Redevelopment Authority which has some major projects uh in our community that they're looking at a lot of opportunities um for the future of Garder uh in their hands the committee voted unanimously to recommend therefore I move the appointment be certified second motion made by councelor Tyro seconded by councelor Tio Munos to confirm the mayor's appointment is there discussion on the motion councelor ton Madam president um I I've worked closely with uh Tim Oregan and and um appreciate the job job he has done for the gr I do have a question through through through you um Madame President um uh Redevelopment Authority is my understanding is a five-year appointment and this is this shows a three-year appointment um so I guess through the chair was that question asked to the appointment committee the question was not asked but the mayor did state that there's a number of various um expired appointments and I I would have to ask the mayor if this is an effort to stagger the appointments but that is a question for the mayor councelor tone thank you thank you further discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I iOS say no motion passes item 11 1207 a measure confirming the mayor's appointment of Linda denbeck to the position of disability commission member for term expiring March 4th 2027 councel hlin thank you madam president uh per the request of this individual in writing today uh unfortunately she has requested to be withdrawn at this time just due to some personal matters that arose so wanting to be respectful of that and thanking her for her initial interest I uh move to remove item 11207 from the agenda second motion made by Council pin seconded by councelor Tyrus to remove item 11207 from the council agenda is there a discussion on the motion all those in favor say I iose say no motion passes Safety Committee item 11086 an ordinance to amend the code of the city of Garder chapter 600 entitled vehicles and traffic section 24 entitled parking prohibited on certain streets Comey Street report from this Public Safety Committee councelor Cormier thank you madam president on items 11086 111115 and 11204 uh we will ask for more time I do believe uh we will have a public hearing coming up on Comey Street but all of these items are with the police department on trial basis so we can get uh residential feedback thank you counselor if there is no objection the committee will be granted more time on item 1186 11115 an ordinance to amend the code of the city of gardener chapter 600 entitled vehicles and traffic section 24 entitled parking prohibited on certain streets Douglas Road and item 11204 in ordinance to amend the code of the city of Garder chapter 600 entitled vehicles and traffic section 24 entitled parking prohibited on certain streets edel Street seeing there is no objection the committee will be granted more time welfare committee item 11211 an ordinance to amend the code of the city of Gardner to add a new chapter 15 to be entitled agricultural commission councel Mac uh the committee requests more time if there is no objection the committee will be granted more time the committee will be granted more time unfinished business and matters for reconsideration item 11220 a communication from the the mayor regarding the nonunion salary study um this item along with 11232 a measure to adopt local option room occupancy excise rate increase under master General law 64g section 3A 11233 a measure to adopt local option sales tax on meals under Mass General law 64l section 2A and 11234 a resolution to review the city's zoning map for accuracy have all been voted on um previously and referred to the committee of the whole we will be scheduling those meetings and if there's no objection they will remain on our calendar we will have more time seeing there is no objection these will remain on our calendar and we will have more time there is no new Business Council comments and remarks are there any Council comments and remarks Council ma um I just want to give a plug for the downtown flower pot um sponsorship um forms are available um through the economic community Economic Department and there will be some available through the mayor's office um sponsorship for the summer and the fall is $200 um the chamber has sent out the forms as well as Square two to all their members um but we are looking for sponsors for this year um so please um any businesses or private citizens as well as all the counselors receiv received them in their mailboxes um please feel free to do sponsorship this year and uh we're looking to um have some beautiful flowers throughout the season um um and thank you very much for your uh donations and continued support thank you thank you councelor Mac any further Council comments and remarks I have one this evening um the Levi Haywood Memorial Library used book sale is Friday April 19th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday April 20th from 9:00 a.m. to 400 p.m. this Thursday April 18th any members um of the library have a preview night from 4 to 7:00 p.m. um regarding the book sale as well and I just want to make sure my mom's watching tonight because she asked me to announce that and I'm glad that I did so I feel like I did my duty as a good daughter she wanted to be sure that that um that got announc so um It's a Wonderful fundraiser for the library there is like millions of books there to choose from you find some fun Treasures as well and so I would definitely encourage the community to go to it um I know that I will be there any further Council comments and REM this evening okay I will entertain a motion to adjourn after the closing pray motion made by councel Don seconded by councel Cormier to adjourn after the closing prayer is there a discussion on the motion all those in favor say I iose say no almighty God stand over all as we thank you for the opportunity of joint deliberation and action witness during the course of this meeting L all areed here and the people represent we are and do th attend to our common until our next meeting am meeting stands adjourned thank you everyone