CITY OF WORCESTER
CITY CLERK DEPARTMENT
JOURNAL
OF THE CITY COUNCIL
– JANUARY 4, 2005
7:00 P.M.
Convened: 7:04 P.M.
Adjourned: 8:38 P.M.
1. PLEDGE
OF ALLEGIANCE/STAR SPANGLED BANNER
2. ROLL
CALL – All present
ORDINANCE COMMITTEE HEARING
– 7:00 P.M.
3 – Ordinance Committee voted on a roll call vote of 11
Yeas and 0 Nays to accept the report of the Planning Board and recommend
approval of the Petition.
Reconsideration was denied on a roll call vote of 0 Yeas and 11 Nays
3. REPORT OF THE PLANNING BOARD Upon the Petition of Michael O’Brien, City Manager requesting to amend the Zoning Map at 75 Piedmont St. by extending BG-3.0 district to include entire parcel 06-0166-0003, a portion of which is currently zoned RG-5.0. (Attachments)
4. ITEMS
OF CITIZEN INTEREST
4a. ITEMS
OF DEPARTMENTAL OR EMPLOYEE INTEREST
5 - REFERRED TO THE CITY MANAGER
5. Barbara White request that the necessary steps be taken to
provide “closed captioning” of the Government Channel (12) to allow the deaf
and hard of hearing residents to participate in the City’s governing
process. (Attachments)
6-9a - REFERRED
TO PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE
6. Hope Abisamra request private street betterment for Sunderland
Terrace. (Attachments)
7. Elyse Levy request sidewalk repair between 17 & 19 Saxon
Rd. (Attachments)
8. Anyu Cai et al request sidewalk replacement in front of 21 Clearview
Ave. (Attachments)
9. Jodi Oliver request sidewalk repair in front of 33 ½ Barclay
St. (Attachments)
9a. Mayor Timothy Murray & Councillor Philip Palmieri on behalf
of Mary Dionne request public portion of Elliott St. be paved in 2005. Referred to Public Works Committee for
January 25, 2005 meeting – Suspension of Rules (Attachments)
10 REFERRED TO TRAFFIC & PARKING COMMITTEE
10. Idella Hazard request enforcement of the four-way Stop signs,
enforcement of clearance of corners and painting of crosswalks at Harrison St.
and Providence St. (Attachments)
MICHAEL V. O’BRIEN
CITY MANAGER
CITY COUNCIL CALENDAR
FOR JANUARY 4, 2005
1. NON-CITY COUNCIL CONFIRMATION:
A. Notification of Constable
Appointments – Matthew Atanian, Lois Ciuffredo, Mark Cranston, Kevin Derry,
Peter Derry, Jr., Derek Evers, Ralph Ferraro, Daniel Gately, Lee Hall, David
Hoffman, William Horan, Tomasz Kruszewski, David Mallett, Christopher McMahon,
Victoria Pellegrino, Philip Salmon, Francis Trapasso and Anatoly Yankovsky. (Attachments) Placed on file
2. CITY COUNCIL CONFIRMATION:
3. AIRPORT:
4. ASSESSORS:
A. Communication relative to Worcester’s Major Railroad Lines. (Attachments) Referred to Public Works Committee
5. BUDGET OFFICE:
6. CODE ENFORCEMENT:
A. Request City Council to
accept a cash donation totaling $500.00, with gratitude, from Paul Robbins and
Kelley Square Flea Market. (Attachments) Order adopted with gratitude
B. Request City Council to
accept with gratitude a furniture donation from Allmerica Financial (Attachments) Councillor Petty recused on a roll call
10-0. Order adopted with gratitude
C. Request City Council accept
with gratitude, a donation of in-kind printing services, valued at
approximately $200.00, from Allmerica Corporation to print 2,500 copies of the
Human Rights Commission borchure. (Attachments) Councillor
Petty recused on a roll call 10-0.
Order adopted with gratitude
7. COMMUNICATIONS:
8. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:
9. ELDER AFFAIRS:
A. Request City Council
adoption of a Resolution to accept with gratitude, the donation of $100.00 from
Barbara Pantos to support the Senior Center’s Health and Wellness Clinic
providing podiatry services to low-income elders. (Attachments) Resolution adopted with gratitude
10. ELECTION COMMISSION:
A. Communication relative to
the Municipal Election Calendar for 2005. (Attachments) Order
adopted establishing September 13, 2005 as the date of the Preliminary Election
and approving the Municipal Election Calendar for 2005.
11. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT:
12. EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING:
13. FIRE:
A. Request City Council accept
with gratitude a donation from LETO, Inc. (Hi Lo Gas) in the amount of $75.00. (Attachments) Order adopted with gratitude
B. Request City Council accept
with gratitude, a donation from Churchill Forge Properties in the amount of
$50.00. (Attachments) Order adopted with gratitude
C. Communication relative to
the move of the Emergency Operations Center previously located at 50 Skyline
Drive to 76 East Worcester Street. (Attachments) Referred
to Public Safety Committee
14. HUMAN RESOURCES:
15. LAW:
16. LICENSE COMMISSION:
17. NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES:
A. Communication relative to
the FY06 Annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Entitlement. (Attachments) Referred to Community Development
Committee
18. PARKS, RECREATION & CEMETERY:
19. POLICE:
A. Communication relative to
the issue of the “feasibility of the police department notifying the local
neighborhood crime watch or association whenever a sex offender, especially a
level 3, moves in or out of a neighborhood”. (Attachments) Referred
to Public Safety Committee
B. Communication relative to
the issue of the “tracking or monitoring system used by the Internal Affairs
Division of the Worcester Police Department”. (Attachments) Referred to Public Safety Committee
C. Communication relative to a
Worcester Police Department Promotion Ceremony, scheduled for Thursday, January
6, 2005, at the City Council Chambers, City Hall. (Attachments) Placed on file
20. PUBLIC HEALTH:
21. PUBLIC LIBRARY:
A. Request that City Council
adopt the Resolution to accept a donation in the amount of $1,500.00 from
Wal-Mart Foundation to the Worcester Public Library. (Attachments) Resolution adopted with gratitude
B. Request that the City
Council adopt the Resolution to accept a donation in the amount of $1,000.00
from Sam’s Club Foundation to the Worcester Public Library. (Attachments) Resolution adopted with gratitude
C. Request that the City
Council adopt the resolution to accept a gift in the amount of $3,000.00 from
the Trustees of the Fletcher Foundation to the Worcester Public Library. (Attachments) Resolution adopted with gratitude
D. Request that the City
Council adopt the Resolution to accept a gift in the amount of $3,000.00 from
the Joseph Persky Foundation to the Worcester Public Library. (Attachments) Resolution adopted with gratitude
22. PUBLIC SCHOOLS:
A. Communication relative to
Status of Boilers in Worcester Public School Buildings. (Attachments) Referred to Education &
College/University Relations Committee
B. Communication relative to the Affirmative
Action Plan for the Worcester Public Schools. (Attachments) Referred to Ethnic & Minority
Affairs Committee
23. PUBLIC WORKS:
A. Communication relative to
Keep Worcester Clean – September 2004 Activity. (Attachments) Placed on file
B. Request adoption of an order
to accept a drainage easement on behalf of the City, relative to the “High
Meadow Estates” Subdivision. (Attachments) Order adopted
C. Request that the City
Council adopt the Resolution accepting a gift of funds, not to exceed
$183,750.00 for the design, purchase and installation of a traffic signal on
Plantation Street.
(Attachments) Resolution adopted
D. Communication relative to
Cost of Trash Collection Versus Fees Generated. (Attachments) Referred to Public Works Committee
24. PURCHASING:
25. TECHNICAL SERVICES:
26. TREASURY:
A. Communication relative to
Legislative Change Affecting the Fiscal Year 2005 Tax Bill Issuance. (Attachments) Placed on file
B. Communication relative to a
betterment assessment and deferral and recovery agreement on 31 Lanesboro Road. (Attachments)
Approved on a roll call 11-0
27. VETERANS SERVICES:
28. FINANCE:
A. Request that Fifty Thousand
Three Hundred Ninety Eight Dollars and Three Cents ($50,398.03) be authorized
from the FY05 Airport Department Ordinary Maintenance, Account #470-92000, to
provide funds for the purpose of payment of a prior year invoice. (Attachments) Order adopted on a roll call 11-0
B. Recommend that Seventeen
Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($17,500.00) be transferred from Account
#900-92000, City Manager’s Contingency Account, and appropriated to Account
#040-92000, City Manager’s Ordinary Maintenance Account, for the purpose of
funding half of the $35,000.00 commitment made to the UniverCity Partnership
Initiative. (Attachments) Order adopted on a roll call 11-0
29. MISCELLANEOUS:
A. Communication relative to
Customer Service Plan received from Worcester Housing Authority. (Attachments) Referred to Housing & Neighborhood
Revitalization Committee
12. Request Administration report on efforts to secure grant funding
from both the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health to abate lead paint from Worcester’s
housing stock. (Murray) (Attachments) Adopted
13. Request City Manager to provide City Council with a report on
his Administration’s review of Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 40R and
recommendations, if any, thereto.
(Irish, Haller) (Attachments) Adopted
13a. Request Administration to report on the feasibility and cost to
provide closed captioning of the Government Channel 12. Motion-Petty @ #5CC – Adopted (Attachments)
13b. Request City Solicitor to review the report relative to
Worcester’s major railroad lines and explore any theories wherein there is an
abutter who without question is causing damage which the City is incurring to
the detriment of a neighborhood and report as to what legal recourse the City
might have. Motion-Murray @ #4A CM
– Adopted (Attachments)
13c. Request Administration to contact CSX relative to correcting
hazardous situation at 19 Plantation Terrace.
Motion-Gomez @ #4A CM – Adopted
(Attachments)
13d. Request City Manager forward a copy of Item 19A of the City Manager’s Calendar of January 4, 2005
relative to the Police Department notifying local neighborhood Crime Watch
groups whenever a sex offender moves in or out of a neighborhood to all Crime
Watches and Neighborhood Associations that meet on a regular basis. Motion-Haller @ #19A CM – Adopted (Attachments)
13e. Request City Manager report as to whether the manual system used
by the Internal Affairs Division of the Police Department is an unusual process
for maintaining employee records or if the City has any other departments using
this type of manual system. Motion-Lukes @ 19B CM – Adopted (Attachments)
13f. Request City Manager to provide an update relative to the foundation created for the Public
Library. Motion-Murray @ #21B CM –
Adopted (Attachments)
13g. Request City Manager be and is hereby requested to provide City
Council, when available, with the plan for installation of a traffic signal on Plantation St. at new
hotel. Motion-Clancy @ #23C CM –
Adopted (Attachments)
13h. Request Administration seek to work with the Department of Revenue
to modify the language on the real estate tax bill so as to communicate to
people that cars should be registered where they are principally garaged. Motion-Irish @ #26A CM – Adopted (Attachments)
13i. Request Administration to provide City Council with a copy of the
agreement, once drafted, relative to the betterment assessment on 31 Lanesboro
Rd. Motion-Lukes @ #26B CM –
Adopted (Attachments)
13j. Request City Manager to provide a listing of the twelve member
Worcester UniverCity Partnership Board
and a job description for the Director.
Motion-Haller @ #28B CM – Adopted
(Attachments)
13k. Request City Manager to meet quarterly with the directors of all
local social service agencies to open the lines of communication and to provide
information where they lease or rent space within the City of Worcester for
their programs. Perotto, Gomez,
Rushton, Petty, Irish, Haller, White, Palmieri, Clancy, Murray – Suspension of
Rules – Adopted (Attachments)
13L. Request City Manager to provide City Council with a listing of
properties purchased by social service agencies in the surrounding towns during
the last ten years. Perotto, Gomez,
Rushton, Petty, Irish, Haller, White, Palmieri, Clancy, Lukes, Murray –
Suspension of Rules – Adopted (Attachments)
13m. Request City Manager to request the various and many social service
agencies to consider continuing to pay the City of Worcester property taxes on
those properties they acquire from this point forward. Perotto, Gomez,
Rushton, Petty, Haller, White, Palmieri, Clancy, Lukes, Murray – Suspension of
Rules – Adopted (Attachments)
13n. Request City Manager to provide City Council with a listing of
properties that have been acquired by social service agencies over the period
of the last ten years, and further, report if said properties have been moved
to non-tax paying status. Perotto, Gomez, Rushton, Petty, Irish,
Haller, White, Palmieri, Clancy, Lukes, Murray – Suspension of Rules –
Adopted (Attachments)
13o. Request City Manager to report on the gun permitting process,
including rules and policies and any changes that the Chief of Police might be
implementing. Petty – Suspension of
Rules – Adopted
15. Central Mass. Regional Planning Commission transmitting 2004 Annual Report. (Attachments) Referred to Public Works Committee. Also referred to Regional Affairs and Public Service & Transportation Committee for informational purposes
RESOLUTION
15a. Recognizing the efforts of the Worcester Earned Income Tax Credit
Coalition to inform the public and assist families to access the Earned Income
Tax Credit. Murray – Suspension of
Rules – Adopted on a roll call 11-0 (Attachments)
16
& 17 ACCEPTED
16. REPORT OF THE PLANNING BOARD Upon the Petition of Lucille
Ouellette requesting removal of remaining portion of Yale St. from the Official
Map. (Attachments)
17. REPORT OF THE PLANNING BOARD Upon the Petition of Biodun Akande
requesting 3 Beaman Ave. to rezoned from MG-0.5 to RL-7.
18 & 19 ACCEPTED & ORDERS ADOPTED
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRAFFIC AND PARKING Upon the
following Petitions requesting crosswalks:
recommend adoption of the accompanying Orders.
18. Mayor Timothy Murray on behalf of Sharon Castro requesting
crosswalk on Providence St. where it intersects with Aetna St. (Attachments)
19. Councillor Barbara Haller request pedestrian crosswalk on
Cambridge St. in vicinity of the Salvation Army building. (Attachments)
20
ADOPTED ON A ROLL CALL 11-0
20. That the sum of $1,000,000.00 be appropriated to Account #91C775, Centrum Centre Building Rehabilitation for the purpose of remodeling, reconstructing or making extraordinary repairs to public buildings owned by the City, including costs incidental and related thereto. (Attachments)
21. Amending Section 2, Article III of the Zoning Ordinance adopted
April 2, 1991 relative to a zone change in the Airport Dr./Goddard Memorial Dr.
Area. (Attachments) Ordained on a roll call 11-0
22. Amending Section 2, Article III of the Zoning Ordinance adopted
April 2, 1991 relative to a zone change in the vicinity of Worcester Regional
Airport. (Attachments) Ordained on a roll call 11-0
23. Amending Chapter 2 of the Revised Ordinances of 1996 relative to
certain permit and inspection fees for the Central St. Hotel project.
(Attachments) Ordained on a roll call 10-1 (Lukes-No)
SCHEDULED
MEETINGS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES
|
JANUARY 4, 2005 5:30 P.M. |
PUBLIC WORKS |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |
|
JANUARY 10, 2005 5:30 P.M. |
ETHNIC & MINORITY AFFAIRS |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |
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JANUARY 11, 2005 5:30 P.M. |
TRAFFIC & PARKING |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |
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JANUARY 12, 2005 5:30 P.M. |
JOINT PUBLIC SERVICE & TRANSPORTATION & CABLE TELEVISION ADVISORY COMTE. |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |
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JANUARY 18, 2005 5:30 P.M. |
COMMERCE & DEVELOPMENT |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |
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JANUARY 19, 2005 6:30 P.M. |
HEALTH |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |
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JANUARY 24, 2005 6:00 P.M. |
LAND USE |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |
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JANUARY 25, 2005 5:30 P.M. |
PUBLIC WORKS |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |
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FEBRUARY 1, 2005 5:30 P.M. |
MUNICIPAL OPERATIONS |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |
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FEBRUARY 8, 2005 5:30 P.M. |
MUNICIPAL OPERATIONS |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |
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FEBRUARY 15, 2005 5:30 P.M. |
PUBLIC WORKS |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |
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FEBRUARY 16, 2005 6:00 P.M. |
COMMERCE & DEVELOPMENT |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |
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FEBRUARY 28, 2005 6:00 P.M. |
LAND USE |
COUNCIL CHAMBER |